Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF)
Staff Researcher
Rosaria (Sara) Bonito is a staff researcher at INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo in Italy, where she received her PhD in Physics in 2008. She primarily works on the investigation of young stellar objects and their variability through an interdisciplinary approach, which combines multi-band data analysis (mainly in the optical, X-rays, and UV bands), numerical simulations, and applications of laboratory experiments to astrophysical objects. Bonito is the author of more than 70 refereed papers on this topic.
Bonito has been recently elected co-chair of Transients and Variable Stars (TVS) Science Collaboration (SC), starting this role in early 2023. She is also the chair of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion group of TVS and a member of the Rubin SC’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council.
Bonito is the PI of the approved LSSTC Enabling Science grants proposal to organize the Rubin LSST@Europe 4 meeting (Rome, Oct. 2022) and of a proposal to financially support the participation at PCW 2023 of an undergraduate student of the University of Palermo.
Bonito seeks to bring the expertise gained through active participation in the science collaborations (SCs) since 2017 as:
- A user of Rubin Science Platform as a Data Preview 0 delegate and Stack Club member
- A mentor to engage in Rubin LSST SCs activities faculty-student pairs from HBCU and MSI
- First author of Rubin LSST-related documents on stellar variability and galactic science (e.g. Bonito et al. 2023, ApJS)
- PI of programs to engage young researchers, also in the context of Inclusion, e.g. as for the approved grants proposal “Young stellar objects and their variability with Rubin LSST: combining observations and 3D models for a more inclusive Science” (supported by the Preparing for Astrophysics with LSST Program, funded by the Heising Simons Foundation)
- PI of an in-kind contribution for software development (INAF, Italy)