Samantha Parry Kenyon

Samantha Parry Kenyon is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering at Virginia Tech. She specializes in space instrumentation development, mission planning, and environmental testing of satellite hardware. Her work focuses on advancing technologies for space-based communications, radiation-hardening solutions, and gravitational wave observatory systems like LISA.

Education: Ph.D. (2021) and M.S. (2018) in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Florida, and B.S. (2016) in Mechanical Engineering from Grove City College.

Research interests include: space instrumentation for Earth science/heliophysics applications, charge management systems for gravitational reference sensors, UV-LED technologies, and torsion pendulum testbeds. Notable contributions include development of the LISA Charge Management System and high-precision CubeSat instruments for nitric oxide measurements in polar regions.

Her publications highlight advancements in deployable space structures, space communication networks, and environmental testing methodologies. The 2025 articles emphasize modal analysis of deployable booms and network testbeds for multi-constellation systems. Earlier works (2022-2023) focus on UV-LED systems and stray electric field mitigation in precision sensors.

• Awards: NASA Heliophysics Early Career Spotlight (2021)

Lab affiliations include the Virginia Tech Swing Space facility and the LISA Technology Testbed group. Current projects involve CubeSat-based lunar imaging solutions and distributed space communication architectures.