Imran Mehdi (BSEE 1985, MSEE 1986 and Ph.D 1990, University of Michigan) is a Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. He joined JPL in 1990 and is currently a Group Supervisor leading research and development in submillimeter-wave applications in space. His responsibilities include developing THz components, technologies and subsystems for current and future NASA missions. These devices and components were implemented on the ozone-monitoring Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument which is still operational as well as the (Microwave Instrument on Rosetta Orbiter) MIRO instrument which represents the first submillimeter-wave receiver operational in deep-space. From 1999 he led the effort of developing broadband solid-state sources from 200 to 2500 GHz for the Heterodyne Instrument for Far Infrared (HIFI) on the Herschel Space Observatory, a cornerstone European Space Agency mission. He is an IEEE Fellow and served as the Editor in Chief for the IEEE Transactions on THz Science and Technology from 2019-2022. He is recipient of a number of NASA awards including the NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal for “outstanding innovation and expertise in development and implementation of the submillimeter-wave membrane-based Schottky diodes for the HIFI Spectrometer on Herschel.” He currently leads the Submillimeter-Wave Advanced Technology group at JPL which is focused on developing space instruments based on Schottky, Superconducting-insulating-superconducting (SIS) and Hot Eleectron Bolometer (HEB) technologies based on the desired application and science investigation. His group has also led the development of submillimeter-wave radars, ASIC based high-spead spectrometers and leaky-wave micro-lens in recent years. The group regularly implements submillimeter-wave instruments in air-borne platforms and high-altitude balloon platforms.
Dr. Mehdi has over 100 publications and is an elected member of the IEEE-Microwave Theory and Techniques Administrative Committee (AdCom, 2023-2025). He serves on the Budget and MGA committees and will Chair the Publications Committee (2025-26). His current interests include millimeter and submillimeter-wave devices and technology, nanotechnology, high-frequency space instrumentation, 3D Submm-wave systems, and development of compact, low-power heterodyne receiver arrays for deep-space missions.