Michael J. Kavaya received the B.S. degree from Purdue University in 1974, and then M.S. and Ph. D. degrees from the California Institute of Technology in 1975 and 1982, respectively, all in Electrical Engineering. He is currently working in the Laser Remote Sensing Branch (LRSB) at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA. Dr. Kavaya has over 40 years of professional experience. He has previously worked at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.
Some specific projects include the DAWN Polar Winds, DAWN IIP-2, AITT, IIP-1, Laser Risk Reduction Project (LRRP), the SPAce Readiness Coherent Lidar Experiment (SPARCLE), the Laser Atmospheric Wind Sounder (LAWS), and the LIDAR Target Calibration Facility.
He has appeared as author or co-author on 29 refereed scientific journal papers and has 5 patents issued. Some of his work includes “The Doppler Aerosol Wind LIDAR (DAWN) Airborne, Wind-Profiling, Coherent-Detection LIDAR System: Overview, Flight Results, and Plans”, “Lidar-Measured Wind Profiles – The Missing Link in the Global Observing System”, “Coherent Laser Radar Performance for General Atmospheric Refractive Turbulence”, “Continuous Wave Coherent Laser Radar: Calculation of Measurement Location and Volume”, and “Remote Wind Profiling With a Solid-State Nd:YAG Coherent LIDAR System”
Contact Information:
NASA Langley Research Center
5 North Dryden Street
Building 1202, Room 241, MS 468
Hampton, VA 23681-2199
phone: (757) 864-1606
fax: (757) 864-8828
email: michael.j.kavaya@nasa.gov