An Austrian national, born in 1984 in Salzburg, Austria, Monika Lendl earned her Doctorate in Science with a specialization in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Geneva in 2014. Her dissertation focused on “High Precision Photometry of Transits and Occultations – Insights on Hot Atmospheres from Ground-based Optical and Near IR Observations.” Her scientific career has since taken her to the University of Liège in Belgium, the Space Research Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and the University of Geneva, where she held the position of Assistant Professor with an Eccellenza Professorial Fellowship from the Swiss Confederation before her appointment.

Monika Lendl is an internationally renowned astronomer known for her research on the characterization of transiting planets through photometric measurements. Notably, she serves as mission scientist for the ESA CHEOPS mission, which operates under Swiss leadership. The quality and productivity of her research are remarkable and widely recognized by the international astronomical community. Monika Lendl is the author of more than 220 publications in leading scientific journals in astronomy and is regularly invited to deliver keynote talks at international conferences.

Professor Lendl is distinguished by her remarkable enthusiasm for research, her exceptional pedagogical skills in teaching and communication, and her widely appreciated collaborative spirit. These qualities will greatly contribute to the prominence of the Department of Astronomy and the Faculty of Science at our University.