Valerie Connaughton

• Direct portfolio for NASA high-energy astrophysics technology development with $17M annual budget with investigations chosen through competitive solicitations.
• Served as NASA Program Scientist for Japan's X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) which was launched in 2023.
• Serve as Program Scientist for UltraViolet Explorer (UVEX) mission selected for launch in 2030.
• Contribute as NASA Program Scientist for Israel's Ultraviolet Satellite (ULTRASAT) mission, facilitating NASA's scientific collaboration.
• Lead Time-Domain and Multi-Messenger Astrophysics initiative in response to Astro-2020 Decadal Survey recommendations.
• Act as Program Scientist for Physics of the Cosmos program managing strategic technology investments for upcoming missions.
• Coordinate budget negotiations for Field Center NASA Astrophysics Communications teams overseeing public dissemination of science.
• Participate in Tiger Team focused on improving interagency agreements (IAAs) for funding strategically important ventures at federal laboratories.
• Led sub-team within Tiger Team, developing solutions to streamline IAA actions while ensuring compliance with Government Accountability Office (GAO) directives.

When I took over as associate director of STI within USRA, many of my duties became supervisory and managerial.

• Supervised approximately 15 astrophysics staff at Science and Technology Institute, managing X-ray, gamma-ray, and cosmic-ray groups.
• Collaborated with NASA scientific and managerial teams to define statements of work for cooperative agreements and contracts.
• Assisted in budget production for existing and new tasks supporting NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) operations.
• Participated in hiring processes at USRA to identify candidates for future NASA-MSFC astrophysics missions.
• Continued activities in Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Burst Monitor Instrument Operations Leadership team undertaken in prior job.
• Took Intergovernmental Personnel Act assignment with Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters to enhance expertise. Contributed 20 years of astrophysics research and management experience to Science Mission Directorate initiatives.
  Maintained employment with USRA prior to transitioning to NASA civil servant role in January 2022.

Transitioned to Principal Research Scientist, aligning scientific focus with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) mission and professional growth.

• Established partnerships with ground-based telescope teams to coordinate and automate follow-up observations of real-time GRB localizations.
• Orchestrated collaboration in 2011 with Laser Interferometry Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) team to develop pipelines for electromagnetic counterparts of Gravitational Wave (GW) candidates.
• Led project with the GBM team that resulted in the detection of potential electromagnetic counterpart to first GW event in 2015.
• Led Fermi GBM team in observing short GRB associated with neutron star merger detected in GW by LIGO in 2017.
• Received Rossi Prize from American Astronomical Society for contributions to Time Domain and Multi-Messenger Astronomy in 2018 as part of GBM team.
• Mentored graduate students and served on thesis committees in US and France; graduated first doctoral student in 2017.
• Performed operational duties for Fermi GBM mission as a member of Instrument Operations Leadership Team.

• Served as NASA Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) co-investigator from design phase through launch and current operations.
• Coordinated data and software deliveries as GBM representative to Fermi Science Support Center (FSSC).
• Oversaw integration of new products with existing FSSC infrastructure while facilitating annual Fermi Guest Investigation reviews.
• Initiated various scientific investigations in collaboration with external researchers across multiple disciplines.
• Proposed funding for collaborative projects with agencies, primarily NASA, to support research initiatives.
• Mentored postdoctoral scientists and graduate students, delegating project leadership responsibilities to them.
• Published as lead author in astrophysics and atmospheric science, and contributed to heliospheric science papers.

• Secured fellowship as National Research Council postdoctoral fellow with Burst And Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on NASA's Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory.
• Transitioned from ground-based astronomy to space-based missions following dissertation presentation to BATSE leadership.
• Developed proposal investigating temporally extended high-energy emission from gamma-ray bursts using BATSE data.
• Explored nature of shocks converting central engine energy release into detectable gamma-ray emission.
• Published papers of my results which were supported by Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory detection of plateau phenomena preceding GRB afterglows.
• Collaborated with BATSE team to enhance understanding of gamma-ray burst dynamics and interactions.
• Contributed to significant advancements in high-energy astrophysics through focused research on GRBs.
• Utilized insights from observations to inform future investigations in space-based astrophysical phenomena, leading to my being invited to join the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) team as a co-Investigator.

• Developed and maintained code for clients of a small software house with larger clients.
• Designed, wrote, tested, and documented software solutions to meet client specifications.
• Conducted training sessions for users to ensure effective software utilization.
• Performed system updates and maintenance to enhance performance and reliability.