Name: Viviana Gammaldi
Current position: Postdoc
Affiliation: Universidad Autonoma Madrid
Field of research: Dark Matter, Indirect detection, gamma rays, TeV WIMP, Astroparticle physics, Machine learning
What is your career trajectory to date?
Since 2019 I am a "Juan de la Cierva" fellow, working at the Department of Theoretical Physics (DFT - UAM) and Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT UAM-CSIC) on dark matter phenomenology, indirect searches, multi-TeV WIMPs, astroparticle physics, gamma ray, astrophysics, machine learning and artificial neural network. I am a member of Fermi-LAT and CTA collaborations. My first postdoc was at the Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy. Before, I collaborated with Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), DF, with the fellow “Becas Santander Iberoamérica Jóvenes Profesores e Investigadores y Alumnos de Doctorado. España 2015". I got my PhD Degree on “Indirect searches for TeV Dark Matter” at the University Complutense of Madrid, Spain. I got my bachelor and master degrees in Physics, Astrophysics and Space Sciences at the University of Study of Naples "Federico II”, Italy.
What are the most exciting open questions in your research area?
What is dark matter?
What do you like and dislike about being a scientist?
I like the possibility to be creative, to contribute with new ideas to solve the cosmological puzzle.
Which of your skills are you most proud of, or find most useful?
I have original ideas and good organisation skills, I am proud to notice that my collaborators are frequently inspired by those. I am an honest person.
In your career so far, at what point were you the most excited, and what were you excited about?
Right now, working with students and developing my own research.
What new skills would you like to learn in the next year?
More about machine learning.
What advances or new results are you excited about or looking forward to?
Discovery of the black hole Sgr A* at the Galactic Center and experimental data at TeV energy scale.
What is the biggest obstacle that is slowing down your research field right now?
Experimental data at TeV energy scale.
What role do you think a community network like EuCAPT can play in developing theoretical astroparticle physics and cosmology in Europe?
Support young researcher, by improving collaborations and networking.
What’s your favorite food?
Pizza napoletana, jamón iberico.
Have you lived in a different European country than you do now? If so, would you like to tell us something about it, e.g. a fond memory or something you found surprising?
"Volentieri".
How do you like to relax after a hard day of work?
Outdoor activities, dancing.
Do you have any non-physics interests that you would like to share?
Outdoor sporting activities, dancing, writing, painting...
If you were not a scientist, what do you think you would be doing?
Astronaut!
What do you hope to see accomplished scientifically in the next 50 years?
The dark matter discovery: who was right?