Summary of Qualifications

Skilled research engineer with doctorate in aerospace engineering. Experienced in space electric propulsion, plasma diagnostics, and vacuum systems. Excellent learning and management skills.

Experience

December 2006 – present

Electric Propulsion and Plasma Engineering Laboratory, Colorado State University

Fort Collins, CO, USA

Postdoctoral researcher

§         Supervised student team designing and manufacturing Fast Starting Hollow Cathode Test Pallet (FAST) for use on a sounding rocket mission, operated by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), set to launch in 2009.

§         Performed total and differential sputter yield measurements of advanced materials for electric propulsion equipped spacecraft. Modified measurement system to improve accuracy.

§         Participated in design and testing of low-Earth orbit plasma simulator for NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

§         Performed theoretical and experimental study of hollow cathode discharge initiation process. Fabricated and tested fast starting hollow cathode, that will be used in a sounding rocket mission.

§         Supervised senior design team working on experimental verification of a novel non-intrusive method for determining the Hall current structure inside the Hall thruster acceleration channel.

2002-2006

Technion-Israel Institute of Technology

Haifa, Israel

Graduate Fellow/Research Assistant

§         Developed a novel method for non-intrusive diagnostics of Hall thrusters that can be used in on-board diagnostic system.

§         Performed magnetic field optimization for new Hall thruster models, including Hall thruster with novel magnetic circuit configuration, which is being patented.

2003-2006

Technion-Israel Institute of Technology

Haifa, Israel

Graduate Teaching Assistant

§         Graded undergraduate and graduate level courses and worked as lab instructor.

§         Supervised student teams during practice satellite design course.

1998-2002

Keldysh Research Center

 Moscow, Russia

Scientific Researcher

§         Designed and fabricated plasma probe measurement system; performed the study of plasma inside the Hall thruster acceleration channel using Langmuir probes.

§         Participated in a qualification test of a Hall thruster.

§         Performed study of a solar power satellite demonstration experiment for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Skills

§         Applied mathematics – numerical optimization methods, finite-difference methods for partial differential equations, finite element method.  

§         Computer skills:  operating systems: MS Windows, Linux,  office and word processors: MS office, TeX, math software: MatLab, Mathematica, MathCad, programming: C, CAD: Pro-Engineer, FEM: ANSYS, Maxwell 3D, ePhysics,  

§         Skilled experimentalist (plasma diagnostics, electric propulsion)

§         Experience with vacuum systems setup and maintenance

Education

2007

Technion-Israel Institute of Technology

Haifa, Israel

PhD, Aerospace Engineering

Research advisors: Professor Moshe Guelman, Dr. Alexander Kapulkin

§         Thesis title “Analysis of the Onboard Diagnostics System for Hall Thruster”

2000

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology

Moscow, Russia

MSc, Aerospace Engineering

Research advisor: Dr. Oleg Gorshkov

§         Thesis title “Study of Plasma Parameters in the Acceleration Channel of a Low-Power Hall Thruster”.

1998

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology

Moscow, Russia

BSc, Aerospace Engineering

Languages

§         Russian - Native speaker

§         English - Fluent

§         Hebrew - Fluent

Honors and Awards

2002-2006

Technion – IIT Graduate Fellowship

2004

Prof. Timnat Award

2000

Keldysh research Center Scientific Works Contest, 1^st place

Publications and Presentations

§         B.Rubin, J.D. Williams, , “Hollow Cathode Conditioning and Discharge Initiation Studies”,  in preparation, will be submitted to Journal of Applied Physics.

§         B. Rubin, J.L. Topper. A.P. Yalin, “Low Energy Sputter Yields Of Boron Nitride due to Xenon Ion Bombardment”, will be presented at 44^th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, to be held in Hartford,  USA, July 2008.

§         H.A. Fujii, T. Watanabe,  T. Kusagaya, H. Kojima, K.-I. Oyama, S.Sasaki,  K. Tanaka, T. Abe, M. Shimoyama,  Y. Yamagiwa,  H. Ohtsu,  M. Cho, T. Hada, J.R. Sanmartin, M. Charro, A. Hilgers, J.-P. Lebreton, E. van der Heide, M. Kruijff, F. De Pascale, J.D. Williams, B. Rubin, C. L. Johnson, G. V. Khazanov, P.M. Trivailo, "Space Verification of Space Tether Technology and Its Future", will be presented at 8th Space Science Symposium to be held at ISAS/JAXA, Japan,  January 2008

§         B. Rubin, J. L. Topper, A.P. Yalin, “Total and Differential Sputter Yield of Boron Nitride Measured by Quartz Crystal Microbalance and Weight Loss”, 30^th International Electric Propulsion Conference, Florence, Italy, 2007.

§         A.P. Yalin, B.Rubin, S.R. Domingue, Z.Glueckert, J.D. Williams, “Differential Sputter Yields of Boron Nitride, Quartz and Kapton Due to Low Energy Xe+ Bombardment”, 43^rd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, Cincinnati,  USA, 2007.

§         B. Rubin, J.D. Williams, “Hollow Cathode Conditioning and Discharge Initiation Studies”, 34th IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science, Albuquerque, USA, 2007.

§         J. D. Williams, B. Rubin, and C. C. Farnell,  “Fast Starting Hollow Cathodes for Sounding  Rocket-Based Tether Experiments”, Joint Army Navy NASA Air Force JPM/LPS/SPS/MSS Meeting, Denver, USA, 2007

§         B.Rubin, M.Guelman & A.Kapulkin, ”Magnetic Sensing of Azimuthal Current in Hall Thruster: in-Flight Diagnostic Potential”,  Journal of Propulsion and Power, vol.24, p.118.

§         B.Rubin, M.Guelman & A.Kapulkin, ”Research on Optimization of Onboard Magnetic Diagnostics System of Hall Thruster Plasma”, 29th International Electric Propulsion Conference, Princeton University, USA, 2005.

§         B.Rubin, M.Guelman & A.Kapulkin, ”Principles of Hall Thruster Onboard Malfunction Diagnostics Based on Magnetic Field Measurements of Plasma Currents”, 4th International Spacecraft Propulsion Conference, Chia Laguna (Cagliari), Italy, 2004.

§         V.Rubin, N. Blinov & S. Irishkov, ”Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of Processes in Plasma Thrusters”, 53-rd International Astronautical Congress, Houston, USA, 2002.

§         M.B. Belikov, O.A. Gorshkov, V.A. Muravlev, R.N. Rizakhanov & V.G. Rubin, “Experimental Investigations of Ionization Oscillations in Hall Thrusters”, VI International Congress of Propulsion Engineering, Ukraine, 2002.

References

References are available upon request