Who am I?
My name is Diego de la Fuente, and I am switching carreers from astronomy research to R&D project management.
I received my PhD in astrophysics in 2016. After spending some years doing research at Centro de Astrobiología (INTA/CSIC, Madrid, Spain) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Ensenada, Mexico), I arrived to the University of Alicante, where I held two postdoctoral positions. The first one was a fellowship that included a 1-year research visit to the University of Central Florida (USA). My main research interests were young star clusters in the Milky Way, massive star formation, and infrared spectroscopy. On the technical side, I am an expert in data reduction and pipeline software development.
After deciding to give up research, I obtained the position of project manager for the Condensed Matter Physics group at the University of Alicante. My current contract, ending in December 2025, is making me gain valuable experience for my new profession choice. My immediate plan is to use my deep expertise in innovation processes to create substantial value for projects in the R&D industry.