Agata is a postdoctoral fellow at the Astroparticle and Cosmology Laboratory of CNRS in Paris. Her role in AHEAD2020 is related to the curation and release of Gravitational Wave (GW) data. Her research interests include Machine Learning applications to GW data analysis, multi-messenger astrophysics and neutrino astronomy.

How do you describe your journey in astronomy so far
I got a PhD in Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics in 2014 at the University of Catania. During the PhD I developed a method to reconstruct the tracks of #muons that cross a #neutrino telescope, in particular KM3NeT. In the following years I evaluated the sensitivity of KM3NeT to galactic neutrino point sources. In 2017, I moved to Paris and I started to study gravitational waves, taking care of gravitational wave data releases and developing new methods of data analysis.

Why did you choose to study #astrophysics
I have always been fascinated by the study of the #Universe but also by particle physics so the perfect combination is #astroparticle physics: methods and instruments of particle #physics to study astrophysics.

Do you have a favorite scientific theory
The first detection of a binary neutron star (#BNS) via gravitational waves (#GW) in 2017. In the moment it was announced I just started to be part of the gravitational wave community and I was astonished by the effort of thousands of astrophysicists of all the world to follow the first BNS. It was really the opening of a new era for multi-messenger #astronomy.

Why is #AHEAD2020 important to you
It’s an important tool of exchange and collaboration between scientists

What is the best word describing astronomy
#Exploration!