S. Sona Hosseini | |
|---|---|
 Hosseini official portrait, 2024 | |
| Born | Seyedeh Sona Hosseini 1982 (age 42–43) |
| Alma mater | University of Isfahan University of Zanjan University of California, Davis |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Thesis | Tunable all reflective spatial heterodyne spectroscopy, a technique for high resolving power observation ol defused emission line sources (2013) |
Seyedeh Sona Hosseini (born 1982) is an Iranian-American planetary scientist and researcher at theJet Propulsion Laboratory. She develops lightweight, compact and highly sensitive spectrometers for space missions.
Hosseini grew up inIran, and moved toSan Antonio at the age of 2.[1][2][3] She became interested in astronomy during a school trip toJohnson Space Center at the age of 7.[4] At the age of 11, she moved back to Iran, where her parents encouraged her to explore astronomy through theInstitute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences.[1] She built her first telescope in junior high school, and started building cameras and spectrometers during college. She made astrophysical observations of dark skies in Iran using her own equipment, which formed the basis of her undergraduate research.[citation needed]
Hosseini studied physics at theUniversity of Isfahan, where she was involved in building a 16-inch telescope and dome for the physics department's observatory.[5] She moved to theUniversity of Zanjan for her graduate research, where she specialized in physics and astronomy.[5] Her graduate research involved working withNew Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology on astrophysical observations from candidate sites for the Iran National Observatory.[citation needed] She moved to theUniversity of California, Davis as a graduate student in engineering science. Her doctorate developed tunable, all reflective spatial heterodyne spectroscopy, a spectroscopic approach that combines dispersive and interferometric techniques.[6] Her PhD included the mathematical framework and experimental protocol for constructing a spatial heterodyne spectrometer. She developed a visible spatial heterodyne spectrometer for detectingSodium D-lines. A minor planet (28912 Sonahosseini), discovered in 2000, was named after her.[citation needed]
In 2015, Hosseini joined theJet Propulsion Laboratory, where she has studied low-density gas environments (e.g. exospheres, cometary tails). At JPL, she leads the development of next generation, miniaturized, high resolution spectrometers. In 2022, she was supported by theNancy Grace Roman fellowship to work onfar UV science investigations.[7]
