I am a Chilean astronomer and data scientist who is interested in applying novel technologies to solve challenging problems in astronomy. I was born in Los Andes, Chile, I did my undergrad and grad studies at the Astronomy Department of the University of Chile. Then I moved to sunny California for my first postdoc at UC Berkeley. After that, I started my NASA career at Ames Research Center as a research scientist and now I work at Goddard Space Flight Center under a UMBC contract.
In my journey, I have worked on multiple topics and collaborated with scientists from different backgrounds. I have studied intermediate-mass black holes, supernovae, variable stars, exoplanets, and asteroids. I have focused my research on understanding and using machine learning to address multiple challenges in astronomy such as the classification of variable stars, the search for stochastic variability in IMBH, generative modeling of periodic variables, estimation of physical parameters of supernovae, protoplanetary disk imaging, detection of transiting planets in Kepler and TESS, and detection of asteroid in large field-of-view surveys such as TESS.
In my personal life, I enjoy outdoor adventures, I am an avid mountain biker, rock climbing, camping, hiking, ultimate frisbee, and a fan of many other sports. I am an experienced photographer with a major focus on landscape and astrophotography but also I love sports and cityscapes. Last but not least, I am a beer and pizza lover.