Undergraduate Researcher
Harvard Argüelles Group
Designing, simulating, and building hardware for a water-Cherenkov calibration system that validates Digital Optical Modules for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.
Incoming MIT Physics PhD • NSF GRFP Fellow
Christopher
Prainito
About Me
I am an incoming MIT Physics PhD student and NSF Graduate Research Fellow completing concurrent A.B. and A.M. degrees at Harvard in physics, mechanical engineering, and astrophysics.
My work sits at the intersection of experimental physics and hardware engineering. In Harvard's Argüelles Group, I design and implement specialized hardware for IceCube Digital Optical Module calibration. As Chief Engineer of the Harvard Satellite Team, I led HUCSat from concept through integration and launch to the ISS aboard NG-24.
I have also built optical systems for Harvard's Semeghini Lab, developed THz near-field microscopy instrumentation at Stony Brook's UNI-Lab, and authored a first-author Biosensors paper on a paper-based COVID-19 saliva sensor.
In my free time, I enjoy working on DIY projects, capturing images of nebulae and galaxies within the night sky, tracking and communicating with satellites using amateur radio, and more. I also enjoy playing musical instruments, including the oboe, saxophone, and organ/piano.
Areas of Interest
Experimental High-Energy Physics Particle Detectors Neutrino Instrumentation Spacecraft Systems Precision Optics Embedded Hardware
Research & Engineering
Instrumentation, spacecraft systems, optics, and detector hardware
Chief Engineer
Harvard Satellite Team
Leading 25+ students across five subteams on HUCSat, a NASA CSLI CubeSat mission testing nickel-titanium shape-memory alloys for solar array reorientation.
NSF REU Undergraduate Researcher
Stony Brook UNI-Lab
Developed a quadrature phase-differential interferometer for improved sensitivity and resolution in THz scanning near-field optical microscopy.
Undergraduate Researcher
Harvard Semeghini Lab
Designed, aligned, and optimized optical systems for laser frequency locking in a dual-species neutral atom array experiment.
Student Researcher
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Fabricated a paper-based colorimetric biosensor for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in artificial saliva, resulting in a first-author Biosensors publication.
Selected Publications
Bolometric Superconducting Optical Nanoscopy (BOSON)
Physical Review X · 2025
Colorimetric Detection of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus (COVID-19) in Artificial Saliva Using Polydiacetylene Paper Strips
Biosensors · 2022
Selected Honors
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Fellow John Harvard Scholar Detur Book Prize Recipient Davidson Fellow Regeneron ISEF Finalist Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar
Featured Projects
A selection of my engineering and research work
Harvard Undergraduate CubeSat (HUCSat)
Chief Engineer for Harvard's student-led CubeSat launched to the ISS on NG-24
Systems Engineering CAD PCB Design
Read More 
H.E.I.S.T. Mount
Computerized Go-To telescope mount with sub-arcsecond tracking performance
CAD Design PCB Design Metal Machining
Read More 
COVID-19 Biosensor
Paper-Based, Colorimetric Sensor for SARS-CoV-2 in Saliva
Biosensors Analytical Chemistry Experiment Design
Read More Astrophotography Gallery
Deep-sky images captured with my custom H.E.I.S.T. Mount