“Never accept success as a substitute for rigor.”
Education
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
PhD, Space Physics • January 2024
MS, Space Physics • June 2022
BS, Physics • June 2017
Technical Skills
project management, technical/engineering management, process implementation, systems architecture & engineering, spacecraft assembly, integration & testing, embedded systems + bench testing, flight controller/spaceflight operations
Software
Julia • Python • Matlab + Simulink • LaTeX
Awards
NASA FINESST Scholar (2020-2023)
NASA Space Grant Scholarship (2015-2017)
Hello and welcome to my website! Let me tell you a bit about myself.
I am the project manager of the ELFIN Cubesat mission at UCLA. These two satellites were launched aboard the final Delta II rocket on September 15th, 2018. In its 4 years on orbit, ELFIN accomplished all primary and secondary science objectives, and even accomplished several ambitious stretch goals. I am super proud of this project; our UCLA team not only built two flight-ready satellites from scratch under time constraints, but we also designed and managed our entire operations of these two satellites with resounding success. ELFIN grew my technical skills in almost every discipline (mechanical, thermal, electrical, RF, GNC, and plenty of software development) and also gave me the opportunity to do science! In fact, with over 40 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, ELFIN is the most scientifically productive mission in NASA’s CubeSat fleet.
Despite the sunsetting of ELFIN, I still actively support research using ELFIN data while developing future nanosatellite missions and miniaturized fields, waves, and particle instruments. I really enjoy working on cutting-edge engineering with meaningful scientific and academic purpose and I am passionate about teaching, mentorship, and DEI initiatives.
You may find my CV here (last updated: March 2024; warning pdf download!). Please also take a look at some of my published work below:
My thesis
Tsai, E., Energetic Electron Losses Driven by Whistler-Mode Waves in the Inner Magnetosphere: ELFIN Observations and Theoretical Models, University of California, Los Angeles, 2024. isbn: 9798381448702
Selected Published Work
Tsai, E., et al., Remote Sensing of Electron Precipitation Mechanisms Enabled by ELFIN Mission Operations and ADCS Design, Advances in Space Research: Science and Applied Research with Small Satellites (2024), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2024.07.008
Tsai, E., et al., Key factors determining nightside energetic electron losses driven by whistler-mode waves, Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 129 (2024), doi: 10.1029/2023JA032351
Tsai, E., et al., Investigating whistler-mode wave intensity along field lines using electron precipitation measurements, Journal of Geophysical Research Space Physics, 128 (2023), doi: 10.1029/2023JA031578
Tsai, E., et al., Relativistic electron precipitation driven by non-linear resonance with whistler-mode waves. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 127 (2022), doi: 10.1029/2022JA030338
Zhang, X.-J., Artemyev, A. V., Angelopoulos, V., Tsai, E., et al., Superfast Precipitation of Energetic Electrons in Earth’s Radiation Belts. Nature Communications 13, 1611 (2022), doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29291-8
Angelopoulos, V., Zhang, XJ., Artemyev, A.V., Mourenas, D., Tsai, E., et al. Energetic Electron Precipitation Driven by Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves from ELFIN’s Low Altitude Perspective. Space Sci Rev 219, 37 (2023). doi: 10.1007/s11214-023-00984-w
Angelopoulos, V., Tsai, E. et al., The ELFIN Mission. Space Sci Rev 216, 103 (2020), doi: 10.1007/s11214-020-00721-7
Tsai, E. et al., Ion Motion in a Polarized Current Sheet. American Institute of Physics, Physics of Plasmas 24, 012908 (2017), doi: 10.1063/1.4975017
Incomplete list of Other published work
Zhang, X.-J., Angelopoulos, V., Artemyev, A., Mourenas, D., Agapitov, O., Tsai, E., et al., Temporal scales of electron precipitation driven by whistler-mode waves. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 128 (2023), doi: 10.1029/2022JA031087
Shen, Y., Artemyev, A. V., Ma, Q., Zhang, X.-J., Mourenas, D., Tsai, E., et al., Inner belt wisp precipitation measured by ELFIN: Regimes of energetic electron scattering by VLF transmitter waves. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 127 (2022), doi: 10.1029/2022JA030968
Artemyev A. V., Zhang, X.-J., Zou, Y., Mourenas, D., Angelopoulos, V., Vainchtein, D., Tsai, E., et al., On the nature of intense sub-relativistic electron precipitation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 127 (2022), doi: 10.1029/2022JA030571
Mourenas, D., Zhang, X.-J., Nunn, D., Artemyev, A. V., Angelopoulos, V., Tsai, E., et al., Short chorus wave packets: Generation within chorus elements, statistics, and consequences on energetic electron precipitation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 127 (2022), doi: 10.1029/2022JA030310
Zhang, X.-J., Angelopoulos, V., Mourenas, D., Artemyev, A., Tsai, E., et al., Characteristics of electron microburst precipitation based on high-resolution ELFIN measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 127 (2022), doi: 10.1029/2022JA030509
Chen. L., Zhang, X.-J., Artemyev, A. V., Angelopoulos, V., Tsai, E. et al., Ducted Chorus waves Cause Sub-Relativistic and Relativistic Electron Microbursts. Geophys. Res. Lett., 49 (2022), doi: 10.1029/2021GL097559
Mourenas, D., Artemyev, A. V., Zhang, X.-J., Angelopoulos, V., Tsai, E. et al., Electron Lifetimes and Diffusion Rates inferred from ELFIN Measurements at Low Altitude: First Results. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 126 (2021), doi: 10.1029/2021JA029757
Artemyev, A. V., Demekhov, A. G., Zhang, X.-J., Angelopoulos V., Mourenas, D., Fedorenko, Yu V., Maninnen, J., Tsai, E. et al., Role of ducting in relativistic electron loss by whistler-mode wave scattering. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 126 (2021), doi: 10.1029/2021JA029851
Read ELFIN’s feature on NASA.gov and at newsroom.UCLA.edu!
