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About

Kerry Boyd is a key figure in the development of advanced spectroscopic instrumentation for planetary exploration, with a primary focus on NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. Boyd’s research centers on the design, integration, and testing of cutting-edge remote sensing tools used to analyze the Martian surface for signs of past habitability. As a major contributor to the SuperCam instrument suite—detailed in a highly cited 2020 paper (322 citations)—Boyd helped deliver a versatile system capable of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and remote Raman spectroscopy, enabling long-distance geochemical analysis from the Perseverance rover. Boyd also played a critical role in the SHERLOC investigation (237 citations), a robotic arm-mounted UV Raman and fluorescence spectrometer that creates spatially resolved chemical maps to detect organic compounds and minerals. Furthermore, Boyd’s work on the processing electronics and detector of the SHERLOC instrument (2020) demonstrates deep expertise in the hardware engineering essential for reliable operation in the harsh Martian environment. Through these contributions, Boyd has directly enabled some of the most sophisticated in-situ chemical analyses ever performed on another planet, advancing our understanding of Mars’ geological history and its potential to have supported life.