Sciences and Exploration Directorate

Regina M Caputo (she/her)

(Research AST, Fields and Particles)

Regina M Caputo (she/her)'s Contact Card & Information.
Email: regina.caputo@nasa.gov
Phone: 301.286.0072
Org Code: 661
Address:
NASA/GSFC
 Mail Code 661
 Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer:
NASA

Brief Bio

Originally from the southern Colorado town of Pueblo, I attended the Colorado School of Mines and graduated in 2006 with a B.S. in Engineering Physics and minor in Math/Computer Science.

I received my Ph. D. from Stony Brook University in 2011 in particle physics using data from the ATLAS experiment at CERN.

After graduating, I joined the ATLAS group at the Universität Mainz as a Postdoctoral Researcher working on numerous data analyses, detector operations and upgrades. In 2014, I moved to the University of California Santa Cruz where I joined the Fermi-LAT collaboration. Thus started my work in the exciting world of gamma-ray astrophysics!

I became a research scientist at the University of Maryland working at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in 2017 and in 2018 I was hired as a Civil Servant Scientist at GSFC.

I'm interested in dark matter searches, searches for new physics and all the astrophysics one must understand before discovering something new. 

I am currently the PI of AstroPix: Silicon Pixel detectors in space and a mission concept submitted in the 2021 MIDEX Announcement of Opportunity, AMEGO-X; the Swift Observatory Project scientist and the ComPair balloon project manager. 

Research Interests

Particle Astrophysics

Astrophysics: Dark Energy & Dark Matter

My research interests lie in understanding the particle nature of the universe, including the major component of matter: Dark matter. 

I've searched WIMP dark matter with the direct detection CDMS experiment, the collider-based ATLAS experiment, and most recently the gamma-ray detecting Fermi-LAT. 

Joining the Fermi-LAT Collaboration has also opened up the opportunity to study different areas of particle astrophysics, such as active galactic nuclei, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts. 

Next Generation gamma-ray instruments

Astrophysics: Gamma-ray Astrophysics

Developing new technologies for future gamma-ray instruments

Current Projects

Gamma-ray Missions

Gamma-ray Astrophysics

Fermi Large Area Telescope

Swift

BurstCube

ComPair (Balloon prototype for AMEGO)

AMEGO: All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory

AMEGO-X: All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory eXplorer

 

Positions/Employment

Research Astrophysicist

NASA - GSFC

September 2018 - Present

Visiting Assistant Research Faculty

University of Maryland, College Park - NASA/GSFC

January 2017 - September 2018

Postdoctoral Research Scientist

University of California, Santa Cruz - UCSC

May 2014 - January 2017

Postdoctoral Research Scientist

Universität Mainz - Universität Mainz

October 2011 - May 2014

Education

  • Ph. D. Experimental Particle Physics, 2011
    Stony Brook University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook, NY
  • B.S. Engineering Physics, 2006
    Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO

Professional Service

LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS

  • Principal Investigator, AMEGO-X MIDEX Mission Concept: 2020 – present
  • Swift Observatory Project Scientist: 2019 – present
  • Project Manager, ComPair balloon: 2019 – present
  • Analysis Coordinator, Fermi–LAT Collaboration: 2017 – 2019
  • Publication Board Member, Fermi–LAT Collaboration: 2017 – present
  • Calibration and Analysis Science Coordinator, Fermi–LAT Collaboration: 2015 – 2017
  • Trigger Menu Coordination Group, ATLAS Collaboration: 2013 – 2014


PANELS

  • NASA Astrophysics Guest Investigator Review, (panelist and chair)
  • NSF Review panelist


PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

  • Science Director's Committee, NASA GSFC: 2019 – 2021
  • Aspen Workshop: A Rainbow of Dark Sectors, Conference Organizer: 2021
  • Early Career Scientists' Forum, Conference Organizer, NASA GSFC: 2019, 2020
  • SCIPP Seminar Organizing Committee, UCSC: September 2014 – July 2016
  • Local Organizing Committee Member for the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP), UCSC: January 2015

 

Awards

Nancy Grace Roman Technology Fellow (2018)

Grants

Silicon pixel detectors for gamma-ray astrophysics: AstroPix - Astrophysics Research and Analysis (APRA) - Awarded: 2019-11-01


Dates: 2019-12-01  - 2022-12-01

A Conclusive View on Pair Halo Detection and the Inferred Intergalactic Magnetic Field Constraints - Fermi Guest Investigator Cycle 8 Grant - Awarded: 2015-10-01


Dates:  - 

Amount 52,000

Proving the TBL with Pair-Halo Fermi Data - Fermi Guest Investigator Cycle 10 Grant - Awarded: 2017-09-01


Dates:  - 

Amount 50,000

Detecting gamma-ray Halos around PWNE and Interpretation of the positron excess - Fermi Guest Investigator Cycle 12 Grant - Awarded: 2019-09-01


Dates:  - 

Amount 50,000

Talks, Presentations and Posters

Invited

Library of Congress talk: Cosmic Explosions and Cosmic Accelerators (YouTube)

September 8, 2019

Gamma-ray astronomy is the science of the extremes.The summer of 2017 ushered in the era of multimessenger astrophysics and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has been at the forefront. We can now observe the universe not only with light, but also with gravitational waves and particles. When two stars made of the densest material in the universe smashed together, Fermi observed a burst of gamma rays. At the same time, the gravitational wave from this explosion was observed with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), setting off a campaign by nearly every telescope in the world to observe the resulting event. Within a few months of this discovery, Fermi also observed a distant galaxy accelerating particles to extreme energies resulting in more gamma rays than it had ever produced before. During this time, the IceCube South Pole Neutrino Observatory detected a high energy neutrino telling us about the fundamental components of the accelerated particles. These messengers observed jointly with the gamma-rays from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have revolutionized our understanding of the extreme universe. 


NSF Press Conference on Breakthrough in Multi-messenger Astrophysics (YouTube)

August 12, 2018

An announcement of recent multi-messenger astrophysics findings led by the National Science Foundation’s IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole. Hosted by NSF Director France Córdova, the briefing features leading astrophysicists from across the globe explaining how they tracked a neutrino back to its original source -- a galaxy four billion light years from Earth.

Other

Selected Public Outreach

NASA's Curious Universe: Inside a Black Hole

December 2020 - Present

Introducing NASA’s Curious Universe 

Our universe is a wild and wonderful place. Join NASA astronauts, scientists, and engineers on a new adventure each week — all you need is your curiosity. Visit our space laboratory, meet the slow-moving crawlers that transport rockets to the launch pad, and dive into faraway galaxies where black holes form. First-time space explorers welcome. 

About the Episode 

Don't let the name fool you: a black hole is anything but empty space. Black holes are some of the most extreme, bizarre and fascinating objects in the universe. Regina Caputo and Jeremy Schnittman describe what it might be like to go hunting for one.

A Day in the Life of a NASA Satellite Team

May 2020 - Present

Launched on Nov. 20, 2004, NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has been on the hunt to uncover the mystery of the universe’s most powerful explosions: gamma-ray bursts. These extreme events are some of the farthest objects we’ve ever detected and are associated with some of the most dramatic events in our cosmos, like the collapse of massive stars or the mergers of two neutron stars. In celebration of fifteen years of excellent science, join a Swift team member for a day in the life of the Swift satellite.

5 Things: Black Holes

December 2019 - Present

Black holes are one of the most mysterious objects in the universe. ? Here are five things to know!

NASA Science Live: Galaxy of Horrors

November 2019 - Present

This Halloween, we’re taking you on a journey to the darkest corners of our universe – where invisible forces draw galaxies together, and dark energy rips them apart. We’ll travel to worlds with unimaginable conditions and hear sounds that float eerily through the emptiness of space. Stop, listen, look up and join us for a tour of our Galaxy of Horrors!

Instagram Live

May 2021 - Present

Instagram Live! with @thephysicsgirl, Dianna Cowern

Contact Us

Jocelyn Lynch
Project Support Specialist
301-286-6066
jocelyn.m.lynch@nasa.gov
Ellie Jeffries
Project Support Specialist
301-286-6066
ellen.e.jeffries@nasa.gov

Technical issues with this website may be reported to karen.smale@nasa.gov.
General inquiries about the scientific programs at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center may be directed to the Center Office of Communications at 1.301.286.8955.