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Planetary Geology, Geophysics & Geochemistry Lab

William Desprats

(Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher)

William Desprats's Contact Card & Information.
Email: william.desprats@nasa.gov
Org Code: 698
Address:
NASA/GSFC
 Mail Code 698
 Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer: UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND AT COLLEGE PARK

Positions/Employment

Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher

UMD / CRESST / NASA GSFC - Greenbelt, MD

October 2025 - Present

Postdoctoral researcher

Astronomical Institute, University of Bern (AIUB) - Switzerland

April 2024 - August 2025

Teaching Experience

Students supervision

12/23-09/24, B.Sc. thesis co-supervision of Marco Grisolia from the Polytechnic University of Turin (Italy) on "Validation of radioscience derived orbits by crossovers analyses of the Mercury Laser Altimeter" (with S. Bertone). Defended on 10-Sep-2024.

04/19–10/19, M.Sc. thesis supervision of Vincent Mouraux (ELISA Aerospace, France) at CS Group (France) about "Studies of trajectories toward Lagrange points: The restricted three-body problem".

University teaching

09/20–02/25, Teaching assistant at Bachelor level. Faculty of Physics, University of Bern, Switzerland. Teaching assistant for Astrodynamics I (Prof. Adrian Jäggi).

Education

  • Ph.D., Physics with a qualification in Astronomy, Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern (AIUB), Switzerland, 2024.
  • M.Sc in Aerospace engineering (Diplôme d’Ingénieur), Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO), Toulouse, France, 2018.

Professional Service

Reviewer for Geophysical Research Letters, Planetary Science Journal.

Grants

Enhanced Mercury Interior Structure Through Altimetry-Imagery Fusion and Radio-Altimetry Combination

Postdoc.Mobility - Swiss Natioinal Science Foudation - Awarded: 2024-12-16


Dates:  - 

Amount CHF 136 000

Publications

Refereed

2024. "Combination of altimetry crossovers and Doppler observables for orbit determination and geodetic parameter recovery: application to Callisto." Acta Astronautica 226 (1): 585-600 [10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.10.045] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "Influence of low orbit design and strategies for gravity field recovery of Europa." Planetary and Space Science 226 105631 [10.1016/j.pss.2022.105631] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Joint Europa Mission (JEM): a multi-scale study of Europa to characterize its habitability and search for extant life." Planetary and Space Science 193 104960 [10.1016/j.pss.2020.104960] [Journal Article/Letter]

Contact Us

Katrice Tanner
Project Support Specialist
301-614-6467
katrice.n.tanner@nasa.gov