Raymond Francis

PhD Electrical and Computer Engineering (Computer vision for planetary science), University of Western Ontario MSc Physics (Space mission design for air navigation surveillance), Royal Military College of Canada BASc Mechanical Engineering, University of Ottawa

Raymond Francis is a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he operates planetary robotic missions and develops new techniques in autonomy and artificial intelligence to extend the capabilities of robotic explorers. He is a member of the Mars Science Laboratory and Mars 2020 mission science teams, and has operated the Curiosity rover on Mars in several roles since 2012, including as Environmental Science Theme Lead and as Payload Uplink Lead for the ChemCam laser spectrometer instrument. He is the lead system engineer for the flight deployment of the AEGIS intelligent targeting system which autonomously selects science targets for rover instruments, and the Science Team Training System Engineer for Mars 2020. On Earth, his research often requires fieldwork in remote planetary analogue environments, either for scientific research, technology development, or planetary mission operations training. He has led or participated in over 20 field expeditions to environments ranging from hot deserts to the high arctic. Originally from Sudbury, Ontario, Dr. Francis holds advanced degrees in both engineering and science. He has previously worked at the European Space Agency in the microgravity science program for the International Space Station, and as a flying instructor for the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. At JPL, he has helped develop a mentoring program for new researchers, and been a mentor in the Spectrum program for LGBTQ+ interns.

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