Dr. Ved Chirayath is the director of the NASA Laboratory for Advanced Sensing at Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. After earning his Ph.D. from Stanford University, Chirayath began inventing next-generation sensing technologies for NASA. His inventions are used to study and protect life on Earth, while also searching for life elsewhere in the universe. Presently, he is mapping our ocean floor, especially coral reefs and shallow marine ecosystems. Chirayath is a 2021 National Geographic Emerging Explorer and received the 2020 Charles S. Falkenberg Award, the 2017 NASA Early Career for “significant advances in aquatic remote sensing technology,” and the 2016 NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal for organizing NASA’s first participation in the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade. Chirayath is also a professional photographer with work featured in Vogue, the New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Elle.