Luisa Capannolo

Background

About Luisa Capannolo

I am an Astronomy PhD working as a Research Scientist at Boston University. About my research- Focused on Space Physics - Funded by NASA (Early Career Investigator Program,$660k; SBIR Phase I in collaboration with Ensemble Space Labs, 40k) and NSF (Geospace Environment Modeling,$600k +$275k)- What do I do? I analyze low-Earth-orbit satellites to monitor and identify the causes of hazardous electron precipitation from the near-Earth space environment into our atmosphere - Why? Precipitation enhances the ionization of the upper atmosphere, indirectly reduces ozone, disrupts communication signals, and potentially enhances hazardous radiation for astronauts and flight crew members - 10 first-author papers in high-impact peer-reviewed journals (Geophysical Research Letters, Journal of Geophysical Research, AGU Advances, Frontiers, and Astrophysical Journal) About my skills- Technical: data analysis (interpretation, visualization, statistics; Matplotlib, Pandas, scikit learn, Numpy, etc.), problem-solving, critical thinking, programming (Python, MATLAB, IDL, Excel), version control (GitHub)- Machine/Deep Learning: classification (identify data patterns), regression (predictive modeling) with Keras and TensorFlow - Leadership & Project Management: PI of 3 federal grants (NASA & NSF), leader of 4+ science projects - Time Management: PhD project completed in <3 years, write papers in <1 week, respect deadlines, proactive approach to risk mitigation by planning for backup solutions - Communication: 9 first-author papers, 6 invited talks at conferences/seminars, able to communicate to experts and non-experts - Adaptability: self-taught Python, Keras & TensorFlow, and Machine/Deep Learning in ~2 months, eager to learn new technologies to improve my work Bonus- My first ML project was a multi-class LSTM classifier of electron precipitation (read more here: https://blogs.bu.edu/luisacap/2024/02/11/applying-lstm-to-a-multi-class-classification-problem/)- I enjoy being a supportive figure and reference point to students to lead them to success, similarly for colleagues in work teams. I deeply care for the well-being of people around me and I strive to create welcoming and compassionate environments- Currently learning: SQL, BI tools, DL clustering