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      dr. rachael ainsworth

      community manager, open research advocate, her+data mcr organiser, TEDx speaker.

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CV

Profile

Community Manager and 2019 Fellow of the Software Sustainability Institute. Astrophysics PhD with 8+ years of experience solving complex data challenges in Astronomy. First to successfully model properties of young stars at metre wavelengths using terabytes of data from next-generation radio telescopes. Skilled in data collection, cleaning, analysis, visualisation, statistics and communicating insights to both technical and non-technical audiences. Passionate about promoting openness and inclusion in science and technology. TEDx Macclesfield 2019 speaker on research culture and Open Science. Organiser of the women in data meetup group HER+Data MCR, member of the first cohort of Tech Future Female Leaders, and frequent participant at other local data science and tech events. FOSTER Open Science Trainer and Mozilla Open Leader. Website: rainsworth.github.io

Experience

University of Manchester

Research Software Community Manager, Software Sustainability Institute (SSI)
Manchester, UK
(September 2019 - present)

Research Associate, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics (JBCA)
(June 2017 - August 2019)

  • Leading a project to reduce and analyse eMERLIN data on the Cloud through integration of the CASA pipeline with Project Jupyter.
  • Member of the H2020 RadioNET RINGS project working to develop an algorithm for calibrating dispersive delay corrections in long baseline interferometry, for low frequency radio telescopes such as LOFAR.
  • Interferometry Centre for Excellence (ICE) Open Science Champion to advocate, train colleagues, give presentations and organise events relating to Open Science in Astronomy.
  • Disseminating research insights through invited seminars, talks at international conferences, interviews and public outreach.

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS)

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dublin, Ireland
(October 2014 - October 2016)

  • Impact: Our team was the first to successfully detect and model the properties of a young star with the International Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) Telescope using the facilities at the Irish Centre for High End Computing (ICHEC).
  • I pioneered the collection, cleaning, analysis/statistical modelling and visualisation of radio data for young stars at previously unexplored wavelengths.
  • Part of a worldwide collaboration to develop novel processing and analytical techniques for terabytes of data from LOFAR.
  • Member of the Communications Working Group to re-define the public communication strategy of DIAS through restructure of the website and social media developments.

Ph.D. Student; Supervisors: Prof. Tom Ray (DIAS), Prof. Anna Scaife (JBCA)
(November 2010 - September 2014)

  • Led three projects performing systematic modelling of multi-wavelength, multi-scale datasets of protostellar jets from AMI, eMERLIN & GMRT to disentangle competing radiation processes and investigate the jet launching mechanism.
  • Involved in the commissioning of eMERLIN, which included the reduction and analysis of legacy data (Thermal Jets, PEBBLeS) intermediate to the original MERLIN and the fully upgraded eMERLIN.
  • Published the first investigations of YSOs at metre wavelengths and pioneered to characterise this very long wavelength emission through follow-up observing campaigns on the GMRT and LOFAR.

University of Tennessee (UT)

Summer Research Fellow; Supervisor: Prof. Michael Guidry (UT)
Knoxville, TN, USA
(May 2009 - August 2009)

  • Studied the explosion mechanism of Type Ia Supernovae through computational simulations using the FLASH code on the supercomputing facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Undergraduate Student Researcher; Supervisor: Prof. Michael Guidry (UT)
(June 2008 - August 2008)

  • Studied the interactions between colliding galaxies using computational simulations developed by the UT Astrophysics Group.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology (JPL/Caltech)

Undergraduate Student Research Program Intern; Supervisor: Dr. Raghvendra Sahai (JPL/Caltech)
Pasadena, CA, USA
(September 2008 - December 2008)

  • Developed and applied a procedure for the reduction and calibration of near-infrared echelle spectroscopic data for
    • a sample of pre-planetary nebulae to look for the signatures of high-velocity outflows that shape the resulting planetary nebula, and
    • stellar interlopers: young stars with winds speeding through and interacting with dense interstellar clouds.

Education

University of Dublin, Trinity College

Ph.D. in Astrophysics
Dublin, Ireland
2017

  • Thesis: Morphology and Time Evolution of Thermal Jets Associated with Low Mass Young Stars
  • Submitted: August 2014 - Viva voce: September 2016 - Awarded: April 2017

University of Tennessee

B.Sc. in Physics, Minor in Studio Art (Photography)
Knoxville, TN, USA
2010

  • Overall GPA: 3.61/4.0, Honours: cum laude
  • Activities, Awards and Societies: 2010 UT Chancellor’s Honours Award for Extraordinary Professional Promise, Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honours Fraternity, The Society of Physics Students, Central Program Council, Film Committee, The Campus Literary and Art Magazine: The Phoenix