Fabio P. Santos

About me

I am a publishing editor for Springer-Nature, working with a list of Astronomy Journals. Until 2020, I was a professional observational astronomer - I worked as a post-doc at the Max-Planck Institut für Astronomie (MPIA) in Heidelberg (Germany) and at Northwestern University (USA). In my career as an observational astronomer I have been motivated by the investigation of three main subjects: (1) magnetic fields in the interstellar medium (ISM) and its role in star formation; (2) young stellar populations, its general characteristics (ages, spatial distribution, evolution), and its impact in the surrounding progenitor molecular cloud and its associated magnetic field morphology; and (3) the interaction between dust particles in the ISM with magnetic fields. The ISM is one of the most intricate examples in nature of the dynamic interaction between gas, dust, radiation, and magnetic fields. It is astounding how such a complex environment can organise itself to generate stars and planets.

In addition to scientific research, I also have experience with astronomical instrumentation commissioning, calibration, software development (data reduction pipeline and instrument control) and extraction of initial science results. For instance, one of my main assignments as a post-doctoral fellow at Northwestern University (from 2013 to 2018) was software development for HAWC+ (High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera-Plus), a state-of-the-art astronomical camera and polarimeter developed at JPL-NASA to explore the universe in far-infrared light, operating at SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy). I have participated in the instrument’s commissioning, developed part of the software that is currently being used in-flight to control the instrument and conduct the observations, developed part of the HAWC+ data analysis pipeline, and participated in approximately 20 HAWC+/SOFIA flights as instrument operator. I am also the PI of 3 HAWC+ proposals/grants, and actively helped as a co-investigator in numerous other successful proposals. At MPIA, I was part of the team that is commissioning the LINC-NIRVANA instrument at the LBT (Large Binocular Telescope, Arizona, USA).

Contact: https://www.springer.com/gp/authors-editors/fabio-p--santos/18706106