Scientist

NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, designs and develops innovative technology to advance NASA's missions in aeronautics and space exploration. Our areas of expertise include: • Aircraft propulsion • Communications technology • Space propulsion and cryogenic fluid management • Power, energy storage and conversion • Materials and structures for extreme environments • Physical sciences and biomedical technologies in space The Space Science Project Office (SSPO), within Glenn's Space Flight Systems Directorate, works to strengthen relationships with NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), and manages several SMD projects, including the development of science instruments, technologies, and spaceflight systems. In addition, the office at Glenn develops and sustains technologies for future science missions, including creating a viable commercial source for electric propulsion systems. This is accomplished while also supporting the development of external partnerships and opportunities to enhance and enable innovative new markets in support of the Glenn and agency strategic plans. Glenn's SSPO is also conducting early research in the field of Lattice Confinement Fusion. With further investigation and development, these studies could someday lead to a highly efficient new power source for space exploration. NASA Glenn is leading the Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Program as a part of an on-going partnership with the Department of Energy. The RPS Program is a mission driven program that is strategically investing in nuclear power technologies that builds upon a sixty-year legacy to maintain NASA's current space science capabilities and enable increased future space exploration missions. The program also is developing and testing energy conversion technologies with increased efficiency that could enable or significantly enhance the effectiveness of future space science missions revolutionizing our understanding of our solar system and beyond. NASA Glenn also leads the Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) project for the agency and is preparing a system-level flight demonstration. NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT–C) will be demonstrated on the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission. Developed by Glenn and Aerojet Rocketdyne, NEXT-C is designed for improved performance and fuel efficiency compared to its predecessors. Its inclusion on the mission will allow for in-flight testing and demonstrate the potential for application to future deep-space missions. NASA's Planetary Exploration Science Technology Office (PESTO) is also led out of Glenn and is working to recommend non-mission specific, non-nuclear investments in planetary technology; to manage those investments; to coordinate planetary-relevant technology investments across the agency; and to maximize technology infusion into specific missions. The center is home to a suite of testing capabilities that support science missions, including the Glenn Extreme Environment Rig (GEER). This facility is a high-tech pressure vessel capable of simulating the temperature, pressure, and atmospheric gas mix of many extreme environments throughout the Solar System and beyond. GEER enables unique science investigations, provides the ability to conduct risk-reduction, and allows breakthroughs in a multitude of disciplines. The rig is currently configured to simulate the atmospheric and surface conditions of Venus. The Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) program at Glenn manages the planning, formulation, integration, and low-gravity operations of research and technology efforts in combustion science, fluid physics, soft matter dynamics, and acceleration measurements. These experiments reveal how physical systems respond to the near absence of gravity and how other forces affect system behavior in space. The experiments utilize testing facilities such as drop towers, parabolic aircraft flights, sub-orbital spacecraft, and long-duration testing on the International Space Station (ISS). The unique capabilities of the space station enable scientists to pursue innovations and discoveries not currently achievable by other means. This research promises new possibilities in the physical sciences, some of which are already being realized both in the form of innovations for space exploration and in new ways to improve the quality of life on Earth.

NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, designs and develops innovative technology to advance NASA's missions in aeronautics and space exploration.