RIACS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Interdisciplinary Scientist
Dr. Akbari Asanjan focuses on applications of advanced technologies, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and remote sensing, in Earth Sciences and aviation domains. Ata is interested in...
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Associate Director, Quantum Computing
Dr. Eugene Levin works with NASA on Numerical Aerodynamic System (NAS) Technical Studies for Advanced NAS.
Dr. Iyer has over 14 years of experience in Drosophila genetics, as well as extensive experience in Drosophila models of synaptic transmission and neurological disorders. During her postdoctoral work she performed molecular and functional analyses to understand the genetic basis of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and intellectual disability. Her current area of research is understanding the effect of spaceflight factors on central nervous system (CNS) using model organisms, such as Drosophila and mouse, and identifying countermeasures to mitigate these effects. In the MVP-Fly-01 mission (April 2018), she has been involved in the post-flight neurological studies to evaluate the effects of spaceflight on the nervous system of Drosophila. In the HRP grant with Dr. April Ronca, her work is focused on understanding the neuro-consequences of the spaceflight environment, using combined stressors of microgravity (hind-limb unloading), radiation, and isolation in the mouse model. In the spaceflight grant with Dr. Karen Ocorr, Dr. Nathaniel Szewczyk, Dr. Siddhita Mhatre and Dr. Sylvain Costes, she is studying the integrated physiological responses of CNS and muscle in D. melanogaster and C. elegans along a gravity continuum.
Job Titles:
- Earth Scientist
- Scientist, Earth Sciences
Dr. Jha is an Earth Scientist working on the USGS ShakeAlert program at USRA/NASA Ames Research Center through RIACS. He earned his Ph.D. in Geophysics from Colorado State University, focusing on understanding the geodynamics of the West Antarctic lithosphere. His primary interests encompass geoscientific and geocomputing research...
Job Titles:
- Associate Scientist, Life Sciences
Dr. Zajkowski is a graduate of the Faculty of Biology at the University of Warsaw. He completed his doctorate at the Institute of Experimental Biology PAS, during which he studied the influence of the prion protein on the microtubular cytoskeleton. For four years he was an employee of CeNT UW and a beneficiary of the MNiSW Mobility Plus program, under which he was a postdoctoral fellow at USRA. By joining groups from NASA and Stanford, he led to the discovery of prion proteins in archaea, suggesting their ancient function as an epigenetic mechanism of inheritance. Tomasz is interested in how simple chemical components organize into higher-order structures, giving rise to biological processes. Using the genetic information of modern organisms, he aims to recreate the processes that took place in the early stages of evolution. In his research, he focuses primarily on the aggregation of peptides and proteins in the form of amyloid fibers. Tomasz also works on the applications of synthetic biology in space exploration. He has been awarded several times in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. He belongs to the NASA Center for the Origin of Life and is one of the founders and president of the Polish Astrobiological Society.
Job Titles:
- Senior Visiting Scientist
Job Titles:
- Machine Learning Researcher
Job Titles:
- NASA Ames Research Center
Job Titles:
- Research Assistant, Sciences
Ms. Shidham is a former intern and current employee at the NASA Ames Research Center and USRA. She is passionate about using data science and machine learning to better convey the story of climate change and...
Job Titles:
- Associate Scientist, Data Sciences
Ms. Alexander's background involves remote sensing analytics of vegetation for wildfire analysis and prediction. She graduated from California State University Channel Islands in Mathematics (B.S.) and received an M.S. in Data Analytics from San Jose State University. Her recent work has involved wildfire risk assessment tools for manned or unmanned wildfire aviation missions. A recent example is the development of Python scripts to collect and process data used for wildfire risk assessment such as NDVI values and lightning occurrences.
Job Titles:
- Scientist, Earth Sciences
Ms. Christian is a certified professional hydrologist, working under cooperative agreement with the USGS. She has a background in physics, geology, hydrology and hydraulics, with applications to modeling and hazard assessment in various fields from dam safety and hydraulic engineering to slope stability. She received a BA in Physics from Wesleyan University, an MS in Geology from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MS in Applied Earth Sciences from Stanford University. She is currently working on multiple enhancements for a second release of the USGS Scoops3D program, originally published in 2015. Scoops3D is a regional slope stability model that incorporates 3-D soil and/or rock strengths, three-dimensional pore pressures and soil suction which can be derived from groundwater models, spatially variable pseudo-static earthquake acceleration, and surface-water loading. The model provides a tool for facilitating regional assessment of landslide hazard in areas susceptible to rotational slides by providing maps of relative stability, as well as estimates of landslide areas and volumes, providing input for sediment budgets, routing of debris flows originating from the rotational slides, and other runout models.
RIACS Director Peter Denning receives the Computer Research Board's award for Service to Computing Research and the ACM Distinguished Service Award.