sandra savaglio
 
Research HIGHLIGHTS My research centers around observational cosmology, with particular interest in distant galaxies, the metal enrichment history of the universe, and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). My current research aims to tie down the chemical enrichment history to z = 6 and beyond, using normal galaxies and galaxies hosting GRBs. On these matters, I wrote a review paper for the New Journal of Physics on GRBs as cosmological probes. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006NJPh....8..195Sshapeimage_2_link_0
Explore the Universe
GRB Host Studies
I lead a program called GRB Host Studies (GHostS) studying the properties of the largest sample of GRB host galaxies. Our main results has been published in the Astrophysical Journal. GHostS is also the most complete public database of GRB hosts. I am planning to extend it and include all GRBs ever discovered (a factor of 10 larger than the present sample). GHostS uses the Virtual Observatory resources.
The Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics At the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, I participate in the projects GROND, targeting GRBs at 7 < z < 13 (and that recently investigated the third most distant object ever at z = 6.7), and GRIPS, as part of the ESA Cosmic Vision Mission program, exploring z > 13 GRBs in γ-ray energies. More recently, I joined the working group that designs the NIR instrument for the satellite Xenia. Gemini Deep Deep Survey Together with my collaborators of the GDDS team, I discovered the redshift evolution of the mass-metallicity relation in galaxies, according to which the metal enrichment scales with the stellar mass of galaxies. These findings support an early formation of massive galaxies, not easily accounted for by most theoretical models. Our team has found many interesting results, some of which regard the assembly of massive galaxies in the universe, and were published in Nature. The Hubble Deep Field South In the past, I have investigated QSO absorption lines as probes of the intergalactic medium and high redshift galaxies. I led the analysis effort of the Hubble Space Telescope STIS spectra towards the QSO as part of the Hubble Deep Field South campaign.http://www.mpe.mpg.de/~jcg/GRONDhttp://www.grips-mission.eu/?article=2http://sms.msfc.nasa.gov/xeniahttp://www.gemini.edu/node/18http://www.gemini.edu/node/18http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005ApJ...635..260Shttp://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v430/n6996/full/nature02667.htmlhttp://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006NJPh....8..195Shttp://www.stsci.edu/ftp/science/hdfsouth/hdfs.htmlshapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1shapeimage_4_link_2shapeimage_4_link_3shapeimage_4_link_4shapeimage_4_link_5shapeimage_4_link_6shapeimage_4_link_7shapeimage_4_link_8
Other Scientific Interests
Studying the average speed as a function of the race time in running and swimming world records, I found that the point distributions can be reproduced by two well-defined scaling laws. This discovery was published in Nature. In short races, the average speed declines sharply with increasing performance time (or distance), while for long races the decline is more gentle. The time where the change of slope occurs marks the transition between the anaerobic and aerobic energy expenditure by athletes. This time seems to be universal as it is remarkably similar for men and women, and for swimmers and runners, and is about two and a half minutes.