PhD Student, Aerospace Engineering Department, SMART Scholar
bleonov@tamu.edu
Boris Leonov received his Bachelors degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University in 2018. Since joining LDPDL, Boris has worked on a laser diagnostic system based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for heavily dust-laden flows. Currently, Boris is working on advanced laser diagnostic approaches based on injection-seeding of an optical parametric oscillator (OPO), with applications to plasma propulsion and hypersonic ground test and evaluation. Boris was recently awarded the SMART fellowship and will be collaborating with the Navy throughout the final years of his PhD.
Madison Hetlage
PhD Student, Aerospace Engineering Department, NSTGRO Fellow
mhetlage@tamu.edu
Madison (Maddie) Hetlage received her Bachelors degree in Aerospace Engineering from Notre Dame and was the recipient of the Sigma Gamma Tau National Undergraduate Award in 2018. Since joining LDPDL, Maddie has been investigating a new technique for rapid atmospheric profiling of humidity, temperature, and velocity using LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR). The new approach is based on an optically pumped barium vapor filter for filtering of Rayleigh backscattered light. Through a combination of experiment and modeling, this technique is being developed for future applications to airborne supersonic LIDAR, air-data and ground test. In 2020, Maddie received the NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities Fellowship.
Robert Randolph
PhD Student, Aerospace Engineering Department
Robert Randolph received his Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University in 2019 and his Masters of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M in 2021 while working with the Optical Probing and Manipulation group. Since joining LDPDL in 2022, he has been working towards LIF measurements of a supersonic Rubidium vapor jet in a vacuum environment. This is part of a larger project in coupling a neutral particle beam with a laser beam as a method of self-guided beamed propulsion for deep space missions.