Dr. Christian Lindensmith

Chris earned a B.S. in Physics from the University of Michigan in 1988 and spent two years working in superconductivity before attending graduate school at the University of Minnesota, where he earned a Ph.D. in Physics (1996) studying superfluid helium.  He came to JPL in 1996 as a Caltech post-doc and joined the staff a year later to work on development of low temperature cryocoolers.  He has worked on a variety of missions and instruments, including the Planck cosmic microwave background mission, ChemCam (on MSL), the ground based Thirty Meter Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope.  He has been involved in mission and instrument development for the search for extra-terrestrial life both inside and outside the solar system since he came to JPL. 


Education: 
  • B.S. Physics, University of Michigan  (1988)
  • Albert-Ludwigs Universität, Freiburg i.B., Germany (1986-87)
  • Ph.D. Physics, University of Minnesota (1996)

Research Interests: 

Interferometry, Holography, Astrobiology (solar system and exoplanet), high precision measurements


Professional Experience: 
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory – 10/1997-Present
  • California Institute of Technology­­– Postdoctoral Scholar in Low Temperature Science and Engineering at JPL (10/96 to 10/97)
  • American Superconductor Corporation (10/1988-6/1990)


Selected Publications: 
  1. I. Hanczarek, A. J. Kenna, C. Lindensmith, and J. Nadeau, "Performance of Fluorescent Cell-Labeling Dyes under Simulated Europa Mission Radiation Doses," (in English), Radiation Research, vol. 190, no. 6, pp. 634-644, Dec 2018.
  2. J. L. Nadeau, M. Bedrossian, and C. A. Lindensmith, "Imaging technologies and strategies for detection of extant extraterrestrial microorganisms," (in English), Advances in Physics-X, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 221-246, 2018.
  3. M. Bedrossian, C. Lindensmith, and J. L. Nadeau, "Digital Holographic Microscopy, a Method for Detection of Microorganisms in Plume Samples from Enceladus and Other Icy Worlds," (in English), Astrobiology, vol. 17, no. 9, pp. 913-925, Sep 2017.
  4. M. Bedrossian, C. Barr, C. A. Lindensmith, K. Nealson, and J. L. Nadeau, "Quantifying Microorganisms at Low Concentrations Using Digital Holographic Microscopy (DHM)," (in English), Jove-Journal of Visualized Experiments, no. 129, Nov 2017.
  5. E. Serabyn, K. Liewer, C. Lindensmith, K. Wallace, and J. Nadeau, "Compact, lensless digital holographic microscope for remote microbiology," (in English), Optics Express, vol. 24, no. 25, pp. 28540-28548, Dec 12 2016.
  6. J. Nadeau, C. Lindensmith, J. W. Deming, V. I. Fernandez, and R. Stocker, "Microbial Morphology and Motility as Biosignatures for Outer Planet Missions," (in English), Astrobiology, vol. 16, no. 10, pp. 755-774, Oct 2016.
  7. C. A. Lindensmith et al., "A Submersible, Off-Axis Holographic Microscope for Detection of Microbial Motility and Morphology in Aqueous and Icy Environments," (in English), Plos One, vol. 11, no. 1, Jan 26 2016.
  8. J. K. Wallace, J. Nadeau, M. Bedrossian, S. Rider, E. Serabyn, and C. Lindensmith, "A Multiwavelength Digital Holographic Microscope Architecture for Enhancing Life Detection," presented at the IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, 2019.
  9. E. Serabyn, K. Liewer, C. Lindensmith, J. Nadeau, and J. K. Wallace, "Development of a Light-field Fluorescence Microscope for in Situ Life Searches in the Solar System," presented at the IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky Montana, 2019.
  10. “A simple, robust implementation of a digital holographic microscope,” J. Kent Wallace, Stephanie Rider, Gene Serabyn, Jonas Kuhn, Kurt Liewer, Jody Deming, Gordon Showalter, Chris Lindensmith and Jay Nadeau, Optics Express 23(13) 17367-17378 (2015).
  11. “Use of dyes to increase contrast for holographic cell imaging,” J. L. Nadeau, Y. B. Cho,   and C. A. Lindensmith, Optics Letters 40(17):4114-4117 (2015).
  12. “A Mach-Zehnder Digital Holographic Microscope (DHM) with Sub-Micrometer Resolution for Imaging and Tracking of Marine Micro-Organisms,” Jonas Kuhn, Bimochan Niraula, Kurt Liewer, Gene Serabyn, J. Kent Wallace, Emilio Graff, Christian Lindensmith, and Jay Louise Nadeau, Review of Scientific Instruments, 85, 123113 (2014).
  13. “Development and Qualification of a Fiber Optic Cable for Martian Environments”, C. A. Lindensmith, W. T. Roberts, M. Meacham, M. N. Ott, F. LaRocca, W. J. Thomes, International Conference on Space Optics 2010.
  14. “The Astronomical Search for Origins,” J. Breckinridge, C. Lindensmith, Optics and Photonics News, 16(2), (2005).
  15. “Terrestrial Planet Finder,” C.A. Beichman, N.J. Woolf, and C.A. Lindensmith, 1999 (JPL Pub 99-003)
Chris Lindensmith
Address: 
4800 Oak Grove Dr.
Pasadena, CA 91109
Phone: 818.354.6697
Fax Number: 818.354.8887