Kerri L Cahoy

Professor Kerri L. Cahoy is an electrical and aerospace engineer and a professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. She is also the co-founder of laser communications firm SpaceRake. Cahoy is the leader of the Space Telecommunications, Astronomy and Radiation Laboratory (STAR) at MIT, and she is most well known for her research in studying planetary atmospheres and exoplanet atmospheres along with her technology demonstration work on nanosatellites.

Early life and family Cahoy's parents are Joseph Jay and Barbara Kusza of Wallingford, CT. She attended Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford for high school and graduated in 1996. Her father was an electrician, which she cites is one of the things that inspired her to study electrical engineering. She stated in an interview that she chose to go into electrical engineering because she loved the way it challenged her and enjoyed reading and writing. As she now works in the field of aeronautics and astronautics, she has stated how she enjoys studying the applications of electrical engineering in helping to further explore the Earth and beyond. At Stanford, she served as a graduate research assistant for several courses in the Department of Electrical Engineering. Additionally, it was there that Cahoy continued combining her passions for electrical engineering and aerospace as she studied how we could learn more about weather on planets beyond Earth using instrumentation like satellite radio signals.

Cahoy started her career at MIT in June 2010 on the research staff in Earth and Planetary Sciences affiliated with the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Her work aims to get groups, or "constellations" of the small satellites to work together to gather data to inform research on the applications mentioned.

One of these CubeSat platforms called DeMi was launched from Wallops Island, Virginia in February 2020. On this CubeSat is a deformable mirror that can help in detecting exoplanets and picturing distant stars. Cahoy and her students will continue to study the data from DeMi in the coming years.

One element of her research is to develop and enhance laser communication terminals and ground stations so that the groups of satellites can have crosslink communications.

Cahoy's research is also influential in the field of exoplanet detection and characterization especially in the realm of imaging and detecting exoplanets. Her lab has contributed to missions including NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and Laser Guide Star for Large Aperture Segmented Space Telescopes (LGS).

Notable Publication

Cahoy's most cited work is Thermal emission and reflected light spectra of super Earths with flat transmission spectra published in 2015 in The Astrophysics Journal. The work studies "Super Earths" and models to predict "their transmission, thermal emission and reflected light spectra." The work currently has over 230 citations.

SpaceRake

Cahoy is also a co-founder of SpaceRake, which specializes in laser communication technologies. The company is currently working on three main endeavors: (1) Cubesat-Compatible Terminal, Human-Portable Lasercom Ground Terminal, and Multi-Access Router Architecture. In November 2023, SpaceRake was awarded their first government contract. It awarded them $1.8 million for the purposes of developing "miniature laser communications terminals."

Awards and honors

2020: Committed to Caring, MIT 2018: Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) 2013: Outstanding UROP Mentor, MIT 2008: Co-Op Mentor of the Year, Cornell University Memberships

American Astronomical Society American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) MIT AeroAstro Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Chairperson National Society for Optics and Photonics

Sources and references