Dr. Amy C. Rager

Phone: 410-446-6502
Address: Columbia, Maryland

Dissertation

My doctoral dissertation provided a comprehensive exploration of the kinetic scale current sub-structures within the ion-scale magnetopause current sheet predicted by Chapman-Ferraro.

More information about my research can be found at: http://hdl.handle.net/1961/cuislandora:214728

Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Physics
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC (Jan 2015 – Apr 2020)
Master of Science in Physics
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC (Jan 2015)
Bachelor of Science in Physics
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD (May 2011)

Professional Experience

General Dynamics Mission Systems – Goddard Space Flight Center

LUGRE, Science Operations Center Consulting (May 2023 – Present)

Engineering-Science consultation support for the LUGRE mission, a technology demonstration for GNSS-based positioning, navigation, and timing at the Moon.

DAVINCI, Science Operations Center Manager (Dec 2022 – Present)

Manage the science operations center development for the DAVINCI mission, a focused Venus exploration mission.
Conceptualize and design the science processing and data center, ensuring alignment with mission-specific requirements.
Contribute to the development of Ground System Level 3 and Level 4 definitions, focusing on science planning and data processing requirements.

HERMES, Science Data Center Manager (Jun 2022 – Present)

Oversee the science data center development for HERMES, a space weather instrument suite on the Lunar Gateway mission.
Define requirements for the science operations center, including Level-0 Science and Engineering data ingestion, processing, distribution, and archival.

GDC, Science Operations Center Manager (Jan 2022 – Present)

Direct responsibility for the Science Operations Center for the Geospace Dynamics Constellation mission.
Coordinate with science and instrument teams for software delivery and testing.
Provide engineering support to promote effective collaboration and uphold stringent engineering standards.

Past Experience

Landsat 9 Project Roles (Jun 2019 – Jan 2022)

Product Planning Engineer: Directed mission planning and flight dynamics engineers for readiness testing with the United States Geological Survey.
Integration and Test Lead: Led a team to design, test, and deliver ground-system software builds using Agile Scrum.
Ground System Technical Lead: Resolved ground system issues during Landsat 9 launch, coordinating with GSFC, USGS EROS, and international ground stations.

MMS Fast Plasma Investigation, Product Engineer & Graduate Student Physicist (2011–2019)

Upgraded and maintained the science data processing subsystem, ensuring long-term compatibility.
Developed and implemented the Fast Plasma Investigation Quarter Product, significantly improving data resolution.
Validated Quarter Product to meet conservation requirements and cross-referenced with independent observations.
Published techniques and methodologies to advance scientific knowledge.
Automated data generation and processing using innovative techniques.

Software Skills

Programming Languages: Python, IDL, Matlab, Mathematica, C
Tools: Bitbucket, Jira, Confluence, Git, GitHub, Subversion, Jupyter Notebooks, LaTeX, Vim, Unix/Linux
Ongoing Learning: AWS, Docker, DevSecOps

Selected Publications

Rager, A. C., Dorelli, J. C., Gershman, D. J., et al. (2018). Electron crescent distributions as a manifestation of diamagnetic drift in an electron‐scale current sheet. Geophysical Research Letters, 45, 578–584. DOI
Barrie, A. C., Silva, D., Elkington, S., Sternovsky, Z., Rager, A. C., et al. (2018). Physically accurate large dynamic range pseudo moments for the MMS fast plasma investigation. Earth and Space Science, 5, 503–515.
Gershman, D. J., Avanov, L. A., Chornay, D. J., Rager, A. C., et al. (2018). Extending the dynamic range of microchannel plate detectors using charge-integration-based counting. Review of Scientific Instruments, 89 (7), 073301.
Phan, T. D., Eastwood, J. P., Shay, M. A., Rager, A. C., et al. (2019). Electron magnetic reconnection without ion coupling in Earth’s turbulent magnetosheath. Nature, 557 (7704), 202.
Burch, J. L., Webster, J. M., Genestreti, K. J., Rager, A. C., et al. (2018). Wave phenomena and beam‐plasma interactions at the magnetopause reconnection region. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 123, 1118–1133.