Lilia Ferrario is studying neutron stars and black holes. She does not use a telescope, however, but mathematics, the laws of physics and a computer.

Ferrario is a member of the astronomy and astrophysics group within the Australian National University's Mathematical Sciences Institute. She is among a growing number of mathematicians world wide working on the theoretical modelling of astrophysical systems. By modelling stars in their death throes, her exploration of the virtual cosmos promises to answer big questions about the evolution of the most violent objects in the universe.

She was attracted to the ANU by its strength in computational mathematics. "I hope I will be able to shed some light on where neutron stars and black holes come from."