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Dr. Cominsky has been analyzing data on neutron star binaries from X-ray astronomy satellites for more than twenty-five years, beginning with her work on the UHURU satellite (and the 4U catalog), prior to attending graduate school. While a graduate student at M. I. T. , and using data from the SAS-3 satellite, she discovered X-ray pulsations from 4U0115+63 (together with George Clark); these pulsations were then used to show that transient X-ray sources were in binary systems. Her thesis work was entitled "X-ray Burst Sources" and consisted of extensive analysis of the SAS-3 timing and spectral data, as well as theoretical thermonuclear flash modeling. During a post-doctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory , and using a combination of SAS-3 and HEAO A-1 data, she (and Kent Wood) discovered the 7.1 h X-ray binary period and the first eclipses from an X-ray burst source, MXB1659-29. During the next two years, Dr. Cominsky managed various aspects of the Extreme UltraViolet Explorer Satellite project, including the design of the science operations and ground data analysis system. She joined the faculty at Sonoma State University in 1986, where she is now Professor of Physics and Astronomy . She became Chair of the Physics and Astronomy Department in 2004, and briefly chaired also the Department of Chemistry from August 2005 - January 2007. She has been a Guest Investigator on many X-ray and gamma-ray satellite experiments including: HEAO A-1 , EXOSAT , ROSAT , RXTE and the BATSE , EGRET and OSSE experiments on board CGRO . Her observational goals have been to increase the understanding of the physics of mass transfer in neutron star and blackhole X-ray binaries. Since 1992, Dr. Cominsky has been a Visiting Scientist at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). As part of her on-going collaboration with Stanford University , she is the leading the effort to do Education and Public Outreach for GLAST , the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope. Expected to launch in 2008, GLAST is a space mission that uses Silicon Strip Detectors to observe cosmic gamma-radiation from objects such as pulsars and quasars in the energy range 10 MeV - 300 GeV. She also leads the Education and Public Outreach team for the Swift Gamma-ray burst MIDEX mission, launched by NASA on November 20, 2004. A third NASA educational project, Space Mysteries : Interactive Web Activities that teach Physical Science and Mathematics, has also been developed under her leadership and new mysteries are being supported by GLAST (LINK) . In 2003, Cominsky assumed the lead for the outreach effort for the US portion of the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton satellite. From 1999-2005, Cominsky was also the Principal Investigator and Faculty Advisor for the North Bay Science Project , a California Science Project site located at Sonoma State University. During 2004-2005, Cominsky led the E/PO efforts for both the DUO and NuSTAR Small Explorer missions. Although both were selected for Phase A mission concept studies, and NuSTAR's study was selected for an extension, budget cuts at NASA precluded its confirmation to a flight project. Cominsky also currently leads E/PO efforts for other missions under study for the Beyond Einstein program, including EXIST and SNAP. Highlights of Dr. Cominsky's research career include the discovery of pulsations from the first X-ray transient shown to be in a binary system, the discovery of eclipses from an X-ray burst source, which revealed the first precise orbital period for a low mass X-ray binary, and the discovery of X-ray emission from the only radio pulsar in a binary orbit with a Be star. She has been a member of many different NASA advisory committees, including the Chandra User's Group, and the Structure and Evolution of the Universe Subcommittee of the Space Sciences Advisory Committee to NASA . She is the Deputy Press Officer for the American Astronomical Society (AAS), and the Press Officer for both the GLAST and Swift missions. In these positions, she often interprets astronomical discoveries to the public. In 1993, Dr. Cominsky was named both SSU Outstanding Professor and California Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
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