Christopher Ruf has been working with NASA since he helped develop the technology for Hurricane Hunter airplanes in his graduate school days.
Today a professor of atmospheric science and electrical engineering in the College of Engineering, Ruf’s early work with satellites, atmosphere and earth data greatly influenced his long-term professional goals.
Furthermore, it outlines his current efforts with NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, better known as CYGNSS, which is Ruf’s main focus these days.
“The goal is to be able to measure winds and hurricanes more accurately than the current methods,” Ruf says. “CYGNSS is different from other NASA missions because it’s the first NASA mission run by the university, not strictly NASA. NASA is starting to branch out and make changes by having other strong organizations (U-M in this case) run missions. They’re doing this to save money and expand the scientific community.”
Out of 31 proposals, only one mission was selected, and that was CYGNSS at the University of Michigan.
“It’s a team thing,” Ruf says, although he spearheaded the project proposal and is lead investigator.
“CYGNSS is unique because we’re using eight really small satellites. NASA has never done this before. Satellites are usually so big, which is really expensive.”
While a typical, medium-sized NASA mission costs around a billion dollars, the cost for CYGNSS clocks in at approximately $150 million.
“CYGNSS measures using a small GPS receiver. The satellite receives the signal that hits the Earth and scatters back into space — distorted by the shape of the ocean surface. Then we analyze the signals, which contain information about the shape of the waves, very carefully to deduce the wind patterns and strength.”
They’ve flown the device on airplanes to ascertain that it works — and it does.
As of now, Hurricane Hunter airplanes are the only way to measure hurricane winds, while CYGNSS promises a more accurate, reliable and frequent measurement of conditions.
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“This is a really busy time right now,” Ruf says. “We had about 10 to 20 people working consistently on the project since the start in 2012, but it’s ramped way up. About 100 to 150 people are working on it now.”
The satellites will be complete by March and are set to launch from Cape Kennedy in October.
Ruf teaches one course per semester while advising and conducting research with graduate students.
He enjoys practicing and teaching martial arts in his free time to “get away from work for a little while.”
Q & A
What moment in the classroom stands out as the most memorable?
Last year, there was one student taking my class who really lacked confidence. When they handed in their midterm, they were absolutely positive they’d done horribly. It was wonderful handing it back the following week with the highest grade in the class.
What can’t you live without?
Interesting problems to solve on my research projects.
What is your favorite spot on campus?
The Law School Quad — I love the gothic buildings.
What inspires you?
The excitement of making something work that I helped invent, and knowing that it’ll help us understand our planet.
What are you currently reading?
A novel by Chuck Klosterman called “Downtown Owl.” It’s a little strange but really good.
Who had the biggest/greatest influence on your career path?
A man named Carl Wiley, whom I worked for in grad school. He was an amazingly creative engineer who invented the solar sail and the synthetic aperture radar.
