Since March 2017, I am an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), where I work as part of the Chandra X-ray Center Mission Planning Team.
I am a proud alumnus of Atlantic College (UWCAC), the University of Edinburgh and Universidad Simón Bolívar, and I completed my doctoral thesis at the CfA as a Smithsonian Predoctoral Fellow, with support of my thesis advisor Pat Slane .
After working at the MIT-Kavli Institute for Space Research as a Chandra/HETG Postdoctoral Associate, I moved to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center where I spent time as a Visiting Scientist and NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, and joined the Fermi-LAT team.
In addition to working closely with the Fermi-LAT team at NASA-Goddard on mission monitoring, data analysis and science, I have taken an active role in helping develop the next generation of space-based gamma-ray observatories (such as the All-Sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory, AMEGO), as well as serving as working group member in the collaborations behind the design of the future Athena and Lynx X-ray instrument projects.
... a quick and easy view of what I have been up to
March 2017 - Present
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Nov 2016 - March 2017
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Nov 2015 - Nov 2016
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Oct 2011 - Oct 2015
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2011
Doctorate in Physics with Honors
Thesis: Cosmic Ray Acceleration in Supernova Remnants
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Patrick Slane, CfA
2002
Master of Physics, Honours in Astrophysics
1996
International Baccalaureate degree. Galileo Scholarship Award from the Fundación Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho
My research interests are in the field of high energy astrophysics, and in particular the study of supernova remnants (SNRs), pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) and pulsars. The bulk of my work is focused on X-ray and gamma ray observations of SNRs and PWNe, as well as analytical and computational approaches to the understanding of particle acceleration in these systems.
(click on each image for more info)
24.
Ackermann, M. et al., (The Fermi LAT Collaboration) 2017, ApJ, Submitted for Publication (arXiv:1702.00476)
23.
Abdollahi, S. et al., (The Fermi LAT Collaboration) 2017, Physical Review D, 95, 082007
22.
Yamaguchi, H., Katsuda, S., Castro, D., Williams, B. J., Lopez, L. A., Slane, P. O., Smith, R. K., Petre , R. 2016, ApJL, 820, L3
21.
Joubert, T., Castro, D., Slane, P. O., Gelfand, J. 2015, ApJ, 816, 63
20.
Figueroa-Feliciano, E., Anderson, A.J., Castro, D., Goldfinger, D.C., Rutherford, J., Eckart, M.E., Kelley, R.L., Kilbourne, C.A., McCammon, D., Morgan, K., Porter, F.S. & Szymkowiak, A.E. 2015, ApJ, 814, 82
19.
Auchettl, K., Slane, P. O., & Castro, D., Foster, A. R., Smith, R. K. 2015, ApJ, 810, 43
18.
Slane, P. O., Bykov, A., Ellison, D. C., Dubner, G., Castro, D., 2015, Space Science Reviews, 188, 187
17.
Lopez, L. A., Krumholz, M., Bolatto, A., Prochaska, J., Ramirez-Ruiz, E., & Castro, D. 2014, ApJ, 795, 121
16.
Lopez, L. A., Castro, D., Slane, P. O., Ramirez-Ruiz, E. 2014, ApJ, 788, 5
15.
Yamaguchi, H., Badenes, C., Petre, R., Nakano, T., Castro, D., Enoto, T., Hiraga, J. S., Hughes, J. P., Maeda, Y., Nobukawa, M., Safi-Harb, S., Slane, P. O., Smith, R. K., & Uchida, H., 2014, ApJL, 785, L27
14.
Slane, P. O., Lee, S-H., Ellison, D. C., Patnaude, D. J., Hughes, J. P., Eriksen, K. A., Castro, D., Nagataki, S. 2014, ApJ, 783, 33
13.
Auchettl, K., Slane, P. O., & Castro, D. 2014, ApJ, 783, 32
12.
Castro, D., Lopez, L. A., Ramirez-Ruiz, E., Yamaguchi, H., Slane, P. O., Figueroa-Feliciano E. 2013, ApJ, 779, 49
11.
Gelfand, J. D., Castro, D., Slane, P. O., Temim, T., Hughes, J. P. 2013, ApJ, 777, 148
10.
Lopez, L. A., Pearson, S., Ramirez-Ruiz, E., Castro, D., Yamaguchi, H., Slane, P. O., Smith, R., 2013, ApJ, 777, 145
9.
Castro, D., Slane, P. O., Carlton, A., & Figueroa-Feliciano, E. 2013, ApJ, 774, 36
8.
Temim, T., Slane, P. O., Plucinsky, P., Gelfand, J. D., Castro, D. 2013, ApJ, 768, 61
7.
Lopez, L. A., Ramirez-Ruiz, E., Castro, D., Pearson, S. 2013, ApJ, 764, 50
6.
Castro, D., Slane, P. O., Ellison, D. C., & Patnaude, D. J. 2012b, ApJ, 756, 88
5.
Slane, P. O., Hughes, J. P., Temim, T., Rousseau, R., Castro, D., Foight, D., Gaensler, B. M., Funk, S., Lemoine-Goumard, M., Gelfand, J. D., Moffett, D. A., Dodson, R. G., Bernstein, J. P., 2012, ApJ, 749, 131
4.
Castro, D., Slane, P. O., Gaensler, B., Hughes, J. P., & Patnaude, D. J. 2011a, ApJ, 734, 86
3.
Castro, D., Slane, P. O., Patnaude, D. J., & Ellison, D. C. 2011b, ApJ, 734, 85
2.
Slane, P. O., Castro, D., Funk, S., Uchiyama, Y., Lemiere, A., Gelfand, J. D., & Lemoine-Goumard, M. 2010, ApJ, 720, 266
1.
Castro, D., & Slane, P. O. 2010, ApJ, 717, 372
The problem solving ability and overall efficiency of groups of people are enhanced when they benefit from diversity of perspectives and skills. As a matter of fact, we are often most creative, productive, and effective when we work in groups formed by people with diverse backgrounds. Hence, increasing inclusion and diversity in astronomy is not only a matter of equity and social justice (which are extremely important in their own right), it is crucial for astrophysical research to reach its full potential.
In 2013-14 I had the opportunity to help five 6th-grade kids from the Joseph Hurley K-8 School in Boston with astronomy projects ("Hunting for Asteroids" and "How long ago did that star explode?"), which were later presented in the Citywide Science Fair 2014. Hurley's student population is predominantly hispanic.
I am interested on developing a science enrichment program for middle school students (grades 5-8), led by hispanic members of the astronomy community, and putting it into action in several Boston schools (including the the Joseph Hurley School) and youth groups, specifically targeting the hispanic community.
During the summer of 2012, I gave a talk at NOVA’s Cosmic Cafe series about my research on supernova explosions and their remnants to a predominantly non-science audience. The content of the talk was designed to stimulate curiosity and engage the audience in astronomical research. The presentation and a follow-up interview were used to construct the "Science Cafes 101" series on how to organize such events. As a representative of the National Society of Hispanic Physicists, the interview was focused on under-represented minorities (URMs) in STEM and defying stereotypes. See the youtube videos to the left!
I was part of the Campamento Galileo program in 2004 and 2005 of the Fundación Venezolana para el Avance de la Ciencia (FUNDAVAC, a Venezuelan organization akin to the National Science Foundation), where I acted as educator and coordinator. FUNDAVAC’s Campamento Galileo main objective is to train public school teachers on scientific activities and hence promote middle-school and high-school students pursuing careers in the natural sciences, as well as to ultimately improve education standards in STEM at Venezuelan public schools. I organized and led the astronomy and physics activities in these week long programs.
A very important aspect of my background is my connection with the United World College (UWC) movement, since I graduated from the United World College of the Atlantic (aka Atlantic College, AC) in Wales. The UWCs are a set of IB-granting schools spread around the globe focused on community service, multicultural and multisocietal experiences, as well as academics. My time at AC was fantastic, and the cultural, ethnical and social diversity of the school had a great impact on how I understand the world, and our role within our communities.
After finishing at University of Edinburgh, I returned to Venezuela where I became part of the AVEMUNDO (aka UWC Venezuela) , from 2004 to 2009, acting as President in 2005-2006.
In 2016 I co-founded UWC-Venezuela-DC in Washington, DC. This non-profit organization aims at raising funds on behalf of AVEMUNDO to make scholarships available to Venezuelan students to attend UWCs. Keep tuned for links on how to contribute!
60 Garden Street, MS6
Cambridge, MA 02138
daniel.castro at cfa.harvard.edu
(617) 495-8273