Dr. Stewart Sherrit is a Principal Member of Technical Staff at JPL's Advanced Technologies Group.  Dr. Sherrit received his B.Sc. in engineering physics (Nuclear-Mechanical option), M.Sc. (Solid State Physics-Thermoelectric Conversion) and PhD (Physics: Characterization of losses, dispersion and field dependence of piezoelectric materials.) from Queen's University, Kingston. Canada. Prior to joining JPL in Sept. 1998 as a Cal-Tech Post-Doctoral Scholar he worked in the Applied Solid State Research Group at Queen's as a research engineer involved in thin film piezoelectric and ferroelectric devices. In 1988, he moved to the Physics Department at the Royal Military College of Canada where he was involved in developing new techniques to characterize bulk electromechanical materials. In May 2001 he became a full-time member of the technical staff at JPL.  He has coauthored 17 book chapters, over 200 papers, 70 NASA Tech Briefs and 135 New Technology Reports and 26 patents.  He is the co-inventor of the USDC whose patented technology is used in the “Cyberwand”, a large stone lithotripter which has been credited with saving lives.  He has been a principal investigator, task manager or lead engineer in a variety of research tasks.  Much of his research has been involved in the development of a variety of sampling tools including the Ultrasonic Sonic Driller Corer, the Ultrasonic Rock abrasion tool, Ultrasonic powder sampler, rock crusher, Ultrasonic Gopher and Aerobot Harpoon sampler.  In the course of his research, he has participated in field trips to the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, Lake Vida, Antarctica, Mt Hood, Oregon, Mojave Desert, Death Valley and Borrego Springs California. In addition to his research activities, he has been involved in a variety of Missions either as a consultant or an actuator designer.  He has been awarded 8 JPL TEAM awards, 4 NASA HONOR awards, a SPOT award, a JPL Mariner award and a JPL Explorer Award.  In 2015 he was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for his work on piezoelectrics for space mechanisms.

BSc. Engineering Physics (Queen's University)

M.Sc. Physics (Queen's University)

Ph.D. Physics (Queen's University)

Piezoelectricity, Transducer Modeling, Transducer Design, Novel Applications, Electrostriction, Ferroelectricity, Ultrasound, Acoustics, Infrasound

• Robotic Systems  | Manipulation And Sampling Systems
• Robotic Systems  | Sensing, Perception And State Estimation
• Sensors, Microdevices and Instruments  | Nano- And Micro- Devices/Systems
• Space Power and Energy Storage  | Power Generation And Energy Conversion
• Materials, Structures, Mechanical Systems, and Manufacturing  | Smart And Novel Materials/Processes
• Materials, Structures, Mechanical Systems, and Manufacturing  | Advanced Design And Analysis

• Ferroelectrics  
• Actuators  
• Electrostriction  
• Infrasound  
• Piezoelectrics  
• Acoustics  
• Ultrasound  

Principal Member of the Technical Staff, Nov 2016 - Present ·

Senior Member of the Technical March 2005 to Oct 2016 ·

Member of the Technical April 2001 - March 2005

CalTech/JPL Postdoctoral Scholar, Sept 1998- April 2001

Research Associate Royal Military College of Canada, Oct 1988 - Aug 1998

Research Associate Queen's University June 1984 - Sept 1986

Coaching, AYSO Soccer, Lacrosse, In House Hockey

• JPL Principal Designation | 355N - Electroactive Technologies (2016)
• NASA Award | Piezoelectric mechanisms for space. | NASA Exceptional Service Medal (2015)