ICREA Professor of Astrophysics, based at the Institute of Space Sciences, Barcelona, Spain
Brief scientific bio
I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I studied there up to obtaining my doctoral degree in physics from the National University at La Plata, working on cosmology and astrophysics of extended gravitational theories. After several fellowships (Astronomy Centre of Sussex University in UK, Institute for Radioastronomy in Argentina, Princeton University and the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in the USA) and some stays in Italy (International Center for Theoretical Physics at Trieste, Salerno University at Baronissi), I moved to Barcelona right at the end of 2005 to work at the Institute of Space Sciences and start a research group on high-energy astrophysics.
My research focuses on compact objects, relativistic environments, and cosmic rays. My earlier research includes gravitation and cosmology; particularly, scalar-tensor theories and non-minimal couplings, primordial nucleosynthesis, scalar dark matter, boson stars, gravitational lensing, non-extensive statistics, and wormholes. I published several papers on all these topics and supervised the work of a number of research associates.
Selected responsibilities
I was Director of the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC) for two mandates in the period 2016-2023. Before, I have been Head of the Department of Astrophysics for 2 years, and participated in numerous committees and held other posts of responsibility.
See the Institute of Space Sciences' Directorship summary (2016-2023)
Part of my work along my career was done as a member of large collaborations building and operating high-energy astrophysics instruments both in space and in the ground. I have held several responsibility posts for these, including being the Physics Coordinator for the Cherenkov Telescope Array for 8 years, and the Galactic Observations Convener for MAGIC for its first 4 years of operation.
See a summary of my work as Physics Coordinator of CTA (2007-2014)
Browse MAGIC Galactic papers (2006-2010)
I have been the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier's Journal of High-Energy Astrophysics (2013-2023) having oversight responsibilies over all aspects of launching the journal, edition, publication and assembling of the Editorial Board.
The journal rise up to an impact fact of 3.8 (Clarivate) and Citescore metric of 5.7 (Scopus) in 2023, when I was succeeded by Prof. Bing Zhang (from UNLV) as Editor-in-Chief.
Scientific Awards
Individually, I have received the Chinese Academy of Sciences Presidential Initiative Fellowship, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Senior Visiting Professorship, the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Award of the Humboldt Foundation of Germany, the Shakti Duggal Award on Cosmic Ray Physics of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, the Guggenheim Fellowship, the NASA Group Achievement Award, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Award for Excellence in Research, the Ernesto Galloni Medal in Physics of the Academy of Sciences of Argentina, and the Young Investigator Awards of Argentina (Programa IM-40, for scientists under 40 years). I also received Honorable Mentions in the Gravity Research Foundation essay competition on several occasions as well as the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Award for the Best Contribution by a Fellow. My PhD was awarded with the Giambiagi Prize (Argentinian Physical Society) as the best theoretical physics thesis of Argentina in the biennial including the year of its defense, and with the Dottori Prize (Joint Award of the Argentinian and Brazilian Astronomical Societies) as the best astronomy Ph.D. in Argentina or Brazil in the triennial including the year of its defense.
As part of a collective, I have shared the Rossi Prize of the American Astronomical Society, awarded to the Fermi-LAT collaboration.