Dr. Xiaoli Bai is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She obtained her doctoral degree in aerospace engineering in 2010 from Texas A&M University. Prior to joining Rutgers, she was a research scientist at Optimal Synthesis Inc. working with NASA Langley Research Center and NASA Ames Research Center on advanced research and development projects in the area of air traffic management systems. One consequence of her dissertation is a set of methods which significantly enhances and accelerates the fundamental processes underlying the creation and maintenance of space debris catalogs. Her current research interests include astrodynamics and space situational awareness with a focus on the unstable and inactive space debris that are out of control and have uncertain origins; spacecraft guidance, control, and space robotics; and unmanned aerial vehicle navigation and control. Bai is a member of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Guidance, Navigation and Control Technical Committee, an associate editor of Astrodynamics and a regular reviewer for Air Force Office of Scientific Research, National Science Foundation and multiple respected journals. She has authored or co-authored 25 articles in highly respected peer-reviewed journals. Her research has been funded by Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Office of Naval Research, and Rutgers strategic funds. She was a recipient of the 2016 Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Research Program award, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation John Leland Atwood Graduate Award, and Amelia Earhart Fellowship.
