After studying theoretical physics as an undergraduate (Laurea) at Collegio Ghislieri and the Universita' di Pavia, Professor Vecchio obtained a Ph.D. in astronomy from the Universita' di Milano in 1996. He held post-doctoral positions at Cardiff University and the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik in Potsdam, where he stayed as a research scientist before joining the University of Birmingham in 2001. During the academic year 2006/07 he was visiting professor at Northwestern University in the USA.
Professor Vecchio research is focused on the use of gravitational radiation to study the universe in a radically new observational window and to test the behaviour of gravity in extreme conditions. His work concerns the astrophysics of compact objects, data analysis techniques, gravitational-wave observations, and he is involved in the instrumental upgrade of LIGO to Advanced LIGO.
Veitch, J and Vecchio, A (2010), Bayesian coherent analysis of in-spiral gravitational wave signals with a detector network, PRD 81, 062003
Aylott, B, et al. (2009), Testing gravitational-wave searches with numerical relativity waveforms: Results from the first Numerical INJection Analysis (NINJA) project, CQG 26, 165008
Sesana, A, Vecchio, A, and Colacino, C N (2008), The stochastic gravitational-wave background from massive black hole binary systems: implications for observations with Pulsar Timing Arrays, MNRAS 390, 192
Abbott, B, et al. [LIGO Scientific Collaboration] (2007), Coherent searches for periodic gravitational waves from unknown isolated sources and Scorpius X-1: Results from the seco nd LIGO science run, PRD 76, 082001
Vecchio, A (2004), LISA observations of rapidly spinning massive black hole binary systems, PRD 70, 042001