Prof. Eva Villaver is an astrophysicist whose research is both theoretical and observational, with a focus on objects in dusty environments and under intense radiation fields. Her work centers on gas dynamics, stellar abundances as a test of planet formation models, orbital dynamics to explore the fate of planetary systems such as our own, and the discovery of extrasolar planets. She has led a broad range of research projects requiring diverse expertise, including numerical simulations of gas evolution around evolved stars, analytical models of the survival of gaseous planets in irradiated environments, N-body simulations of dynamical evolution, radial velocity searches for planets around giant stars, and spectroscopic characterization of stars and nebulae.

Prof. Villaver  pioneered theoretical work on the survival and evolution of planetary systems as their host stars exhaust their nuclear fuel. She has discovered dozens of planets around red giant stars, explained the presence of planetary debris on white dwarf surfaces, and predicted the location of material ejected by stellar winds, later confirmed observationally.

She received the Spanish Astronomical Society’s Best Doctoral Thesis Award (2001–2002) and was recognized for her contribution to the HST ACS Science Feasibility Review following the failure of one of the Hubble instruments. In 2023, she was awarded the Research Prize of the Spanish Geographical Society. She has supervised several summer students, two completed PhD theses, two ongoing PhD projects, 21 Master’s theses, and four early-career postdoctoral researchers.

As Principal Investigator and co-Principal Investigator, Prof. Villaver has led successful observing projects on numerous space-based telescopes, including 201 HST orbits, 47 hours with Spitzer, 1200 ks with Chandra, and 224 hours with Herschel. She has also led projects at major ground-based facilities, including HARPS-N@TNG, WHT, NOT and Mercator at ORM, the 2.2 m telescope at CAHA, the Blanco 4 m at CTIO, MMT, and HET at McDonald Observatory.

She was awarded a prestigious European IRG grant under the Marie Curie program (2010–2014) and, since 2019, has led six research projects funded by Spain’s National Research Plan. During her time at the Autonomous University of Madrid (2010–2021), in addition to teaching, she coordinated the PhD and Master’s programs in Astrophysics, managed faculty and student mobility grants, and organized research colloquia.

While at STScI, Prof. Villaver was part of the science policy team responsible for managing Director’s Discretionary Time and overseeing the peer-review process for proposal selection. She coordinated review panels and the Telescope Allocation Committee (TAC), ensured ESA representation, addressed science policy and technical issues, and reviewed the call for proposals, telescope primer, and instrument manuals.

She has been invited dozens of times to serve as a panelist for HST and as chair of both HST and JWST international TAC panels. In 2025, she served as Chair of the entire JWST Telescope Allocation Committee (TAC).  She was involved in the early stages of implementing the dual-anonymous peer-review process, and in 2025 she served as Chair of the Executive Committee of the full JWST Cycle 4 TAC. She has also served as panelist and chair in key TACs for major ground-based observatories, including IAC, ESO, CAHA, and NOAO, as well as in theoretical proposal reviews for NASA’s ATPF.Prof. Villaver has reviewed research funding proposals for STScI’s RSAC/Director’s Discretionary Research Fund, the European Research Council, and the Spanish National Research Agency. She has also participated in staff evaluations through the STScI Science Personnel Committee and contributed to science feasibility assessments.

She was a board member of the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer project and a core science team member for two ESA mission proposals: the astrometric mission THEIA and a space-based infrared interferometer for the study of exoplanet atmospheres. She is currently a member of the core science team of the ESA mission CHEOPS and also serves on the Policy Advisory Group of the European Astronomical Society.  Her other service roles include membership of the HST Users Committee, the ESA Archive Users Group, the Women in Astronomy Commission of the Spanish Astronomical Society, the Caroline Herschel Program at STScI and the ING board.

Since 2017, she has represented Spain on the Board of Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A), and since 2019 she has served on its Executive Committee. She has been appointed in 2026 by ESA to serve on the Space Science Advisory Committee (SSAC).