Taking Computer Science to the Stars!
So how does one go from being an active participant in defining culture via media, to being an active participant in defining the future of human knowledge and exploration? Turns out, if one builds the foundation, listens and seeks out like-minded folks, and embraces the opportunities as they arise, then the universe has a way of building that path in a spectacular fashion.
It’s been a heck of a ride already, and things are only just getting started!
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Scientific Applications Software Engineer / Radar Section
Synthetic Aperture Radar Algorithms Group
April 2022 - Present
· Product Lead for the Quality Assurance (QA) code for the L1/L2 science data products for the NISAR Mission.
· Developer on the DSWx-HLS product for the OPERA project, which maps the changing surface water across the globe and makes this data freely available for the public and (relatively) easy to view and analyze for anyone with a web browser.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Capture Lead / Planetary Science Summer School
June 2021 - Aug 2021
Program Website: JPL PSSS
· 11-week course in proposal writing and mission design taught by JPL’s Team X
· Collaborated with and led a team of 18 Ph.D. and Postdoc scientists to research, formulate, and design a $1B New Frontiers Venus In-Situ Mission
· We presented our mission during a mock review board panel that included the head of the New Frontiers program at NASA Headquarters and center subject matter experts
NASA Ames Research Center
Pathways Intern / Intelligent Systems Division
Automated Planning and Scheduling Group
Sept. 2020 - March 2022
· Leveraged artificial intelligence and Mixed Integer-Linear Programming to create an autonomous service request scheduler in MATLAB for a proposed low-cost, ad-hoc Lunar Position, Navigation, and Timing smallsat constellation (a.k.a. GPS for the moon)
Conference Paper and Presentation:
“Scheduling Postion, Navigation and Time Service Requests from Non-dedicated Lunar Constellations” (IEEE Aerospace Conference, 2022)
Research areas:
· Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP)
· Distributed Spacecraft Systems
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Intern / Software Development for the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover
June 2020 - Aug. 2020
· Developed an interface to connect 200+ downlink telemetry channels to a 3D model of M2020’s Adaptive Caching Assembly (ACA); this will enable rover operators to quickly visualize the ACA’s state and movements
· Wrote tests using Python’s unit testing framework to verify rover command sequences prior to uplink
NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC)
Intern / Software Development for Uncertainty Quantification Research
June 2019 – Sept. 2019
· Used the Multi-Level Monte Carlo (MLMC) Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) algorithm to accelerate the computational processing time for high-precision predictions vs. the traditional Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm
· Developed a Python wrapper to interface with NASA’s Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories II (POST2) trajectory simulation software for Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) operations
· Examined the computational speedup provided by MLMC when using both serial and parallel code implementations on a High-Performance Computing (HPC) cluster
· Performed a preliminary study of the Multifidelity Monte Carlo (MFMC) UQ algorithm which can leverage Machine Learning surrogate models to further decrease the computational cost of UQ
· Traced NASA’s legacy Monte Carlo EDL simulation workflow (written in Perl, MATLAB, shell script, and binary files); replicated its key logic into Python scripts in order to generate random input samples, populate and build the POST2 input decks, and then handle file i/o to interface with POST2
· Collaborated with multiple departments; Presented initial results to 30+ researchers across 5 LaRC departments and 2 NASA centers in a final PowerPoint Presentation
NASA Kennedy Space Center
Intern / Software Development for Launch Control Systems
Sept. 2018 - Dec. 2018
My Final Paper can be found on the NASA Technical Reports Server.
· Developed two new system application GUI features for the Spaceport Command and Control System at KSC which will be used to help launch rockets into space
· Wrote the original source code, developed robust unit tests using multiple testing frameworks, handled code review, and wrote functional tests for these two features as part of the software development cycle
· Created new unit tests for legacy code to improve the overall system’s maintainability; for one class, I increased the code coverage for methods by 10%, for lines by 14%, and for conditionals by 19%
· Utilized version-control software, an automated testing framework, and shell scripting for configuration
· Collaborated with several full-time engineers, including my technical leads and senior management
NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS)
Extracurricular / Project Manager
Nov. 2017 - Feb. 2018
Program Website: NCAS
· Led a team of 11 students to design and test our prototype rover, create the final presentation, and win a fictional NASA contract.
· Completed a five-week online course covering the past, present, and future of NASA. Placed in the top of the class in order to be selected for the on-site rover competition.
Shoutout to my Mentors
Thank You.
You have each taken a chance on me every step of the way. You have each brought me in and taught me more than I could ever have dreamed. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to thank you properly, and pay that forward.