I am a PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr. Daniela Huppenkothen and Dr. Phil Uttley at the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) and the University of Amsterdam’s Anton Pannekoek Institute. I study statistics in astronomy with an emphasis on black holes, particularly within the spectral-timing regime. I particularly focus on the application of machine learning to both statistical inference and emulation of numerical models.

I am also the Principal investigator for the NEBULA-Xplorer mission at SRON, a small satellite concept focused on performing long-term X-ray spectral timing observations of X-ray sources such as X-ray binaries and AGN. If you are interested in learning more about NEBULA, head over to the dedicated webpage, or contact me at b.ricketts(at)sron.nl.

I completed my Integrated Master’s in Astrophysics with a Year of Research Abroad at Southampton in 2022. My year abroad was undertaken at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. My supervisors for that year were James F. Steiner and Cecilia Garraffo. My thesis was “Mapping the X-ray Variability Curves of GRS 1915+105 with machine learning”.

I enjoy hiking and tabletop roleplay in my free time.