Ravi Deepak ⋆ Taksha Institute

Ravi Deepak serves on the Technical Advisory Committees (TACs) for Taksha’s Center for Medical Disaster Management (CMDM), the Taksha Center for BioCybernetics (TCBC), and the Taksha Center for Planetary Defense (TCPD), three divisions within the Taksha Institute for Science and Technology (TIST), for which he is the Director. Ravi is also Manager of A. Deepak Publishing (ADP, www.deepakpublishing.com); Assistant Managing Editor of the peer-reviewed Journal of Small Satellites (JoSS, www.JoSSonline.com); and Assistant Manager of the Science and Technology International Education Program (STIEP), Silicon Valley Office, CA.

With a BS in Environmental Policy, Analysis, and Planning from the University of California at Davis (UCD), Ravi has been actively involved in community leadership activities during his time there, and to date. While at UCD, he served as an elected representative with the Associated Students of the UCD Student Body, controlling a budget of $10M, to bring positive changes to the campus, such as through action on the Gmail Pilot Advisory Committee, successfully changing the coffee services to “fair trade-based services,” and helping bring Vandana Shiva to UCD campus.

After graduating, as part of a seven-student intern team under Prof. V. Martins, he brought the same leadership skills to “information generation” projects of an STC-UMBC (Science and Technology, Corp.-University of Maryland, Baltimore County) Joint Venture, to help manage, design, and build a nano-satellite (700gram) — a 2.5p unit-Pocketqube, named QubScout — in 2.5 months, launched in 2013 to a 780-km orbit aboard a Dneper Rocket. Inspired by this SmallSat mission, Ravi continued to work on Smallsat science and technology in support of STC contracts with NASA Ames Research Center, CA, and as Director of the STIEP program, Ravi provided research opportunities in this field to more than 50 young professionals.

In the realm of Climate Change and Environmental Impact Models, a key parameter is the Atmospheric Aerosol Size Distribution (AASD), which has a range of 9 orders of magnitude and which can be measured using sensors from aboard Ground, Airborne and Space platforms. One simple and accurate method and sensor (developed in 1971) is to measure the angular variation of aerosol scattered light forming the glow around the Sun, called the Solar Aureole (SAM), which can be easily inverted to retrieve the AASD. STC scientists have developed a simple iPhotometer (patented), which can be used to monitor the AASD. Addressing “information management” needs, Ravi is currently the Project Manager helping to establish a network of STC-developed iPhotometers at different locations around the globe to measure the global distribution of AASD, furthering his interest in using satellite technology to address major disasters that represent widespread threats to human populations around the globe, such as forest fires and volcanic eruptions.

In addition, Ravi continues to lead and support “information dissemination” activities of Taksha, initiating, leading, and supporting the programs of the Taksha Department of Meetings Services and Taksha Department of Publications Services. He organizes and directs meetings and seminars on topics such as space weather and maritime awareness activities, and co-authors and presents papers on topical subjects such as medical disaster management using satellite technology; he also oversees the publication of various proceedings and books available for sale through Taksha’s publishing branches and newsletters, such as those related to the free peer-reviewed online Journal of Small Satellites (JoSS – www.JoSSonline.com).

Since 2017, Ravi has also been a member for the external advisory committee for San Jose State University’s CAARE, Center for Applied Atmospheric Research (see https://sites.google.com/a/sjsu.edu/caare/).

PUBLICATIONS

– “Landsat Data Predictive of Cholera: A Retrospective Case Study Correlating WHO and Landsat Data for Haiti (2010) (Abstract by Choudry, Alexander and Deepak, Ravi). World Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Governance and Disaster Management, New Delhi, IN, March 11-13, 2019.

– “Small Satellite Technology’s Possible Role in Medical Disaster Management” (Abstract by Choudry, Alexander and Deepak, Ravi). Indo-US Workshop on SmallSats, Amrita Univ., Kerala, IN, August 17-19, 2016.

– “What Factors Control Jupiter’s Radio Emissions: The Effects of Jupiter’s Position, Io’s Position, and the Orientation of Jupiter on Jovian Radio Emissions” (Paper). Virginia Junior Academy of Science Proceedings, 2004.

– “A Water-Based Remote Sensing Technique to Measure the Presence of Yeast Activity after UV Exposure”. Sakharov International Science Fair, St. Petersburg Russia. May 2003.

– “A Water-Based Remote Sensing Technique to Measure the Presence of Yeast Activity after UV Exposure” (Abstract). Virginia Junior Academy of Science Proceedings, 2002.

– “Why Can You See Better in Rain than in Fog?” (Abstract). Virginia Junior Academy of Science Proceedings, 2001.