Author: Brian Hicks

Dr. Brian Hicks is a scientist and engineer specializing in the development of instrumentation for space-based research in astronomy and space physics. A graduate of Macalester College (B.A. 2002, Physics and Astronomy) and Boston University (M.A. 2006, Astronomy; Ph.D. 2011 Electrical Engineering), Dr. Hick is currently a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Massachusetts Center for Atmospheric Research. His active scientific interests include direct imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanetary systems, interstellar and intergalactic dust, as well as the study of gas and plasma dynamics around Earth and the various other bodies throughout the Solar System that could support life including Mars, Ganymede, Europa, and Titan. In addition to participating in a number of design studies for satellites-, balloon- and rocket-borne imaging and spectroscopic instruments, Dr. Hicks has played major roles in the design and fabrication of high-contrast, high-resolution imagining and measurement instrumentation for the study of exoplanets and their morphological environments. A highlight amongst these instruments was the NASA-funded Planetary Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Sounding Rocket (PICTURE) project, which he helped to launch through the support of his graduate advisor, Dr. Supriya Chakrabati, in October 2011.