Pepi Fabbiano is a Senior Astrophysicists in the High Energy
Astrophysics Division of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and an
Associate of Harvard University.
General Fields of
Investigation:
Normal galaxies
and their different X-ray emission components; XRB populations; the hot ISM and
mass measurements of early-type galaxies; the connection between galaxy
environment and nuclear activity. Optical, IR, UV, and radio observations are
obtained to supplement the X-ray data.
Galaxies are key
objects for the study of cosmology, the life cycle of matter, and stellar
evolution. X-ray observations have given us a new key band for understanding
these building blocks of the Universe, with implications ranging from the study
of extreme physical situations, such as can be found in the proximity of Black
Holes, or near the surface of neutron stars; to the interaction of galaxies and
their environment; to the measure of parameters of fundamental cosmological
importance.
Fabbiano has written two review
for the Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics on this subject.
Data Management:
Fabbiano is the Head of the
Data System (DS) Division of the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC). CXC-DS is
responsible for the receipt, processing, archival and distribution of the Chandra X-ray Observatory data; it supports
Chandra science operations, and develops and distributes science user software
(proposal preparation and CIAO).
The Virtual
Observatory and Digital Data Interoperability:
Fabbiano leads VO
activities at CfA;
was the Chair of the VAO Science Council, and
a member of the IVOA Exec. She has served in
the Smithsonian Institution (SI) committees that have generated the SI Digital
Data Directive, and represented SI in the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Interagency Working Group
on Digital Data (IWGDD); she was co-author of the SI Digitization Strategic
Plan and of the IWGDD report Harnessing the power of
Digital Data for Science and Society