Senior Thermal Engineer, The Aerospace Corporation January 2021–Present
Lead and conduct analysis, modeling, simulation, and assessments of designs and design concepts relating to spacecraft thermal control systems and their components.
Lead and conduct experimental investigations including thermal design, thermal control systems integration, thermal environmental testing, thermal model correlation, data reduction and visualization, and engineering application of results.
Participate in and review integration, test, and flight operations relating to spacecraft thermal control systems and their components.
Interact with program offices to identify and resolve design, acceptance and performance issues relating to space vehicle thermal control subsystems.
Provide timely and technically accurate reports to management and customers.
Travel to government and contractor facilities in support of design reviews, readiness reviews, technical audits, failure investigations, technical interchange meetings, launch support activities, and hardware acceptance reviews.
Lead and participate in the broader thermal technology community through conferences, concept development, and technical interaction with other leaders in the field. Identify significant technological developments that can contribute to the success of space projects.
Demonstrate expert knowledge in the areas of spacecraft thermal control hardware, analysis of heat transfer, interdisciplinary analysis, environmental testing practice and theory.
Lead and coordinate small teams in projects or programs on a sustained basis.
Plan and coordinate department efforts in knowledge management of at least one specific technical expertise area, including mentoring/teaching less experienced staff.
Plan and coordinate department engagement activities in the broader thermal technology community.
Thermal Engineer, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory September 2016–January 2021
Provided sustained thermal engineering support on flight projects or technology development tasks in order to meet thermal element deliverables, including competed mission proposals.
Identified feasible thermal architectures and mature designs through conceptual, preliminary, and detailed design phases using practical passive and active thermal control techniques.
Performed a variety of analysis tasks and parametric design studies to inform the design of the Europa Clipper thermal subsystem and support subsystem deliverables.
Supported design trade studies that successfully balance performance margins, resource use, risk, cost, and schedule.
Developed a series of software tools to streamline existing analysis workflows, enabling a significant reduction in the time required for model setup, execution, and post-processing.
Provided thermal test engineering support for subsystem- and system-level thermal vacuum tests on a variety of flight projects, including Euclid and Mars 2020.
NASA Space Technology Research Fellow, Texas A&M University August 2014–August 2016
Supported the development of a shape memory alloy (SMA) morphing radiator, a concept that employs active materials to reconfigure radiator panels in order to passively regulate the temperature of a crewed space vehicle.
Designed, fabricated, and tested the first-ever fully functional prototype SMA morphing radiator to operate in a simulated space environment using a thermal vacuum chamber at NASA Johnson Space Center.
Developed, demonstrated, and validated a custom computational framework to simulate the complex physical behavior of SMA morphing radiators using existing numerical analysis tools.
Increased the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the Shape Memory Alloy Morphing Radiator concept from TRL 2 to TRL 5 via analytical and experimental demonstrations.
Directed a team of four students tasked with designing and fabricating a flexible yet highly conductive composite panel design satisfying challenging thermal and structural requirements.
Graduate Research / Teaching Assistant, Texas A&M University January–August 2014
Developed and demonstrated a custom computational framework to simulate feedback control of morphing structures using high-fidelity finite element models.
Developed and validated medium-fidelity numerical models of shape memory alloy actuators in Simulink for Boeing.
Graded homework, held office hours, and gave guest lectures and exam reviews for a senior-level aerospace structural analysis & design course.