معرفی
Susan Redmond is a Research Fellow at the California Institute of Technology's Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, Department of Astronomy. Her work focuses on advancing observational astronomy through innovations in high-contrast imaging systems and balloon-borne telescopes. Key projects include the High-Contrast Imager for Complex Aperture Telescopes (HiCAT) and the Super Pressure Balloon-borne Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT), which enable exoplanet detection and diffraction-limited astronomical imaging from stratospheric platforms. She specializes in wavefront control algorithms, coronagraph design, and instrument validation for space and suborbital missions.
Her research addresses challenges in maintaining dark zones for exoplanet imaging, optimizing segmented aperture systems, and developing broadband scalar vortex coronagraphs. Contributions span theoretical parameter studies, experimental testbed demonstrations, and flight data analysis from missions like SuperBIT and Spider. Collaborative efforts emphasize translating balloon-borne technology to next-generation space telescopes such as the Habitable Worlds Observatory.
Notable achievements include system-level validations of coronagraph performance on HiCAT and pioneering stratospheric balloon missions achieving near-space conditions. Her work bridges instrumentation development with observational strategies, ensuring cutting-edge tools for future exoplanet and cosmology missions.
