Now works at: Postdoc - Princeton University
My main research is focused on technology development of Starshades, a high contrast imaging technology that will allow us to find and characterize Earth-like planets around other stars. I am currently using half-meter starshades at the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope at Kitt Peak to conduct high contrast astronomy at moderate inner working angles. Our goal is to image the faint circumstellar material around nearby stars. This demonstration is a critical step in the technology development of starshades in preparation for a future space mission. My other research projects include formation flying of suborbital vehicles and spacecraft, and optical modeling and field testing of diffractive optics.
Selected Recent Publications:
- Harness, A., "Enabling Formation Flying of Starshades for the Search of
Earth-like Exoplanets," IWSCFF (2015)
- Harness, A., et al., "Lab demonstrations of a vision-based formation flying
sensor for suborbital starshade missions," Proc. SPIE, 9143, 33 (2014)
- Harness, A., Cash, W., et al., “New Worlds Airship,” Proc. SPIE, 8864,
4 (2013)
- Shull, J. M., Harness, A., Trenti, M., & Smith, B. D. 2012, ApJ, 747:100