Dr. Nacer Chahat of NASA Jet Prolusion Laboratory / Caltech

At NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, our mantra is to dare mighty things. It's a unique environment where we tackle diverse challenges, from developing satellites for groundbreaking global water measurements to pioneering powered flight on other planets.

A standout achievement from our lab is Mars Ingenuity, the first-ever Mars helicopter. Originally planned for a 30-day technology demonstration, Ingenuity exceeded expectations, leading to a mission extension where it now serves as a rover scout. This extension brought new challenges, including predicting telecommunication links in complex Martian terrain. To address this, our team developed a highly accurate link budget prediction method using the Parabolic Equation method, seamlessly integrating it into operational tools to ensure Ingenuity's safety. This success led to the development of the Skyfall helicopter mission scheduled for launch in 2026 where our team is developing new radios and antennas to communicate directly with a relay orbiter.

Shifting focus to the SWOT mission, our team faced and conquered formidable technical obstacles, from its complex 2000W Ka-band High-Power Amplifiers (HPAs) to its precise antenna deployment and thermal stability in space. These challenges were critical milestones in SWOT's mission to revolutionize global water measurement. SWOT's advanced radar interferometer provided unprecedented insights into Earth's freshwater bodies, enriching our understanding of water dynamics and empowering global water resource management and disaster response efforts. This talks will address the technical challenges of SWOT and we will delve into the unprecedented science data obtained during the first year of operation.

Biography:

Nacer E. Chahat (SM'15 - F'21) received the Master's degree in electrical engineering from the École Supérieure d'Ingénieurs de Rennes (ESIR), Rennes, France, in 2009, and the Master's degree in telecommunications and the Ph.D. degree in signal processing and telecommunications from the Institute of Electronics and Telecommunications of Rennes (IETR), University of Rennes 1, Rennes, France, in 2009 and 2012, respectively.

He is a Senior Antenna/Microwave Engineer and System Engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. Since 2013, he has been a Microwave/Antenna Engineer with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Since 2017, he has also served as Technical Section Staff and Product Delivery Manager. Dr. Chahat has authored and coauthored more than 200 technical journal articles and conference papers, written four book chapters, and holds several patents. He is the author of the Wiley-published book, CubeSat Antenna Design.

He was the recipient of the 2011 CST University Publication Award, the 2011 Best Paper Award from the Bioelectromagnetics Society, and the 2012 IEEE Antenna and Propagation Society Doctoral Research Award. He was also recognized by the Foundation of Rennes 1 as the Best Ph.D. graduate from the University of Rennes. In 2013, he received the Best Ph.D. Thesis in France in Electrical Engineering awarded by Club EEA (Enseignants et Chercheurs en Électronique, Électrotechnique et Automatique). That same year, he was honored with the Airbus Group Foundation's Best Thesis Prize in France. In 2015, Dr. Chahat received the French Early Career Award for Engineers and Scientists (Prix Bretagne Jeune Chercheur) for his significant scientific contributions early in his career. He was also the recipient of the 2017 IEEE A. Schelkunoff Transactions Prize Paper Award and the prestigious Lew Allen Award for Excellence from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory "for demonstrated unique talent as a leader in rapid spacecraft antenna development and telecom systems engineering." In 2018, Dr. Chahat was awarded the Future Technology Leader Award by the Engineers' Council and NASA's Early Career Achievement Award. In 2019, he received the JARS Best Paper Award for Photo-Optical Instrumentation and Design. In 2020, he was named Region 6 Outstanding Engineer of the Year and received the 2020 AIAA Spacecraft Structures Best Paper Award. In 2021, he received the IETE Dr. Sudhakar Rao Award and became the youngest IEEE Fellow. He won the WAMS Best Paper Award in both 2022 and 2023. In 2023, he was named Personality of the Year in Rennes by the French newspaper Ouest-France, and was elected Life Fellow by the WAMS Society. He was also inducted as an AIAA Associate Fellow in 2023 and an IET Fellow in 2024. In 2024, he was awarded NASA's Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for his role in the SWOT mission.

Dr. Chahat served as Chair of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Coastal Los Angeles Section Chapter from 2022 to 2023. He is currently the Chair of the AIAA San Gabriel Valley Chapter.

Email:

Address:NASA Jet Prolusion Laboratory / Caltech, , Pasadena, California, United States