Tech Briefs: Who's Who at NASA

A geologist by training, Carolyn Parcheta had an idea in July of 2013 to develop a robot that explores and measures the shape of volcanic fissures. She worked with engineering teams at JPL to develop the VolcanoBot. In May 2014, the robot explored Mauna Ulu on Kilauea’s East Rift Zone in Hawaii. A smaller, more compact version, VolcanoBot 2, will return early this month.

David Blake developed the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) X-ray diffraction instrument. The powder-handling device, now featured on the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity, won Blake the 2010 NASA Commercial Government Invention of the Year award. His technology allowed scientists to analyze the billion-year-old rocks on the Red Planet.

Susan Draper performs microstructural analysis of metals and determines where fractures have occurred and propagated. Draper is currently characterizing electron-beam-melted, additive-manufactured titanium-6 aluminum-4 vanadium, a titanium alloy. Her team is currently working with the rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer Aerojet Rockdyne to improve the RL10 rocket engine.

Brian Trease, JPL Mechanical Engineer, uses origami principles to design large-scale and small-scaled deployable structures. In 2013, Trease collaborated with experts to develop an 82-ft circular solar array that folds up to be 8.9 feet in diameter.

Jeff Ding developed Ultrasonic Stir Welding (USW) to join large pieces of very high‑strength metals, such as titanium and Inconel. The solid-state weld process improves the current Thermal Stir Welding process by adding high-power ultrasonic (HPU) energy at 20 kHz frequency.

Michelle Munk is Entry, Descent and Landing Principal Investigator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate. Most recently, Munk was the subsystem lead and the Deputy Project Manager for the Mars Science Laboratory Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrumentation (MEDLI) flight payload.

Kenneth Dudley is a researcher in the Electromagnetics and Sensors Branch at NASA's Langley Research Center. His project team currently focuses on the testing and development of the SansEC sensor.

Dr. Vadim Smelyanskiy is a principal scientist for physics-based methods in the Exploration Technology Directorate at NASA Ames Research Center. During his tenure at NASA, he has been the principal investigator on several projects funded by NASA and other government agencies.

Tom Flatley, computer engineer and current head of the Science Data Processing Branch at Goddard Space Flight Center, leads a group of engineers and programmers in their development of flight and ground-based science data processing systems and applications, including SpaceCube, CubeSats/SmallSats, modeling/simulation/visualization, and other technologies.

David Wing is the principal investigator for the Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) concept and software application. The cockpit technology, while taking aircraft traffic, weather, and other data sources into account, will compute trajectory changes during the flight to save pilots time and fuel.