Chief operating officer, Fait Corporation
Dr. Katherine (Katt) Rahill, Chief Operating Officer at Fait Corporation, directs operational strategies driving FAA certification, human performance optimization, and organizational excellence. Dr. Rahill's oversight in regulatory compliance and systems integration provide scalable, more efficient processes that align with the rigorous, yet evolving standards of the advanced air mobility (AAM) industry. Her vision for advancing operational efficiency positions Fait Corporation as an industry leader, driving long-term growth and innovation. Her oversight in risk mitigation enhances process optimization, enabling Fait Corporation to navigate the complexities of emerging AAM technologies and evolving global market demands, ensuring strategic growth and long-term innovation.
Prior to her role at Fait Corporation, Dr. Rahill served as the Senior Scientist for the Chief Scientific Officer of NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP), specializing in human performance risks associated with long-duration spaceflight. She contributed to the development of integrated mitigation strategies for health risks spanning HRP elements, including Human Health Countermeasures, Human Factors and Behavioral Performance, Space Radiation, Exploration Medical Capability, and Research Operations and Integration. In this capacity, she was responsible for the strategic oversight of research initiatives addressing astronaut health risks, ensuring that findings were translated into actionable countermeasures for NASA’s space exploration objectives. Dr. Rahill is also a NASA Astronaut Applicant.
Dr. Rahill received her MA & PhD from Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where she was the Founder/Director of CUA's Lunar Psychophysics Virtual Reality Laboratory. Her dissertation introduced a novel area of specialization, "lunar psychophysics", which considers a range of visual, neurological and physiological components of sensory perception and their relationship to optical properties of light, atmospheric light scattering, and psychophysical changes on the Moon. Findings sought to provide novel discussions that enhance understanding of how the visual system interacts with other biological systems, shedding light on human adaptability to novel physical stimuli in extraterrestrial environments.
As a Preeminent Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Central Florida, her work received awards from NASA and the American Psychological Association Briggs Dissertation Award for the most outstanding dissertation in the field of Engineering and Applied-Experimental Psychology. Her research has been highlighted in The UK Times, Scotland's The Last Question Podcast, Singularity University's "How One Researcher is Using VR to Help Our Eyes Adapt to Seeing in Space" and DC Radio Sputnik.
During her PhD, Dr. Rahill completed a 5-year Consortium Doctoral Fellowship at the U.S. Army Research Institute at Ft. Belvoir. She held a pivotal role in the development of the Army Command Climate research program combating issues related to unit performance, such as toxic leadership and sexual assault. She participated in the Army Chief of Staff SSG review of Sikorsky's contract for Military and Presidential aircraft.
During her time as Chair of Communications for the Society of Military Psychology (APA Division 19), she transformed the online media presence for APA Military Psychologists, and is a graduate of the APA Military Psychology Society Leadership Program. Her work on ethical leadership in the Army received a honorable Presidential Citation from APA Division 19. She introduced of the Society of Military Psychology and the Association for Psychological Science at CUA, receiving an Excellence in Teaching and Leadership Award from the CUA Department of Psychology for her contributions to curriculum development.
Dr. Rahill received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Dayton. As an undergraduate, she conducted research at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where she was a lead contractor of the Multi-Modal Communications Lab in the Battlespace Acoustics Branch/Warfighter Interface Division/711th Human Performance Wing. Additionally, she spent 3 years supporting clinical research on domestic violence and re-victimization in the Women's Psychology Lab, and received department nominations for the Reverend Raymond Roesch Award of Excellence to the Outstanding Students in Psychology.