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Niyati Desai

Photo of Niyati Desai

Address:

4800 Oak Grove Drive

Pasadena, CA 91109

Curriculum Vitae:

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Member of:

Exoplanet Discovery and Science

NASA Postdoc

Biography

Niyati Desai is an NPP postdoctoral fellow at JPL/Caltech. She completed her master's at Caltech and her bachelor's degrees in aerospace engineering and in Physics from MIT. Her research is about designing and testing astronomical instruments for the direct imaging of exoplanets.

Education

  • 2019 – 2024; Ph.D. in Space Engineering California Institute of Technology, GALCIT Advisor: Dimitri Mawet, Professor of Astronomy
  • 2019 – 2020; M.Sc. in Space Engineering California Institute of Technology, GALCIT
  • 2015 – 2019; B.Sc. in Physics Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Physics Department B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Aero/Astro Department

Community Service

  • Caltech Astronomy Outreach Volunteer (2019-present)
  • Women in GALCIT Organizer (2019-present)
  • Women in Engineering and Applied Science Volunteer (2021-present)
  • Caltech Space Challenge 2022 Organizer (2021-2022)
  • Pasadena Unified School District Innovation Expo Judge (2022-present)
  • Caltech Science Olympiad Judge (April 2022)
  • Yucca Valley Hi-Desert Museum Outreach Talk (October 2022)
  • STEM Summer Camp Mentor (Summer 2023)

Research Interests

My current research focuses on developing scalar vortex coronagraphs through design, simulation, and experimental testing on high contrast imaging testbeds at both Caltech and JPL. I also investigate how wavefront sensing and control strategies and implementations impact the performance of different coronagraph masks.

Selected Awards

  • Amelia Earhart Fellow, Zonta International (2023)
  • Three Minute Thesis: 1st Place Winner, Caltech Libraries (2023)
  • Hummel-Gray Award, Caltech Y (2023)
  • KISS Affiliate, Keck Institute for Space Studies (2021)
  • Admiral Luis de Florez Award for Original Thinking or Ingenuity, MIT Aero Astro (2019)

Selected Publications

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (first author)

  1. N. Desai, D. Mawet, E. Serabyn, G. Ruane, A. Bertrou-Cantou, J. Llop-Sayson, and A. J. E. Riggs, “Benefits of adding radial phase dimples on scalar coronagraph phase masks,” Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, vol. 10, no. 1,
  2. N. Desai, A. Potier, S. Redmond, G. Ruane, A. E. Riggs, P. K. Poon, M. Noyes, and C. Mejia Prada, “A comparative laboratory study of electric field conjugation algorithms,” Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 2024.
  3. N. Desai, G. J. Ruane, J. D. Llop-Sayson, A. Betrou-Cantou, A. Potier, A. E. Riggs, E. Serabyn, and D. Mawet, “Laboratory demonstration of the wrapped staircase scalar vortex coronagraph,” Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, vol. 9, no. 2, p. 025 001, 2023. doi: 10.1117/1.JATIS.9.2.025001.

Conference Proceedings (first author)

  1. N. Desai, A. Bertrou-Cantou, G. Ruane, J. Llop-Sayson, A. E. Riggs, E. Serabyn, and D. Mawet, “Achromatizing scalar vortex coronagraphs with radial phase mask dimples,” in Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, vol. 12680, SPIE, 2023. doi: 10.1117/12.2677224.
  2. N. Desai, L. König, E. Por, R. Juanola-Parramond, R. Belikov, et al., “Integrated photonic-based coronagraphic systems for future space telescopes,” in Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, vol. 12680, SPIE, 2023.  doi: 10.1117/12.2677210.
  3. N. Desai, A. Potier, G. Ruane, A. E. Riggs, P. K. Poon, M. Noyes, and C. Mejia Prada, “Experimental comparison of model-free and model-based dark hole algorithms for future space telescopes,” in Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, vol. 12680, SPIE, 2023. doi: 10.1117/12.2677040.
  4. N. Desai, J. Llop-Sayson, A. Bertrou-Cantou, G. Ruane, A. E. Riggs, E. Serabyn, and D. Mawet, “Topological designs for scalar vortex coronagraphs,” in Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, vol. 12180, SPIE, 2022, 121805H. doi: 10.1117/12.2630950.
  5. N. Desai, J. Llop-Sayson, N. Jovanovic, G. Ruane, E. Serabyn, S. Martin, and D. Mawet, “High contrast demonstrations of novel scalar vortex coronagraph designs at the high contrast spectroscopy testbed,” in Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets X, SPIE, 2021. doi: 10.1117/12.2603953.

Other Co-authored Publications

  1. J. Liberman, J. Llop-Sayson, A. Bertrou-Cantou, D. Mawet, A. J. E. Riggs, and N. Desai, “Implicit electric field conjugation through a single-mode fiber,” submitted.
  2. J. Fowler, S. Y. Haffert, M. A. M. van Kooten, et al., “Visible extreme adaptive optics on extremely large telescopes: towards detecting oxygen in Proxima Centauri b and analogs,” in Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, International Society for Optics and Photonics, vol. 12680, SPIE, 2023.  doi: 10.1117/12.2677503.
  3. L. König, S. Palatnick, N. Desai, O. Absil, M. Millar-Blanchaer, and D. Mawet, “Meta surface-based scalar vortex phase mask design in pursuit of 1e-10 contrast,” in Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, vol. 12680, SPIE, 2023doi: 10.1117/12.2676174.
  4. J. Liberman, J. Llop-Sayson, A. Bertrou-Cantou, D. Mawet, A. J. E. Riggs, and N. Desai, “Implicit electric field conjugation for improved starlight rejection through a single-mode fiber,” in Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, vol. 12680, SPIE, 2023. doi: 10.1117/12.2677532.
  5. P. Morrissey, L. Harding, N. Bush, et al., “Flight photon counting electron multiplying charge coupled device development for the Roman Space Telescope coronagraph instrument,” Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 016 003, Jan. 2023. doi: 10.1117/1.JATIS.9.1.016003.
  6. S. Palatnick, L. König, M. Millar-Blanchaer, J. K. Wallace, O. Absil, D. Mawet, N. Desai, D. Echeverri, D. John, and J. Schuller, “Prospects for meta surfaces in exoplanet direct imaging systems: From principles to design,” in Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, vol. 12680, SPIE, 2023.  doi: 10.1117/12.2677834.
  7. S. R. Vaughan, T. D. Gebhard, K. Bott, et al., “Chasing rainbows and ocean glints: Inner working angle constraints for the Habitable Worlds Observatory,” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 524, no. 4, pp. 5477–5485, Aug. 2023.