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Dr Niyati K Desai

Researcher

About

Bio

Dr. Niyati Desai is an NPP postdoctoral fellow at JPL/Caltech. She completed her PhD at Caltech and her bachelor's degrees in aerospace engineering and in Physics from MIT. Her research focuses on astronomical instruments for the direct imaging of exoplanets. She is primarily involved in coronagraph modeling, metrology, and starlight suppression testing.

Education

  • B.Sc., Physics, MIT (2019)
  • B.Sc., Aerospace Enginerering, MIT (2019)
  • M.S., Space Engineering, Caltech (2020)
  • Ph.D., Space Engineering, Caltech (2024)

Experience

Research Community Service

  • Caltech Astronomy Outreach Volunteer (2019-present)
  • Pasadena Unified School District Innovation Expo Judge (2022-present)
  • Caltech Space Challenge 2022 Organizer (2021-2022)

Achievements

Awards & Recognitions

  • Paper Award | SPIE Overall Best Paper: Prototype development of broadband scalar vortex coronagraphs with phase dimples for exoplanet imaging (2024)
  • Professional Society and External Organization Awards | Zonta International | Amelia Earhart Fellow (2023)

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.