Oliver Boodram

I am a doctoral student in the Celestial and Spaceflight Mechanics Lab (CSML) at the University of Colorado Boulder. In April 2025, I joined ACT as a visiting researcher.

I obtained a BSc in Astrophysics from the University of Alberta and an MSc in Astrodynamics and Satellite Navigation Systems from the University of Colorado Boulder. I also spent time at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a visiting research in the summer of 2024, where I explored orbital uncertainty reduction through information-maximizing measurements.

My research interests focus on the application of symplectic geometry to problems in astrodynamics. Specifically, I study Hamiltonian dynamical systems and leverage their natural invariants to constrain particle transport and the evolution of spacecraft orbital uncertainty. For example, the squeezing and stretching of a volume in phase space, representing plausible spacecraft states, can be predicted analytically to some extent. That is, not only are the sizes of such volumes predictable (i.e., preserved in Hamiltonian systems), but aspects of their shapes can be as well. More recently, I have been studying particle motion using symplectic maps, a discrete representation of Hamiltonian systems. These maps exhibit natural dynamical structures that correspond to special trajectories within the astrodynamics environment. Chaotic trajectories are often bounded by these structures, and, in some cases, they are even forbidden to access neighbourhoods of space that are blocked off by the structures.

See my publications here in Google Scholar

Outside of research, you may find me skiing in the Rocky Mountains (when there is snow), playing board games with friends, watching/playing basketball, playing video games, watching movies, or reading graphic novels.

Feel free to reach out by ude.odaroloc@mardoob.revilo or connect on LinkedIn.