Education

Bachelor of Science, Aerospace Engineering, December 2010 (Overall GPA: 3.44/ 4.0)

Master of Science, Aerospace Engineering, May 2014 (Overall GPA: 3.53/4.0)

PhD, Fluid Mechanics, August 2018 (Overall GPA: 3.53/4.0)


Work Experience

Orbital Debris Engineer, Jacobs JETS Contract, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

08/27/2018 - present

  • Maintain the mission risk analysis tools used by the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office: the Object Reentry Survival Analysis Tool (ORSAT) and the Debris Assessment Software (DAS)

  • Perform reentry risk analysis for NASA payloads and contract customers

  • Provide expertise on spacecraft end-of-life disposal and reentry risk to US government agencies and partners

  • Research spacecraft orbit decay, reentry, and reentry human casualty risk topics to continually improve the US government’s understanding of spacecraft disposal risk

Graduate Research Assistant, Center for Aeromechanics Research, UT-Austin, Austin, TX

09/10/11 - 08/20/2018
Supervisor: Dr. Noel Clemens

  • Work with NASA engineers to help design and build an inductively coupled plasma torch for research in atmospheric reentry heat shield ablation

  • Perform experiments in the control of shock wave/boundary layer interaction

  • Design and build custom optical diagnostic systems, high-pressure piping, experiment support systems, and LabVIEW data acquisition systems

Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, UT-Austin, Austin, TX

08/27/11 - 05/18/16
Supervisor: Dr. Noel Clemens

  • Direct lab sessions for an undergraduate high speed aerodynamics lab

  • Teach students about practical measurement techniques for supersonic flow problems

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Satellite Design Lab, UT-Austin, Austin, TX

06/01/09 - 07/15/09 and 06/28/10 - 08/16/10
Supervisor: Dr. Glenn Lightsey

  • Tested flight software for FASTRAC, UT’s student-built nano-satellite

  • Repaired and tested the ground station in preparation for the launch of FASTRAC

Undergraduate Research Assistant, GRACE Lab, Center for Space Research, UT-Austin, Austin, TX

06/01/10 – 08/31/10
Supervisor: Dr. Srinivas Bettadpur

  • Wrote Perl and UNIX shell scripts to analyze daily orbit data downloads from the GRACE satellites


Volunteer Work Experience

Graduate Student Mentor, UT Solar Vehicles Team

08/2011 - present

  • Mentor team members in mechanical and aerodynamic design of team’s latest solar car design

Lead Mechanical Engineer, UT Solar Vehicles Team

09/2007 - 08/2011 

  • Led team in designing and constructing carbon-fiber body for solar vehicle

  • Used CAD program SolidWorks to design solar vehicle

  • Used CNC mill and wet carbon-fiber layup techniques to construct vehicle

  • Assisted in construction of electrical system

  • Assisted new members with various projects to improve the car

  • Helped solve problems in preparing vehicle for competitive races


Engineering Foundation Endowed Graduate Presidential Scholarship, Fall 2014

Thrust 2000 Graduate Fellowships in Engineering, Fall 2015

NASA Johnson Space Center Director’s Commendation, Apr 2024

Honors and Awards