Our Team
The Forming Worlds Lab is an international, interdisciplinary research group at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute in Groningen, the Netherlands. Our team brings together expertise in planetary science, geophysics, atmospheric physics, and computational modelling. We are always looking for curious and driven researchers to join us. See open positions.
Rocky Worlds 4 Conference Groningen, Jan 2026
Previous Members
Rob Spaargaren
SNSF Postdoctoral Fellow
Exoplanet petrology
Harrison Nicholls
Oxford DPhil Student
Exoplanet climate evolution
Hanno Spreeuw
Research Software Engineer
PROTEUS framework
Laurent Soucasse
Research Software Engineer
PROTEUS framework
Jorick Lania
Kapteyn MSc Student 2025
Sub-Neptune geochemistry
Flavia Pascal
Kapteyn BSc Student 2025
Super-Earth interior structure
Anvel de Sainte Marie d'Agneaux
Kapteyn BSc Student 2025
Exoplanet ocean formation
Stef Smeets
Research Software Engineer
PROTEUS framework
Iris Boer
Kapteyn BSc Student 2024
Runaway greenhouse
Björn Koops
Kapteyn BSc Student 2024
Rock vapour atmospheres
Jessica Helmerhorst
Kapteyn BSc Student 2024
Super-Earth structure
Lotte Bartels
Kapteyn MSc Student 2024
Exoplanet geodynamics
Beat Hubmann
Kapteyn PhD Student 2023
Planetesimal evolution
Boyd van der Plaat
Kapteyn BSc Student 2023
Steam atmospheres
Lucas Priolet
Kapteyn BSc Student 2023
Exoplanet surfaces
Marijn Smorenburg
Kapteyn BSc Student 2023
Exoplanet outgassing