Marianne Aellen

Dr. Marianne Aellen is a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology associated with the Atwater group, supported by a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) fellowship. Her work focuses on structural stabilization of lightsails for interstellar exploration within the Breakthrough Starshot initiative.

• Education: BSc and MSc from ETH Zurich in Mechanical & Process Engineering and Micro/Nanosystems

Her research combines nanophotonics, materials science, and aerospace engineering to advance light-driven space propulsion systems. She previously investigated plasmonic lasers under Prof. David J. Norris at ETH Zurich.

• Scientific Contributions: Development of innovative fabrication methods for space exploration technologies