Five aerospace grad students earn major NASA fellowships

6th Year PhD Student

Advisor: Bob Marshall
Laboratory:

My research focuses on the interactions between the sun and a region of Earth's upper atmosphere called the D-region Ionosphere. The Earth's ionosphere is a region of low-density plasma that starts ~60 km in altitude and extends upwards of 500 km with the D-region sitting between 60 - 90 km. This region acts as the last barrier between Earth's atmosphere and the energetic radiation from the sun.ÌýSolar flare release vast amounts of energy, some of which gets absorbed into the D-region ionosphere causing disruptions to high frequency (HF) radio communication and changing the chemistry of the region temporarily. Using a network of long range radio signals, my work measures the electron density in the D-region ionosphere across a region ~2500km x 1500km. This is what I will use to investigate how the D-region responds to solar flares over time and spatially.Ìý

3rd Year PhD Student

Advisors:Hanspeter Schaub and
Laboratories: and the

My research focuses on the interactions between charged spacecraft and their surrounding plasma environments. As part of the NASA FINESST Fellowship, I will investigate spacecraft wakes in low Earth orbit (LEO), including how spacecraft charge within these wakes and how their charge, in turn, modifies wake structure. By coupling wake dynamics with spacecraft charging physics, this work aims to improve our understanding of spacecraft-plasma interactions in regimes relevant to modern LEO operations. Additionally, I will examine the feasibility of touchless actuation of spacecraft within LEO wakes using techniques similar to the electrostatic tractor concept, with potential applications to space debris mitigation and non-contact maneuvering.

2nd Year PhD Student

Advisor: Khosro Ghobadi-Far

My research aims to leverage the ultra-precise measurements from the Laser Ranging Interferometer (LRI) to improve our understanding of Earth’s static gravity field. Some regions on the Earth do not contain sufficient gravity information because of limited coverage of terrestrial gravimetry data. To address this limitation, my work will involve performing regional gravity modeling over these regions to improve Earth's gravity field. In addition, I will investigate global gravity field recovery by integrating GRACE-FO LRI observations with gradiometry data from the This work is especially significant because relatively little research has explored the use of LRI data for static gravity field applications, and future missions such as GRACE-Continuity (GRACE-C) will rely solely on LRI sensors for intersatellite ranging. The outcomes of this research will therefore contribute to advancing the capabilities and scientific return of both current and next-generation satellite gravity missions.

3rd Year PhD Student

Advisor: Scott Palo
Laboratory: PaloLab

My research focuses on studying meteor showers in the Southern Hemisphere. These showers occur when Earth’s orbit intersects streams of dust and debris left behind by comets traveling through the inner solar system. As these particles enter Earth’s atmosphere, they ablate and produce trails of plasma that can be observed by ground-based instruments. Studying these meteors provides valuable insight into the dust environment and small-body populations of the solar system. The goal of this work is to conduct a multi-year survey of meteor showers in the southern sky using both optical and radar instruments and produce a comprehensive catalog of identified showers along with their key characteristics.

3rd Year PhD Student

Advisor: Jade Morton
Laboratory:

My research focuses on using spaceborne Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) to retrieve atmospheric water vapor over tropical oceans. This approach uses reflected GNSS signals from the ocean surface to infer atmospheric moisture, particularly in regions where conventional observations are sparse. By analyzing low-elevation, grazing-angle signals from CubeSat missions such as Spire, the work explores how these measurements can improve the accuracy and coverage of integrated water vapor estimates. The research also evaluates how GNSS-R observations can complement existing techniques, such as radio occultation and radiometry, to better understand moisture variability and its role in weather and climate processes, including tropical cyclone development.