NASA Ames Research Center

Why I joined the Kepler Team

I thought it would be very exciting to work on a mission that has the potential to discover Earth-like planets. Kepler offered me the opportunity to apply my knowledge of computer science to a very interesting problem. Kepler also offered me the opportunity to gain experience managing a larger team than I have previously managed.

Background

I grew up in New York City. I completed my Ph.D. in Computer Science at Rutgers University in 1996. I have worked at NASA Ames Research Center since 1998. My previous work at Ames has included applying computer science to Earth science, human spaceflight, and aeronautics. With my current work on Kepler, I am now fortunate to have experienced working with every one of NASA's mission directorates. I have been the Kepler Ground Segment Manager since May of 2010. You can read more about my past NASA work on my Code TI Web page at http://ti.arc.nasa.gov/profile/schwabac/.

Outside of work, I enjoy bicycling, hiking, and travel. Some of my travel photos are available on my personal Web page at http://schwabacher.com.

Role in Kepler

As the Ground Segment Manager, I am responsible for three pieces of ground-based software within the Kepler mission: the Science Operations Center (SOC) pipeline, which processes the data from the spacecraft in support of the search for planets, the Data Management Center (DMC), which archives the Kepler data, and the Kepler Science Analysis System (KSAS), which is a Web site through which members of the Science Office and the Science Team can access Kepler data and share comments about the data.