Rebecca White Email and Phone Number

Project:"Designing & Modeling a Multi-Ion Ion Trap for Possible Use in Miniature Space Optical Clock"Project Summary:Atomic clocks are used as the basis for the SI definition of a second, navigation, satellite communication, and system autonomy in space. Optical atomic clocks transcend the currently used microwave atomic clocks in terms of stability and accuracy due to their high oscillation frequency. The main challenge with optical atomic clocks is their size limitations, so the miniature Space Optical Clock (mSOC) was developed to decrease the size, weight, and power needed to run the optical clock so it could be used for space operations. One way to improve upon the current mSOC design is to remake the ion trap based on advances in ion trap technology. Scalability is important so multiple ions can be trapped and observed simultaneously, which is what was focused on when developing a new possible ion trap design for mSOC. This new design, based on existing planar ion traps, was 3D modeled in Solidworks with dimensions based on possible PCB board manufacturing. https://scienceandtechnology.jpl.nasa.gov/quantum-sciences-and-technology-laboratories

Projects: • Python-Driven, Time-Dependent Data Acquisition Program for a Power Source Design that Integrates a High-Efficiency Thermoelectric GeneratorProject Summary:Wrote a working Python code for measuring key properties of a new thermoelectric device – facilitating communication with instruments that measure and store temperature, pressure, voltage, and current at a certain cadence over a certain amount of time. The output is exported in .csv files so that Voltage vs. Change in Temperature could be plotted after multiple runs of the experiment and code. Created code flowcharts, wrote the code itself, and helped in experiment set-ups with the thermocouples that go in the vacuum chamber. • Architecture Framework Design for Automated Interconnectivity of PSL Instrumentation and Simulation ToolsProject Summary:Researched Google’s Knowledge Graphs and Graph Neural Networks for possible use in developing a search engine for finding engineering instruments and simulation tools, as well as, for recommending possible next engineering steps and procedures. Explored semantic and lexical searches, as well as resources for natural language processing. Worked towards having the search algorithm “think” like an engineer by developing a means to classify past projects by the instruments and simulations used for the search database. To small-scale test the logic and concept, created an Excel sheet with drop-down menu keywords to perform a rough lexical search that would provide device recommendations.

Project:"Investigation on Self-Verifying Concepts/Technology and Means for Large System Deployment by Distributed Action"Project Summary:The Solar Gravitational Lens (SGL) project – an ultra-long duration interstellar space mission where a cluster of small spacecraft travel 20 to 30 years out to 550+ AU and then use the Sun as a lens to amplify a background source (e.g., an earth-like exoplanet) by a factor of 100 billion optical magnification. My SGL project internship tasks centered on researching: (1) Self-Verifying Data Technologies in other fields for potential adoption into the SGL and other future deep space mission architectures. Based on these technologies, I created a preliminary flowchart to demonstrate plausible paths for achieving a satisfactory degree of data self-verification while also extending this inquiry into data self-repairing technologies which would also have utility if incorporated into future deep space mission architectures. And (2) Small Thruster Deployment for Deep-Space Missions with a focus on how small thrusters can be effectively used to keep sheet-like spacecraft (e.g., star shades) and solar sails taut in order to reach maximum possible acceleration from the solar sailing technologies especially when deployed close to the sun. Research was also done to find optimal software to model solar sail deployments which eventually resulted in COMSOL being used to run FE analyses on a solar sail mesh.

Projects:• Using Machine Learning & Scientific Workflows to Extract & Infer Gravitational Wave Parameters from Repeated Point-Source Astrometric Periodic Gravitational Wave-Induced Deflection MeasurementsProject Summary:Through employing machine learning and scientific workflows, I’m contributing to the development of a new gravitational wave detection method based on astrometric solutions from photometric surveys with the aim of potentially demonstrating that this method offers a high degree of survey sensitivity to gravitational waves with frequencies ranging from 7.7 ×10-8 Hz to 5.6 ×10-4 Hz – thus opening up a unique gravitational wave observing window for supermassive black hole binaries and their waveform evolution that complements existing gravitational wave detection methods.• Verifying the Catalog of Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Data Analyses through Publicly Available Open Source Data Analysis Methods(1) Research Symposium Presentation – “Event Horizon Telescope Data and Open Source Methods”2021 SciTech + Friends Research Symposium: https://scitech.group/research-symposium https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU-97qkBid0https://zenodo.org/record/4847543#.YSLEadNKhZo(2) Conference Poster – “Lessons Learned Reproducing Images from the First M87 Event Horizon Telescope” 17th Annual IEEE eScience 2021 International Conferencehttps://escience2021.org/• Using Machine Learning & Scientific Workflows to Classify Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Glitches/NoiseProject Summary:Used machine learning and scientific workflows to run Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) data analyses with the goal of better classifying glitches and noise in order to more effectively filter noise and improve overall noise cancelation capacities.https://scitech.group/https://scitech.isi.edu/people/https://scitech.isi.edu/staff/white/

Project:"Filtering Cosmic Rays from Roman Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) Data for Directly Imaging Exoplanets"Project Summary:The Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will deepen our understanding of the universe beyond our solar system through allowing us to directly image Jupiter-sized exoplanets. However, when the CGI’s Electron Multiplying CCD (EMCCD) camera is hit with cosmic rays, they form a comet-like stripe across the target image that can impact a large number of image pixels. And while discarding all of these identified cosmic ray affected images pixels is the current protocol, there may be valuable scientific data that is obscured by the cosmic ray comet-like stripe across the target image. MATLAB code was written to identify and potentially filter-out these cosmic ray image obstructions, and my research largely centered on converting this MATLAB code to Python to make it more accessible and easier to use – while also creating a metric to quantify the cosmic ray identification efficacy of each version of the Python code.https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/the-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope

Project:"Using Adaptive Filtering to Track Noise Lines or Signals with Varying Frequency & Amplitude" (LIGO-T2000355-v1)Project Summary:Under the mentorship of Ling Sun, Ph.D. – Caltech Postdoctoral Scholar in Physics, I researched the use of iWave (an adaptive filter and phase locked loop hybrid) to track and clean detector spectral lines, as well as, explore the sensitivity of directly tracking gravitational waves from long-transient postmerger binary neutron star remnant and continuous waves from single spinning massive objects (e.g., neutron stars).Project Proposal, 1st & 2nd Interim Reports, Final Presentation Slides, and Final Report:https://dcc.ligo.org/LIGO-T2000355/publicProject Proposal:https://drive.google.com/file/d/17PSQXq6Id27p11v97APSbULDO9cXpAB1/view?usp=sharingProject Final Report:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TnVHkb7FgAwplZ94t23snZ0y5LXV14iw/view?usp=sharingProject Final Presentation:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R44V1WsCG9jwDGPIPtMWNqHkBTRj1UmQ/view?usp=sharing

Projects: • Designing an Apparatus to Measure the Electro-Optic Effect of Amorphous& Crystalline Coatings(https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1920023&HistoricalAwards=false) • Multi-Mode Apparatus to Resolve the Discrepancy Concerning “Big G”(https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1707993&HistoricalAwards=false) • Suspended Active Matching Stage (SAMS) Collaboration Project with MIT (1) SAMS Proposal (2) SAMS Introduction Video • Gravitational Wave Data Analysis through the Publicly Available Open Science Grid (https://github.com/gwastro/1-ogc) (1) Published Paper – “1-OGC: The First Open Gravitational-wave Catalog of Binary Mergers from Analysis of Public Advanced LIGO Data” (https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ab0108) (2) Video Summarizing the Methodologies of Most Significant Findings from this Research –“A Reclassification from a LIGO-Virgo Trigger (LVT) to a Confirmed Gravitational Wave (GW) Event” (3) 2019 Central New York Science & Engineering Fair Senior Division Entry Based on Published Paper Research – “Reanalysis and Reclassification of Gravitational Wave Candidate LVT151012 Using PyCBC Matched-Filter Searches"

Projects: • Lead Engineer & Designer – Actuator Board sent for Fabrication• Uploading Code & Testing Control BeagleBone Board

Projects: • Assembler & Driver – “Robot Football” Robot2018 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Student Design Competition • Lead Manufacturer – “Mini Sumo-Bot” Robot

Projects: • Author & Compiler – “Celestial Bodies” DatabaseSolar System Planets, Dwarf Planets, Major Moons, & Asteroids • Editor & Fact-Checker – Carl Sagan Planet WalkPlaque Revisions & Renovations, Sciencenter – Ithaca, NY