I am Matteo Cantiello, an Astrophysicist working on understanding the life and death of stars — and increasingly, on how AI can transform the way we do science.

I am currently in NYC as a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Computational Astrophysics (Flatiron Institute) and a visiting associate researcher at Princeton University. Prior to moving to New York, I was an associate specialist in astrophysics at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, one of the most renowned institutes for theoretical physics in the world, located at the University of California Santa Barbara, and an Argelander Fellow at Bonn University (Germany). I obtained my PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Utrecht, in the Netherlands, with a dissertation on “Unstable Stellar Interiors”. I hold a M.Sc. in Astrophysics and a B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Pisa, Italy — Alma Mater of Galileo Galilei.

As a theorist, I use computational and observational tools spanning 1D stellar evolution, 3D magneto-hydrodynamics simulations, asteroseismology (the study of wave propagation inside stars), stellar populations, stellar explosions, and gravitational wave signals from merging neutron stars and black holes. I am a developer of (MESA), a open-source software for stellar evolution modeling that is widely adopted by the astrophysics community.

I am also building Paradigm, a platform where humans and AI agents collaborate to carry out full cycles of scientific research — from literature search and hypothesis generation to analysis and writing. I believe we are at the beginning of a fundamental shift in how humans produce and interact with knowledge, and that the scientists closest to the frontier of discovery are uniquely positioned to shape how AI is built for research. Beyond stars and code, I have a deep love for traveling, musica, neuroscience, scientific communication, red wine, and dancing in the desert. For more about me and my research, here's my personal website.