Shelbe Timothy is a research scientist and software engineer with a background in Earth climate science, heliophysics, and space weather research, remote sensing and instrument operations of both low Earth orbit and deep space missions.

EDUCATION

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, BALTIMORE, MD — M.S. APPLIED PHYSICS, 2022

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, BOULDER, CO — B.A. ASTROPHYSICS, 2013

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Robert H Goddard Engineering Team Award for SUVI Extended Coronal Image (ECI) Campaign (2019)

NextGen “Reshaping our Operations” for the GOES-West SUVI Post Launch Test Effort (Oct, 2018)

Innovation Spotlight Panelist at the LM Space Senior Leadership Summit for a nano broadcasting device implementing optical cavities and micro resonators (Mar, 2018)

OSIRIS-REx Software Engineering Team Recognition Award for exceeding schedule and budget expectations (Jul, 2015)

ARTICLES AND ABSTRACTS

MICRO AGU Poster 2022 https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm22/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1134853

The GOES-R Solar UltraViolet Imager https://doi.org/10.1029/2022SW003044

Future of SolarSoft https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021AAS...23821301H/abstract

Fostering Conversations in STEM https://its.berkeley.edu/node/13420

SKILLS

Applied Science — solar activity and space weather, quantum mechanics, quantum info processing, thermodynamics, optical system modeling, climate physics, oceanography, remote sensing and sensor systems

Engineering — satellite operations, data collection and visualization, software development, development of assessment and evaluation strategies, statistical analysis

Computer Science — Python, Tensorflow, C++, C#, Java, IDL/SSWIDL, Blender

Machine Deep Learning Specialization - Convolutional Neural Networks, Hyperparameter Tuning, Optimization, Sequence Models

Interpersonal - analytical problem solver, efficiency oriented, agile learner, adept at handling crises, dynamic, flexible, technical written communication, public speaking and presentation

Experience

RESEARCH SCIENTIST/SOFTWARE ENGINEER, LOCKHEED MARTIN SPACE SYSTEMS — 2013 - PRESENT

- Co-Investigator of the NextGen solutions for compact hyper-spectral imagers and magnetographs, a Heliophysics Technology and Instrument Development (HTIDS) funded research project . This project is still in early laboratory testing and already receiving high profile interest from the American Geophysical Union (AGU) .

- SUVI Operations Lead and Creator of SUVIpy. I maintain nominal operations and anomaly response for the SUVI instruments aboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, GOES-East and GOES-West. Additionally, I develop operations tools and solutions for special engineering assignments to customers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA). For one of these assignments, I created SUVIpy, a python package containing data analysis, automated trending, CCSDS data packet parsing, and image data tools for the SUVI instrument. This tool has received enthusiastic feedback and has been critical in our highly successful annual on-orbit performance reviews and award fees. I also designed tools for quick production frame definition and sequence tables for special imaging campaigns such as the stunning extended corona images (ECI).

- Co-Investigator of the Predicting Resilience Empirically via Climate Intelligence System Employment (PRECISE) — internal research project to improve predication of natural disasters and the FEMA national risk index model. The most significant result from this work was winning $2M in customer research funding for an Earth Observing Digital Twin after a demonstration to the NOAA Administrator Dr. Rick Spinrad.

- SolarSoft Collaborator — The IDL-based SolarSoft (SSW, SSWIDL) software library continues to be used by a substantial fraction of solar physics researchers. My role was to add libraries of the latest missions, including the Parker Solar Probe Solar Orbiter and GOES and provided seamless access to both SolarSoft and SunPy tools in one interface to allow researchers to work in a single environment. SSWIDL support for running on Jupyter notebooks, and Jupyter-based interactive tutorials are being developed.

- Co-Investigator of the Compact Optical Sync Solution (COSS) — internal research project to develop NextGen solution for synchronization and constellation timing architectures. This project was acknowledged at the Lockheed Martin Space Senior Leadership Summit.

- IRISpy Collaborator — Collaborated with a global team of scientists and software developers to publish an open-source heliophysics software tool library for efficient data analysis. IRIS Spectra and Slit Jaw Image analysis tools use Helioviewer, VSO, and other IRIS-specific tools for the SunPy affiliated open-source python package.

Other LMSSC Space roles:

  • Mission Operator for the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

  • Software Quality Assurance Engineer for GOES-16, OSIRIS-REx, InSight, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) missions, the GOES series’ instruments: Solar UV Imager (SUVI) and Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), and James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam).

  • Software Configuration Management Engineer forGOES-16, OSIRIS-REx, InSight, MRO missions and SCM process consultation

  • Mission Operator during MAVEN's Mars orbit insertion

PUBLIC OUTREACH ACTIVIST — 2015 – 2020

Recurring panel speaker at Self e-STEM “Conversations in STEM” career annual event, panel speaker for Beyond Boulder’s “Careers in Aerospace Industry” for undergrads at University of CO at Boulder, and consultant for Space Foundation Discovery Center’s Space Weather Exhibit.

STUDENT ASSISTANT, FISKE PLANETARIUM — 2009 – 2012

Uniquely versatile position educating the public on astronomy & physics topics. Operated laser shows, astronomy shows, and live improvised celestial constellation talks. Co-produced archaeoastronomy live faculty talks: Secrets of Polynesian Navigation and Secrets of Andean Skies. Taught physics and astronomy labs (sound, lights & lasers, E&M, celestial mechanics) at schools across Colorado. Managed after hours private rentals and special events. Designed marketing posters for new laser shows and faculty talks. An organizer for 2012 annular solar eclipse event at Folsom Stadium.