My research interests include the physics of accretion of hydrogen and helium onto compact objects in close binary systems, commonly referred to as cataclysmic variables (CVs). Within this research area I mainly study rapid oscillations in CVs - variability on the order of 20-200 seconds, non-radial pulsations in accreting white dwarfs, ultra-compact binaries (white dwarf + white dwarf, or white dwarf + helium star binaries), also known as AM CVn binaries, and the unique helium nova V445 Puppis. The picture on the right shows the expanding nova shell of V445 Puppis, observed over a period of 2 years by us with the VLT (Very Large Telescope) of ESO. See also this link for the ESO press release, issued 17 November 2009.