Assoc. Professor of Astronomy, New Mexico State University
Prof. Lyra’s research program focuses on computer simulations of planet formation in circumstellar disks. The simulation data creates models that can be compared to astronomical observations. He is a principal investigator in the theoretical and computational astrophysics network “Planet Formation in the Southwest +” (PFITS+) which studies protoplanetary disks, planet formation, and fluid dynamics.
Prof. Lyra holds a B.Sc. in Astronomy from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and both a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Astronomy from Uppsala University, Sweden. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the American Museum of Natural History, in New York City and at NASA-JPL/Caltech (as a Sagan fellow). Dr. Lyra joined NMSU in 2019.