Publications

Papers from my work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and with collaborators, on deep space communications, autonomous robotics, and space system analysis. Links go to the publisher or an open copy where one is available.

1. 2026
   Measured WAN Traffic Reduction from Federated Edge AI in a Distributed Cosmic-Ray Sensor Network
   C. Lee, H. Newman, Y. Wu, S. Axani
   INDIS 2026 workshop, SC26 Supercomputing Conference, Chicago, IL (to appear)

   Smartphones acting as cosmic-ray detectors train a classifier in the browser and share only model weights instead of raw detections. At matched accuracy, federated training moved 3.2–11.4× less wide-area network traffic than centralizing the data.

2. 2025
   Onboard AI and Federated Learning for Cosmic Ray Event Detection
   C. Lee
   Network Research Exhibition demonstration, SC25 Supercomputing Conference, St. Louis, MO

   Detecting cosmic ray events with machine learning onboard, training a shared model across distributed nodes with federated learning.

3. 2025
   High Data Rates from the Outer Solar System
   K. Cheung, V. Vilnrotter, M. Sanchez-Net, C. Lee
   IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT

   How the Deep Space Network could support much higher data rates for future missions to the outer planets.

4. 2022
   NeBula: TEAM CoSTAR's Robotic Autonomy Solution that Won Phase II of DARPA Subterranean Challenge
   A. Agha et al. (72 authors), including C. Lee
   Field Robotics, vol. 2, pp. 1432–1506 · arXiv preprint

   Team CoSTAR's autonomy architecture for robots exploring GPS- and comms-denied caves, mines and tunnels, which took first place at the DARPA SubT Urban Circuit.

5. 2022
   Swarms of Pirates: Red Team Exercises Using Autonomous High-Speed Maneuvering Surface Vessels
   J. Vander Hook, W. Seto, V. Nguyen, Z. Hasnain, C. Lee, L. Gallagher, T. Halpin-Chan, V. Varahamurthy, M. Angulo
   Field Robotics, vol. 2, pp. 872–909

   Autonomous high-speed surface vessels used as a coordinated red-team swarm in Navy exercises: the largest fleet of autonomous maritime vehicles operated at the time.

6. 2021
   Lunar Terrain Coverage Analysis Data Delivery Workflow
   C. Lee, M. Shaikh, C.H. Lee, D. Michels
   AIAA ASCEND 2021 (AIAA 2021-4039)

   A workflow for computing and delivering 10 m-resolution lunar communication coverage maps from terrain masks generated on a supercomputer.

7. 2020
   In Silico Methods for Space System Analysis: Optical Link Coding Performance and Lunar Terrain Masks
   C. Lee, H. Xie, C.H. Lee, D. Lyakhov, D. Michels
   AIAA ASCEND 2020

   Using KAUST's Shaheen II supercomputer for parallel simulations of deep space optical link coding and for computing lunar terrain masks.

8. 2018
   Recommendations Emerging from an Analysis of NASA's Deep Space Communications Capacity
   D. Abraham, B. MacNeal, D. Heckman, Y. Chen, J. Wu, K. Tran, A. Kwok, C. Lee
   SpaceOps 2018, Marseille, France

   An analysis of demand on the Deep Space Network's capacity, and the recommendations that came out of it.

9. 2018
   Complexity-Based Link Assignment for NASA's Deep Space Network for Follow-the-Sun Operations
   J. Lad, M. Johnston, D. Tran, D. Brown, K. Roffo, C. Lee
   SpaceOps 2018, Marseille, France

   Scoring the complexity of each spacecraft link so the three DSN complexes can run the whole network during their local day shifts instead of around the clock.

10. 2017
    Optimizing SmallSat Scheduling for NASA's Deep Space Network
    K. Pinover, M. Johnston, C. Lee
    International Workshop on Planning and Scheduling for Space (IWPSS), Pittsburgh, PA

    Fitting a growing number of small spacecraft into the Deep Space Network's schedule.

11. 2017
    Cassini Downlink Ka-Band Carrier Signal Analysis
    D. Morabito, D. Kahan, K. Oudrhiri, C. Lee
    The Interplanetary Network Progress Report, vol. 42-208

    Atmospheric effects on 32 GHz radio links, from more than ten years of Cassini signals recorded by Deep Space Network receivers.

12. 2016
    Traffic Modeling for Deep Space Network in the Human Exploration Era
    K. Cheung, D. Abraham, M. Sanchez-Net, K. Tran, C. Lee
    SpaceOps 2016, Daejeon, Korea

    Modeling communications traffic and bandwidth needs for human missions to the Moon and Mars.

13. 2014
    Integrating Space Communication Network Capabilities via Web Portal Technologies
    M. Johnston, B. Carruth, M. Wallace, A. Coffman, C. Lee, C. Lau, K. Cheung, M. Levesque
    SpaceOps 2014, Pasadena, CA

    Bringing space communication network planning and analysis tools together behind a single web portal.

14. 2013
    Cancer Screening Using Multi-modal Differential Principal Orthogonal Decomposition
    C. Lee, C.H. Lee
    International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications (ICCSA), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, pp. 39–45
15. 2012
    Extended Principal Orthogonal Decomposition Method for Cancer Screening
    C. Lee, C.H. Lee
    International Journal of Bioscience, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 136–141
16. 2011
    REST Architecture for Link Analysis Tools Portal
    C. Lee
    NASA Undergraduate Student Research Program (USRP), Pasadena, CA