Who are you, and what do you do? What do you like to do outside of work?

I’m Inga, an astrophysics researcher in Stockholm, Sweden. I’m part of a team that studies supernova explosions and what happens after them. Right now, my main job is to look for early signals from these explosions, but I’m also interested in neutron stars, which are superdense objects left behind after a supernova. I love exploring the processes in our universe using different methods and learning new things all the time, which is pretty cool!

Aside from my scientific pursuits, I love to run all year round, though I’m not into competing or setting records. I just enjoy being outdoors and having some time to myself. I also enjoy gravel biking in the summer and snowboarding in the winter.

In my spare time, I like to dabble in simple vector graphic illustration, video editing, and 2D frame-by-frame animation on my iPad. It’s a fun way for me to be creative and express myself.

What hardware do you use?

I have two setups: one at home and one at work, so most of my equipment has to be portable. The only things that remain stationary are my monitors—one at home and one at work. At work I use a 15-inch MacBook Air, and for personal stuff I’ve got another 13-inch MacBook Air. For note-taking and creative things, I use a 12-inch iPad Pro with the second-generation Apple Pencil.

During my PhD, I started having a lot of arm problems from typing too much. It got so bad that even taping my wrists didn’t help much. That’s when I discovered split keyboards and ordered the ZSA Moonlander. Combined with the Logitech Ergo mouse, the pain went away (although it comes back when I just use the laptop’s keyboard and trackpad). I usually leave the keyboard and mouse in the office, but take them home most weekends to be able to work on my personal projects.

And what software?

I rely on a few key software applications to keep me organised and productive. For notes and my personal encyclopaedia, I use Obsidian. For email and scheduling, I use Apple’s native Mail and Calendar apps. At work, I use Slack for communication and Python and VS Code for coding and data analysis on supernovae. To get in the zone, I listen to music in the Music app. For handwritten notes and teaching, I use GoodNotes 5 on my iPad. Both my iPad and MacBook have the Affinity Suite Designer, Publisher, and Photo (all version 2). I use Affinity Designer 2 for most of my vector graphics work and Publisher 2 for tasks like creating conference posters. Finally, on my iPad, I like to use Procreate and Callipeg for my creative projects.

What’s your keyboard setup like? Do you use a custom layout or custom keycaps?

I started with the standard keyboard layout, but made a few changes to suit my needs, such as putting spacebars and backspaces on either side of the thumb cluster. I tried to keep it mostly familiar. Honestly, there’s still room for improvement, but I haven’t found the right time to tweak it further and get used to the changes. But all in all, I am happy with the way it is already.

What would be your dream setup?

There’s a lot I’d like to improve in my setup, but I haven’t been actively working on it. For example, I’m interested in trying the Voyager keyboard because of its lower profile—I think it could help my arms even more. I’d also like to have a similar screen at home that I have at work. Also, better cable management and a monitor stand would make everything look a lot tidier.