Natasha Maria Latouf
(POSTDOCTORAL PROGRAM FELLOW)
| Email: | natasha.m.latouf@nasa.gov |
| Org Code: | |
| Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 690 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
| Employer: | NPP POST-DOC CONTRACT |
Brief Bio
Hello! My name is Natasha Latouf, I am a NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow and George Mason University graduate. I was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and FINESST Fellow - feel free to reach out if you're interested in getting information on those applications.
To learn more about me, please visit my personal website.
Research Interests
Exoplanet Atmospheres
Solar System: AtmospheresI currently study the simulation of exoplanet atmospheres, and the detectability requirements of various biosignatures. My project, titled Bayesian Analysis for Remote Biosignature Identification on exoEarths (BARBIE), informs the development of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). I spend most of my time using the Planetary Spectrum Generator (PSG) to implement these simulations, and run nested sampling retrievals to probe at the most efficient observational framework for HWO.
Telluric Mitigation Methods
Solar System: Extrasolar PlanetsFor the duration of my undergrad, my research focussed on how our atmosphere (i.e. tellurics) induces error on ground-based observations of precise radial velocities (PRVs). I also studied how effective the most common telluric mitigation methods are in reducing or eliminating these errors, particularly the Cross-Correlation Function (CCF) and forward modeling. This work was initiated as a part of the NASA probe mission concept study EarthFinder with a solar star model initially, and I have continued this work to study an M2 dwarf model.
Positions/Employment
Research Assistant
George Mason University - Fairfax, VA
October 2017 - May 2021
I wrote and implemented python scripts to quantify the amount of error induced on radial velocity measurements due to Earth's telluric interference. I also aided in observations using the George Mason University telescope, the Keck telescopes, and NASA's infrared telescope using iShell.
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
George Mason University - Fairfax, VA
September 2021 - September 2024
I currently focus on simulating exoplanet atmosphere models using the Planetary Spectrum Generator (PSG). I will also be working on benchmarking the noise and coronagraph models within PSG for varying telescopes and instrument, including the next generation of Great Observatories.
NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center & ORAU - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
May 2025 - Present
NASA FINESST Fellow
George Mason University - Fairfax, VA
November 2024 - May 2025
I currently focus on simulating exoplanet atmosphere models using the Planetary Spectrum Generator (PSG). I will also be working on benchmarking the noise and coronagraph models within PSG for varying telescopes and instrument, including the next generation of Great Observatories.