Kate Byrd

Kate Byrd is the assistant leader of the Electronics for Contested Space Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Her work focuses on advanced electronics with an array of applications, including miniature radar, ultra-wideband antennas, radio-frequency (RF) technologies, and human health and performance sensors.

Byrd’s career began at Lincoln Laboratory as an assistant staff member in the Bioengineering Systems and Technologies Group. She designed and tested an array of human health and performance sensors including a patented design to detect high-dynamic-range auditory stimulus and the Mobility and Biomechanics Insert for Load Evaluation (MoBILE), a 2019 R&D 100 award winning portable gait laboratory to measure biomechanical forces. Following this work, Byrd joined the Advanced Sensors and Techniques Group and applied her knowledge of advanced electronics design, prototyping, and testing to miniature RF systems. These systems had direct mission impact on improving situational awareness for both defense and civilian applications. This work resulted in an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) 20 Twenties Award in 2020 and a 2021 R&D 100 Award for a through-rubble detection radar called MURMUR.

Byrd holds a BS degree in bioengineering from Clemson University and an MS degree in engineering sciences from Harvard University. She is also a member of AIAA, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers.