Amri Hernandez-Pellerano
Encyclopedia
Amri Hernández-Pellerano is a Puerto Rican
electronics engineer and scientist
who designs, builds and tests the electronics that will regulate the solar array power in order to charge the spacecraft battery and distribute power to the different loads or users inside various spacecraft
at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
. She designed the power systems electronics for the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
(WMAP) mission. WMAP is a NASA Explorer mission
spacecraft which measures the temperature of the cosmic
background radiation
over the full sky with unprecedented accuracy.
where she received her primary and secondary education. Her parents played an instrumental role in her life by encouraging her to pursue a college education. During her elementary school years, the subjects which she enjoyed most were math and science. She entered the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
after she graduated from high school. While in college, she was accepted into the NASA Cooperative Education Program which allowed her to work with NASA scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland
and at the sametime earn school credits. She started working at GSFC full time after she earned her Electrical Engineering Bachelor (BSEE) degree at the UPR. While working full time, GSFC provided her the opportunity to complete a Master degree in Electrical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University
.
(TRMM), the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
(WMAP) and the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) which are currently still in operation.
Her responsibilities include the designing, building and testing of the electronics that will regulate the solar array power in order to charge the spacecraft battery and distribute power to the different loads or users inside various spacecraft.
In 2003, she received the GSFC Engineering Achievement Award for her design of the Power Systems Electronics for the WMAP mission. WMAP is a NASA Explorer mission spacecraft which measures the temperature of the cosmic background radiation
over the full sky with unprecedented accuracy. This map of the remnant heat from the Big Bang
provides answers to fundamental questions about the origin and fate of our universe. In 2006, she was awarded NASA's Exceptional Service Medal.
(SDO), the Lunar Reconnaissance Observer (LRO) and the Aquarius/SAC-D missions. Hernández-Pellerano is also the chair for the Hispanic Advisory Committee for Employees (HACE) at GSFC. This committee works with the Equal Opportunity Office and among other responsibilities, serves as a focal point for the concerns of Hispanic employees on matters affecting their employment at GSFC.
Hernández-Pellerano is married to fellow Puerto Rican Fernando Pellerano, a NASA scientist, whose job requires the planification, design and implementation of microwave instruments used in the scientific observations of the Earth
and Space
.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
electronics engineer and scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
who designs, builds and tests the electronics that will regulate the solar array power in order to charge the spacecraft battery and distribute power to the different loads or users inside various spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC,...
. She designed the power systems electronics for the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe — also known as the Microwave Anisotropy Probe , and Explorer 80 — is a spacecraft which measures differences in the temperature of the Big Bang's remnant radiant heat — the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation — across the full sky. Headed by Professor...
(WMAP) mission. WMAP is a NASA Explorer mission
Explorer program
The Explorer program is a United States space exploration program that provides flight opportunities for physics, heliophysics, and astrophysics investigations from space. Over 90 space missions have been launched from 1958 to 2011, and it is still active...
spacecraft which measures the temperature of the cosmic
COSMIC
Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate is a program designed to provide advances in meteorology, ionospheric research, climatology, and space weather by using GPS satellites in conjunction with low Earth orbiting satellites...
background radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
over the full sky with unprecedented accuracy.
Early years
Hernández-Pellerano was born and raised in Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
where she received her primary and secondary education. Her parents played an instrumental role in her life by encouraging her to pursue a college education. During her elementary school years, the subjects which she enjoyed most were math and science. She entered the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez in Spanish , is a land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant state university located in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico...
after she graduated from high school. While in college, she was accepted into the NASA Cooperative Education Program which allowed her to work with NASA scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and at the sametime earn school credits. She started working at GSFC full time after she earned her Electrical Engineering Bachelor (BSEE) degree at the UPR. While working full time, GSFC provided her the opportunity to complete a Master degree in Electrical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
.
Career in NASA
In 1992, Hernández-Pellerano began working for the Power Systems Branch (PSB) at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). As a Power System Electronics designer she has been involved in the design and implementation of power system electronics (PSE) for various scientific spacecraft. These include the Tropical Rainfall Measuring MissionTropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission is a joint space mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall. The term refers to both the mission itself and the satellite that the mission uses to collect data...
(TRMM), the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe — also known as the Microwave Anisotropy Probe , and Explorer 80 — is a spacecraft which measures differences in the temperature of the Big Bang's remnant radiant heat — the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation — across the full sky. Headed by Professor...
(WMAP) and the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) which are currently still in operation.
Her responsibilities include the designing, building and testing of the electronics that will regulate the solar array power in order to charge the spacecraft battery and distribute power to the different loads or users inside various spacecraft.
WMAP mission
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
over the full sky with unprecedented accuracy. This map of the remnant heat from the Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
provides answers to fundamental questions about the origin and fate of our universe. In 2006, she was awarded NASA's Exceptional Service Medal.
Currently
She is currently working on the Space Technology-5 (ST5), the Solar Dynamics ObservatorySolar Dynamics Observatory
The Solar Dynamics Observatory is a NASA mission which will observe the Sun for over five years. Launched on February 11, 2010, the observatory is part of the Living With a Star program...
(SDO), the Lunar Reconnaissance Observer (LRO) and the Aquarius/SAC-D missions. Hernández-Pellerano is also the chair for the Hispanic Advisory Committee for Employees (HACE) at GSFC. This committee works with the Equal Opportunity Office and among other responsibilities, serves as a focal point for the concerns of Hispanic employees on matters affecting their employment at GSFC.
Hernández-Pellerano is married to fellow Puerto Rican Fernando Pellerano, a NASA scientist, whose job requires the planification, design and implementation of microwave instruments used in the scientific observations of the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and Space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
.
Written works
Among the written works which she has authored and/or co-authored are the following:- The Space Technology 5 Avionics System (2004), Document ID: 20050156657; Report Number: IEEEAC Paper 1514
- Closed Loop Software Control of the MIDEX Power System (1998), Document ID: 19990007766
- An Adaptable Power System with Software Control Algorithm (1998), Document ID: 19990026561
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Puerto Rican scientists and inventors
- List of Puerto Ricans in the United States Space Program
- University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez people