#SoCaltech: Case Bradford — Caltech Magazine

“As part of my job, I play with strings, papers, and toys, and I like working on origami materials with my hands. We are building starshades that can block the light of stars to let us take pictures of planets beyond Earth. These large starshade structures need to be carefully folded up inside rockets and blasted to space, where they would then unfurl into what look like giant flowers. We are chasing the hardest math problems we can find to better build and fold these structures. What excites me the most about my job is knowing that the paper I’m folding could help answer the question of whether other planets can host life.”

Case Bradford (PhD ’06) is the project manager for JPL’s Starshade Technology Development Activity. He has worked at JPL since 2006, helping to build large-scale structures called starshades that could be used in tandem with other space telescopes to help take pictures of Earth-like planets around distant stars.

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.