Raffaella Margutti

Raffaella Margutti is an Associate Professor of Astronomy and Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, affiliated with both the Astronomy and Physics Departments. Her research bridges transient astrophysical phenomena and gravitational wave science, focusing on the most violent cosmic events.

• Undergraduate degree in Astrophysics (magna cum laude, 2006)
• PhD in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Milano Bicocca (2010)

Margutti leads the charge in Multi-Messenger Astrophysics, combining panchromatic electromagnetic observations (gamma-rays to radio) with gravitational wave data to study cosmic transients. Her work targets neutron star mergers, black hole collisions, stellar explosions, and tidal disruptions by supermassive black holes, aiming to decode the physical processes behind these dramatic phenomena.

The trends in her research are reflected in her focus on extreme astrophysical events. Her team utilizes multi-wavelength observations to extract insights from gravitational wave sources, particularly neutron star mergers like GW170817.

• Sloan Fellow in Physics (2019)
• CIFAR Global Scholar in Gravity and the Extreme Universe (2019)
• New Horizons in Physics Prize (2022) for leadership in electromagnetic observations of gravitational wave sources

Margutti's research team at UC Berkeley develops innovative observational strategies to study transient astrophysical sources, integrating data across the electromagnetic spectrum with gravitational wave detections. She actively contributes to advancing our understanding of cosmic explosions and compact object mergers.