Kerry Cawse-Nicholson

KERRY CAWSE- NICHOLSON

Image processing scientist

Location: LOS ANGELES

BSc 2007, BSc Hons 2008, MSc 2009, PhD 2012

“I found myself at the centre of the universe,” says Kerry Cawse-Nicholson, speaking of taking up her post at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Los Angeles two years ago.

Among her other roles, she works as the deputy science lead for a mission called ECOSTRESS. It measures the temperature of Earth from outer space in order to better understand how plants respond to heat and water stress. ECOSTRESS (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station) is managed and operated out of JPL’s sprawling campus at the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, north of Los Angeles.

“JPL, managed by the California Institute of Technology, is one of the robotic NASA facilities for space and earth science. I was blown away on my first visit to the mission control room, where the deep space network operates and receives data from every manmade object out of the Earth’s orbit, including the Mars rovers. It is referred to as the ‘centre of the universe’,” says Kerry.

This is the outer space world she inhabits during her work day, before returning home to Earth and the condo in Pasadena where she lives with her husband, Terence, and five-year-old daughter, Maia. She says their life took an entirely unforeseen turn when she saw an advertisement for the position at JPL. “We were living in Johannesburg at the time and I thought my chances of being considered for the position were slim, but I submitted my CV anyway. And then I got it!”

Kerry and Terence are both from Johannesburg and started dating when they were 16. After matric Terence did a BCom Hons in finance at the University of Johannesburg while Kerry did a BSc in computational and applied mathematics at Wits. “I went on to do my postgraduate studies at Wits and after I completed my PhD we moved to New York State, where I did my postdoc at the Center for Imaging Science at Rochester Institute of Technology,” she explains. “Maia was born there and after my postdoc we moved back to South Africa to be with family.”

Two years later, Kerry’s career shot into outer space. “At JPL one of my most incredible experiences has been watching ECOSTRESS launch into space atop a Falcon-9 rocket out of Cape Canaveral in June 2018.”

One of the core products the ECOSTRESS team will produce is the Evaporative Stress Index, a leading drought indicator that will be able to measure plant stress and temperature all the way down to an individual farmer’s field, providing critical data from which decision-makers at all levels can take action.

“I am also working on upcoming satellite missions. I love the constant challenge and the opportunity to work with and learn from some of the best scientists and engineers in the world, all from different backgrounds and with differing and complementary areas of expertise.”

She adds that she is “constantly terrified about living up to the standard of excellence that is carried out at the lab”, but that it challenges her to push herself further every day. “I am so lucky to have a husband who is currently putting his career on hold to support mine and to look after our daughter.”

Kerry makes a point of taking time out to enjoy her family and to explore Los Angeles and beyond with them. “Los Angeles is a melting pot of different cultures, and we are very happy here, with friends from all over the world and access to a wide range of incredible museums, such as the California Science Center, which hosts a space shuttle exhibit featuring Endeavour, which is my daughter's favourite! We live in a wonderful neighbourhood with a choice of small restaurants serving organic or sustainably sourced food, which is popular here. My favourite place to spend the day is at the nearby Huntington Library with its beautiful botanical gardens, including many South African plants.

“It is also easy to travel from here to the ocean, desert, and mountains. My family visited recently, and we went on an awe-inspiring road trip through California and three surrounding states, including stops at Joshua Tree National Park, Sedona and the Grand Canyon. I’ve seen images of the Grand Canyon so many times from space but being up close was an incredible experience.”

Kerry says her ultimate goal is “to continue to contribute to NASA earth science missions, to give us the opportunity to understand the dynamics of our earth from a truly global perspective. I have Wits to thank for this as it gave me the background, independence and skills I need to continue to learn and acquire new abilities every day.”