Kelly Luis
Scientist
Biography
Kelly Luis was born and raised on Maui, Hawaii. She is an aquatic ecosystem scientist and her research focuses on the development of aquatic remote sensing algorithms for environmental monitoring, forecasting, and decision-making. She received her B.A in Environmental Science from Columbia University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Marine Science and Technology from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Education
- A.A. Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawaii-Windward Community College, expected 2025
- Ph.D. Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Boston, 2021
- M.S. Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Boston, 2020
- B.A. Environmental Science, Columbia University, 2015
Professional Experience
- Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- SBG VSWIR Project Science Team Member
- Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) Aquatic Applications Lead
- JPL Postdoctoral Researcher, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2023-2024
- NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, Jet Propulsion Laboratory 2021-2023
- Research Assistant, University of Massachusetts Boston, 2021
- Research Assistant II, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2015-2016
Community Service
- Ocean Optics XXVI Committee, 2023-Present
- Letters to a Pre-Scientist, September 2021-Present
- Ocean Sciences Meeting 2022 Program Committee – Association for Limnology and Oceanography Student Representative
- Girls Who Code Lead Instructor at the Grove Hall Branch of the Boston Public Library (2016-2020)
Research Interests
Development and application of visible and thermal infrared remote sensing approaches for aquatic ecosystems, with a focus on water quality and extreme event impacts such as harmful algal blooms, heatwaves, and storms.
Selected Awards
- U.S. Department of State, Embassy Science Fellow- Auckland, New Zealand (2024)
- NASA Postdoctoral Program (2021)
- Switzer Foundation Fellowship (2020)
- Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship (2018)
- National Science Foundation – Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (2016)
Selected Publications
- Luis, K., Köhler, P., Frankenberg, C., & Gierach, M. (2023). First light demonstration of red solar induced fluorescence for harmful algal bloom monitoring. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(13), e2022GL101715.
- Lang, S. E., Luis, K. M., Doney, S. C., Cronin‐Golomb, O., & Castorani, M. C. (2023). Modeling Coastal Water Clarity Using Landsat‐8 and Sentinel‐2. Earth and Space Science, 10(7), e2022EA002579.
- Miner, K., Canavera, L., Gonet, J., Luis, K., Maddox, M., McCarney, P., ... & Rattlingleaf, J. (2023). The co-production of knowledge for climate science. Nature Climate Change, 13(4), 307-308.
- Wei, J., Wang, M., Lee, Z., Briceño, H. O., Yu, X., Jiang, L., Garcia, R., Wang, J., & Luis, K. (2020). Shallow water bathymetry with multi-spectral satellite ocean color sensors: Leveraging temporal variation in image data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 250, 112035.
- Scott Price, O., Luis, K., Price, A. L., Harden, B., Howard, J., Valentin, L. E., Liles, G., & Jearld Jr, A. (2020). Same program different delivery: adapting the woods hole partnership education program for a virtual era. Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin, 29(4), 117-124.
- Luis, K. M., Rheuban, J. E., Kavanaugh, M. T., Glover, D. M., Wei, J., Lee, Z., & Doney, S. C. (2019). Capturing coastal water clarity variability with Landsat 8. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 145, 96-104.
- Torres, A. D., Keppel‐Aleks, G., Doney, S. C., Fendrock, M., Luis, K., De Mazière, M., & Sussmann, R. (2019). A geostatistical framework for quantifying the imprint of mesoscale atmospheric transport on satellite trace gas retrievals. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124(17-18), 9773-9795.
- Kavanaugh, M. T., Rheuban, J. E., Luis, K. M., & Doney, S. C. (2017). Thirty‐Three Years of Ocean Benthic Warming Along the US Northeast Continental Shelf and Slope: Patterns, Drivers, and Ecological Consequences. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 122(12), 9399-9414.