Iwona A. Palusinski is the founder and Director of the Integrated Sensor Design and Analysis Department at The Aerospace Corporation. The Department designs electro-optical payloads in a concurrent engineering platform that enables designers to model the effects of the space environment including thermal and structural changes on optical performance. The Department is also involved in CubeSat experiments and airborne remote sensing system pathfinders. In her previous position at The Aerospace Corporation, Dr. Palusinski was the Associate Director of Integration and Testing for several Class A national space assets. She has supported the DoD and the NRO in the development of novel optical materials and technologies for future large aperture systems. She is an expert on space qualification of new optical materials with an emphasis on silicon carbide. She was the principal investigator on the Materials on International Space Station Experiment (MISSE 6 – 8) and collaborated with scientists in industry and at national laboratories. Prior to joining The Aerospace Corporation, Dr. Palusinski was a Research Scientist at Jackson and Tull Chartered Engineers working in integration and testing one-of-a-kind, high-risk experimental spacecraft for the U.S. Air Force. She chaired sessions at international conferences on materials and the space environment, participated in SPIE panels on hiring and career development, and presented an invited seminar on hiring strategies at Photonics West. She received her BS degree in optical engineering from the University of Arizona and her MS and PhD degrees from the University of Arizona Optical Sciences Center.
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