Sandra Savaglio

Savaglio was born in Cosenza, Calabria, and grew up in Marano Marchesato, a small town nearby, Italy. The daughter of a postal worker and a midwife, she is the youngest of four children. Her passion for the stars started when she was 17 years old after she read Exploring the Earth and the Cosmos by Isaac Asimov.[1] "My father is one of my greatest fans.[5] My parents, with me, my sister and my brothers, have never set limits to our aspirations."[1][6] She enjoyed physics in high school and university.[5][7]

She attended University of Calabria and received her B.S. in Physics in 1991. In fact Savaglio is now a professor University of Calabria in the same department she received her Ph.D.

Savaglio research has centered around the young universe: distant galaxies and cosmic chemical evolution, GRB (gamma-ray bursts) and super luminous supernovae. In university Savaglio worked with Riccardo Giacconi, between 1996 and 1998, who would win the Physics Nobel Prize in 2002.[8] From there, after a brief post-doc in France, Savaglio moved on to Johns Hopkins University from September 2001 to February 2006, where she taught courses and worked with Prof. Karl Glazebrook. She taught courses at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.[9] She also worked with Space Telescope Science Institute while in Baltimore.[1]

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In 2006 Savaglio moved to Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics where she was a fellow and senior research scientist. She created the SQL database for Gamma-Ray Burst Host Studies (GHostS), the largest public database dedicated to galaxies hosting gamma-ray burst events. Savaglio was active in the "Gemini Deep Deep Survey" which returned results on the metallicity of early galaxies and the evolution of spherical galaxies and why many appear old.[4]

Savaglio has been active in her community since she has returned to Southern Italy. Savaglio has promoted both science and women in science.[10] She has discussed both topics in several interviews and also visited local high schools.[11] Being asked interviews why she came back to Italy, she responded that yes Italy does not support the sciences at the level many other countries do, however she stresses the culture, social interactions, and food of Southern Italy.[11] One of the reasons for her return to Italy from Germany was the price of pumpkin flowers, which on returning she can get from uncle's garden. She is also happy to finally eat true tomatoes; in Germany the tomatoes would make my father turn in his grave. She likes to make a few of the recipes of my grandmother, that give me a sense of the my origin: for example the 'mustazzuoli'. A disadvantage was leaving her partner, Uta Grothkopf, in Germany and the need for Uta or Sandra to commute to see each. Also because Italy does not recognize Civil Unions (Eingetragene Partnerschaft) if Savaglio dies in Italy Uta would not have a right to her pension."[4][12]

Carbone Vincenzo and Savaglio wrote a paper in 2001 on sports records. The study shows "that the mean speed as a function of race time can be described by two scaling laws that have a breakpoint at about 150–170 seconds (corresponding to the ~1,000 m race). We interpret this as being the transition time between anaerobic and aerobic energy expenditure by athletes." Savaglio been active in soccer and competitive swimming.

Savaglio has also written two books: Tutto l’universo per chi ha poco spazio-tempo[13] (publisher: Mondadori), and with Mario Caligiuri Senza attendere (publisher: by Rubbettino). Both are only in Italian.

• International Award “Vittorio De Sica” (Rome, November 2016)
• International Award Frescobaldi (Milan, October 2015)
• International Award Pericle d’Oro (Reggio di Calabria, July 2015)
• International Award Casato Prime Donne along with the first Italian female Astronaut, Samantha Cristoforetti. (Montalcino, 14 September 2014)
• Leonardo Award, IV Edition, Associazione Croce del Sud, Salerno, September 2011
• Pythagoras Award, Italy (February 2008)
• Primio Simpatia 2016 (Reggio Calabria, September 2016)
• FI.DA.PA. Award Woman of the South, Italy (June 2005)

• XXIII International Symposium: “Nuclei in the Cosmos”, SOC: Zs. Fülöp et al., Debrecen (Hungary), July 2014[14]
• GDRE – European Research Group workshop,“Cosmic SFR, stellar mass, metallicity as traced by GRBs, from the local universe to z = 8”, chair: S. Savaglio, Garching (Germany), January 2010 / Rome (Italy) January 2011
• IAU General Assembly 2009 Joint Discussion: “The First Galaxies: Theoretical Predictions and Observational Clues”, SOC: V. Bromm et al., Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), August 2009[15]

• Discriminazione di genere nelle discipline di STEM, University Della Calabria, 12 December 2018
• One day meeting: “Outsider within – Gender and Science“, for the 20th anniversary of the Centre of Women's Studies “Milly Villa, at University of Calabria, chair: Giovanna Vingelli, 12 December 2017. Among the many guests, Piera Levi-Montalcini, of the Livia-Montalcini Foundation.
• Women & Science, with Maria Cristina Pedicchio, presented by Eliana Liotta, Trieste Next, Trieste, September 2017
• One-day meeting: “Female astrophysicists from Calabria“, attended by 500 high-school students, aimed at promoting the image of female scientists and providing role models for young girls who have interests in STEM career, SOC: A. Greco, S. Perri, S. Savaglio, G. Zimbardo, University of Calabria (Arcavacata, Italy), 29 October 2015

• “Da Matera all’Universo e ritorno, un viaggio da vertigine tra galassie e frattali“, Materadio 2018, Globale-Locale, with Sandra Lucente, Matera (Italy), September 2018
• Supernovae: Creation and destruction, the two sides of Comic Explosions, Tropea Festival Reading & Writing, Vibo Valentia (Italy), October 2017
• Supernovae: Creation and destruction, the two sides of Comic Explosions, National Geographic Science Festival, Rome, May 2017
• “Le stelle fisse e la fissa delle stelle: due astrofisiche a confronto”, Time of books, Milan, April 2017
• Cosmic explosions: supernovae & gamma-ray bursts, Messina (Italy), February 2017
• “Research: Predictions for the Future“, Festival of Generations: “Beyond Frontiers: Generations and Cultures“, Florence, October 2016
• Comets, asteroids and meteors, the fascinating world of what gives life and destruction, for the series “Fridays of the Universe“, Ferrara (Italy), March 2016
• XOff Lecce (Italy), October 2014, closing talk of the 4-days event, title: “The Future”
• Cosmic Explosions, keynote speaker at the Wired Next Fest, Milan (Italy), May 2014

• GRAWITA – GRAvitational Wave Inaf TeAm (2018 – present)
• THOR – Turbulence Heating ObserverR (ESA M4 mission, 2015 – present)
• THESEUS – Transient High Energy Sources and Early Universe Surveyor (ESA M5 mission, 2014 – present)
• EELT-HIRES – High Resolution Spectrograph at the European Extremely Large Telescope (2012 – present)
• GHostS – GRB Host Studies (2005 – present, PI: S. Savaglio)

• National Scientific Abilitation – Committee member (November 2016 – August 2018)
• Galileo Award President of the Jury for the selection of the finalists – 12th edition (Padua, February 2018)
• Hubble Space Telescope Time Allocation Committee – Cycle 8, Cycle 17, Cycle 19, Cycle 22, Cycle 23, Cycle 25
• Gemini Telescope, Canadian Time Allocation, external referee (May 2003)
• Chair of Cosmology Panel and Observing Programmes Committee member at the European Southern Observatory – P89/P90 (November 2011 – May 2012)
• European Southern Observatory, Observing Programmes Committee – Periods P85/P87(November 2009 / November 2010), Panel: Cosmology