The Science subsystem is in charge of defining and implementing any mission’s design requirements, in light of a mission profile defined by Mission Research. This work may require/include conducting research on Earth Observation (EO) topics, multi-dimensional analysis of the design space, and development of data analysis tools. The Science Lead is in charge of this subsystem and all its recursive sub-subsystem components.
The Science team is responsible of conducting research on EO/remote sensing (RS) topics (which may culminate in papers, posters, etc. in conferences/journals), in addition to working together with Mission Research to further develop/model design requirements and conduct a more in-depth feasibility analysis on the proposed missions, which are then passed on to the subsequent teams, starting with Data Processing.
Research and requirement design work must be conducted competently (at the very least, the best that one could have with an all-undergrad student volunteer team), with high quality of communication with the necessary teams, parties, members within and outside @UTAT Space Systems. Additionally, the Science team may be required to take part in, comparatively easier and shorter, chapters that may benefit the Payload teams otherwise, with things such as demos by Chief Engineer - PAY.
To achieve the described goals of Science, the Science Lead must first of all foster a collaborative, psychologically safe (most of us study in UofTears…), and productive research environment within the technically diverse Science team. Such a noble goal requires near-perfect leading, communication, and any other skills mentioned in this page. You as the Science Lead will be expected of certain behavior, conduct, and goals, which are also mentioned in this page. You will be the main interface between the engineering (such as Optics) and research/data (such as Mission Research and Data Processing) focused teams of @UTAT Space Systems.
You:
are expected to put Science first, a lead must serve their team to an extent where they can leave proper legacy, which could be in numerous things: papers, experienced member count, timely delivery of chapters, etc.
should not expect this position to be easy. It will have numerous ups and downs; research is not stable, it always fluctuates in value. You will at times have to make decisions on which research or design decision to take, do your best in technically evaluating it, get inputs from the significant people, and make an informed decision. Neither make irrational/misinformed decisions nor stay in limbo doing nothing about it. Take your time when needed, you are not doing basic Calculus. What Napoléon said has some important relevance here:
Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.
shall promote an environment of critical/scientific thinking (if you are in need of reasoning for this, check out John Stuart Mill’s free speech argumentation in On Liberty) and muster a team capable of collaborative research. The most basic purpose of Science is to be able to do research and design work, you are expected to create the proper environment for it. The team must be your first priority, defending your rational decisions/outlook when needed. Foster an environment that makes your members productive and is psychologically safe for them, UofTears is already hard/stressing enough as it is to many, do not compound stress on your members.
must lead by example, by being at your best conduct throughout your time. This naturally includes avoiding AI-slop, providing sufficient effort to the chapters of Science and your will be ongoing technical work, being exemplary in communication, etc. This also includes attending the weekly meetings and committing a reasonable time to your administrative and technical tasks as the Science Lead.
will end up delegating some technical and administrative work to the sub-leads of Science. Be reasonable and clearly communicate your ideas.
will have to onboard new members to ensure survival of Science. Although this may not stand out, it is one of your most fundamental/important goals. You are free to experiment in how you do onboarding specifically, however, you are expected to be reasonable with your expectations of the members. Remember, we are a volunteer based student group, we do not pay our members. Let people work on things they find interesting, we would rather have them have more impact than being forced to work on things they are not interested in.
shall successfully conduct new outreach and maintain existing connections with academics, researchers, and industry experts.
must have perfect transparency to your team members.