Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1995

Astrophysicist, NASA's Ames Research Center

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Jessie Dotson is an astrophysicist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the project scientist for NASA's K2 Mission. Dotson's areas of specialization were infrared instrumentation, polarization measurements and the role of magnetic fields in giant molecular clouds. She has worked on the development of infrared and sub-millimeter polarimeters, spectrometers and cameras for ground-based, airborne and space-based observatories. In 2014, Dotson helped formulate Ames' Asteroid Threat Assessment Project (ATAP), which is an effort to apply NASA expertise from a variety of disciplines in order to quantify the risk to Earth of an asteroid impact. She currently leads the ATAP asteroid characterization team.