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I could start telling you that I work at the Pierre Auger Observatory in Malargüe, Argentina, but you are surely interested in knowing first
how I got here.
I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on April 8th, 1971. Since my early
years I was an avid reader and, later on, I discovered that almost
everything that cought my interest was related to science. When it was time
to enter the university, I decided that physics was the most charming
part of science and, 6 years later, I got my degree (Licenciatura) from
the Universty of Buenos Aires. My thesis was related to the construction
of a prototype surface detector for the (by that time) Pierre Auger Project.
You will read a lot about Auger in my blog, but I can briefly say that
it is the largest detector of its kind in the world, designed to
unveil the mystery of the largest energy cosmic rays.
I was always interested in experimental physics. The more I could get my
hands in the experiments, the better. That is why I also learned something
about electronics, programming and, generally, to appreciate the work
of technicians and support personnel. Without them no experiment would ever
work.
In 1997 I went to Sweden, as part of an exchange program in the field of
astroparticle physics. I worked for 6 months at Stockholm University,
in the AMANDA project. It is a neutrino detector located at the South Pole.
After that period I was offered to stay there for my Ph.D. I accepted.
But before moving to Stockholm, something very important happened in my
life. I got married to Patricia, who was clearly so in love with me as to
tolerate the fact that I spent more time with university-related matters
than with her.
In 1999 I got my Licenciat in Physics and in 2003 my Ph.D. I was extremely
lucky to be able to travel to the South Pole twice, where I took part
in the installation of photomultipliers for AMANDA and contributed to
the installation of the trigger system and amplifiers. Back in Sweden,
I analized the detector data to obtain a calibration method using
atmospheric muons.
 Before returning to my beautiful country, my daughter Kaysa was born.
I must confess she is far more important to me than physics...
I am now working again in Auger, which is no longer a "project" but
an observatory under construction. I am Scientific Operations Coordinator
for the Fluorescence Detectors. Shortly, my responsibility is the data
taking with these detectors and that the data has enough quality to be
used in physics analysis.
When I am not working, I read a lot. Crime and science fiction stories are
at the top of my list. I try to spend as much time as possible with my wife and
my daughter. By the way, I also like writing, so now you know why I
am interested in the "Quantum Diaries".
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