Dr. Andrew Mitchell
Dr. Andrew Mitchell is an electric propulsion expert with over 135 published works in the field.
For more than twenty years, Dr. Mitchell has conducted experiments with Hall thrusters, ion thrusters, magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters, and arcjets, utilizing various laser and probe-based diagnostic techniques to characterize EP engines.
Dr. Mitchell also has extensive experience testing arcjets with nitrogen and hydrogen propellants. He is frequently consulted for the flight qualification of Hall thrusters and ion engines and has produced much of the plume data relied upon by spacecraft designers and plume-modeling code developers worldwide.
Dr. Mitchell, along with Dr. Laura Jenkins, has used microwave diagnostic techniques to analyze arcjet and Hall thruster plumes.
Dr. Laura Jenkins
Dr. Laura Jenkins brings 28 years of industrial and academic experience in microwave and plasma technology, including the development of space-flight hardware.
She has over 16 years of industrial microwave systems and technology research and development experience. Dr. Jenkins continues her work in RF and plasma technology in her academic and research roles.
Her research focuses on developing electrodynamic tethers as a new propellantless space propulsion technology, as well as microwave and probe-based plasma diagnostics for the ionosphere and plasma electric propulsion systems. She is also involved in advancing spacecraft technology.
Dr. Jenkins actively works on developing consumable-free electron emission systems (using field emission) for ED tethers and innovating new ED tether technology. She was a Co-Investigator on the electrodynamic tether experiment, providing plasma diagnostics and high-voltage tether control instrumentation. She also led a team of over 100 students to develop student satellite.
She served as Principal Investigator for the Shuttle Electrodynamic Tether System (SETS) experiment. Dr. Jenkins was a Co-Investigator on program to develop a high-powered Hall electric propulsion thruster and was a Investigator on a related program investigating spacecraft electromagnetic interaction effects of advanced electric propulsion systems, alongside Dr. Andrew Mitchell.
Additionally, she was the Investigator for effort to investigate fundamental issues associated with propagating artificially generated relativistic electron beams in space.
Dr. Emily Thompson
Dr. Emily Thompson has extensive experience designing, building, and testing spacecraft hardware.
In 1998, she served as the deputy project manager for the University portion of Propulsive Expendable Deployer System (ProEDS). From 1994 to 1998, she worked on the Shuttle Electrodynamic Tether System hardware for the first Tethered Satellite System mission and its reflight.
Dr. Thompson is the Principal Investigator for the nanosatellite. She has developed, or is in the process of developing, several instruments that have flown or will fly on sounding rockets and orbital platforms. She also has extensive experience with vacuum testing programs, testing spacecraft hardware in thermal-vacuum and plasma environments, as well as expertise in microwave circuits and electromagnetic simulation software.
Dr. Michael Roberts
Dr. Michael Roberts has extensive experience in the development and diagnostics of plasmas, as well as a strong background in working with millimeter/microwave circuit systems and antenna design/characterization for interferometer systems and communication link designs. He has made significant contributions to characterizing ion cyclotron resonance heating in experiment and in plasma generation inside a wind tunnel for drag reduction.
Dr. Roberts has also been involved in the design, construction, and characterization of a high-density Helicon plasma source for EDA. Additionally, he has done extensive work in developing and testing systems to improve the transmission of RF data signals through dense plasmas using antenna matching techniques and active plasma density reduction.
Alex Nollan
Alex is trained in chemical engineering but has a research background that includes high-power gridded ion thruster development, Hall thrusters, hypersonic plasma diagnostics, and plasma probe design and development. He developed a 6-grid, flight Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA). He conducted industry-first vacuum flow rate measurements for a series of large vacuum breaker valves, accurately measuring flows exceeding 8000 CFM. Alex’s proficiency in prototype design and experimental device construction makes him a key asset in early-stage technology development at EDA.
Dr. Eric Lawson
Dr. Eric Lawson has an extensive research background in high-temperature material science, electric plasma propulsion, materials characterization, and plasma chemistry. He was the Principal Investigator on a successful program that developed a patent-pending, commercially viable plasma chemistry reaction cell for the environmentally friendly synthesis of various silicon precursors used in photovoltaics. Additionally, Dr. Lawson’s experimental work has given him unique experience in applied thermodynamics, heat transfer, and material thermal decomposition.