Imaging Science Seminar: What's Hot with Diffractive Solar Sails
Imaging Science Seminar
What's Hot with Diffractive Solar Sails
Dr. Grover Swartzlander
Professor
Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science
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Abstract:
With the emerging space economy comes greater concern for planetary defense from rogue solar coronal mass ejections and sun-grazing hazards. Besides a better understanding of space weather, national and international space agencies launch science satellites to help unravel solar mysteries such as the reason for a surprisingly hot corona, solar flares, magnetic reconnections, and anomalously high solar wind accelerations. To help resolve these concerns my team, which includes mission specialists from NASA and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, has proposed launching a constellation of solar polar satellites to provide scientists with data allowing the construction of better theoretical models and deep learning prediction networks. Key to the mission is an ability to achieve high inclination orbits. Although such orbits cannot be achieved with conventional rockets alone, solar sails break this barrier by providing continuous acceleration. This talk will describe the potential of using diffracted sunlight to achieve such orbits.
Speaker Bio:
Prof. Swartzlander's research interests have spanned a range of topics in optics including advanced imaging concepts for terrestrial and space applications, radiation pressure, optical vortices, nonlinear optics, coherence, geometric phase, and metamaterials. His body of experimental and theoretical work has received over 8000 citations worldwide. His current interests include radiation pressure on solar sails, advanced imaging concepts, sensor protection from laser light, and lightweight geometric phase elements using liquid crystal polymer films. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America (now called Optica), a NASA Innovative Advanced Concept Fellow, a Cottrell Scholar, and an NSF Young Investigator. He served as Topical Editor for Optics Letters, and from 2013-2018 was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Optical Society of America – B. Before joining RIT he held appointments at the US Naval Research Laboratory, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Arizona. Grover received a PhD from the Johns Hopkins University, an MSEE from Purdue University, and a BS in physics from Drexel University.
Intended Audience:
All are Welcome!
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Event Snapshot
When and Where
Who
Open to the Public
Interpreter Requested?
No