Dr. Gioia Rau is an astrophysicist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and a Research Assistant Professor at the Catholic University of America. She works on exoplanet science and stellar astrophysics using artificial intelligence, state-of-the-art modeling, and data from space and ground-based telescopes.
Dr. Rau has a record of numerous scientific publications, international collaborations, and she leads instruments and science cases for several NASA space missions concept development and ground-based telescopes.
Dr. Rau is passionate about mentoring, and about supporting and fostering DEIA (Diversity Equity Inclusion and Accessibility) values, supporting especially women and other underrepresented minorities in pursuing scientific careers.
Dr. Rau has received multiple awards, including recently being selected as one of the fifty most influential women in Italy on tech and science (Inspiring Fifty 2021).
Dr. Rau received her Ph.D. in Astrophysics with Honors from the University of Vienna, Austria, in 2016, and her Master’s degree in Physics and Astrophysics Summa cum Laude from La Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy, in 2011.