PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

02/2012 – present      Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, California State University, Long Beach, USA           

Development Engineer / Research Analyst

Develops a multi-thruster aerospike engine using LOX/propylene to be integrated into a pressure-fed two-stage-to-orbit nanosat launch vehicle.

• Identifies superior components, techniques and materials in accordance with project requirements by 1) performing multidisciplinary trade studies and numerical simulations.

• Designs and configures subcomponents such as thrusters, plug, injector, feed lines and supporting structures with NX Unigraphics.

• Develops curved thrusters, which lead to an increase in overall performance of 4% compared to a generic thruster layout by increasing the total area ratio.

04/2005 – 01/2012     Institute of Aerodynamics, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Research Engineer

Performednumerical simulations, analyzed and interpreted flow structures in the base region of a linear scramjet engine and of generic cylindrical launch systems in the framework of national research projects with participation of the German Aerospace Center and EADS Astrium GmbH.

• Adapted an in-house flow solver written in Fortran and implemented subroutines to simulate time accurate, multi-species, compressible base flows in the transonic and supersonic flow regime using Large-Eddy Simulations. 

• Post-processed data using self-written Fortran programs and Tecplot to analyze flow properties and heat fluxes in the time and frequency domain.

• Identified and quantified temporally resolved recirculating flow structures causing mechanical and thermal loads in the base region of different spacecraft.

• Developed subsequent research projects and acquired appropriate fundings.

• Supervised and mentored several graduate and Ph.D. students.

• Managed and conducted project meetings and public project events.

• Published results and presented findings at national and international conferences.

10/2003 – 04/2004     EADS Space Transportation, Ottobrunn, Germany                                                                        

Intern in the predevelopment department.

• Adapted an Excel simulation program to predict pressure losses and heat transfer of coolant of a sub-scaled VULCAIN II and a VINCI engine.

• Assisted in the setup of hardware for hot-fire tests of a sub-scaled VULCAIN II engine at Lampoldshausen, Germany.

10/ 2002 – 08/2003    Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Student Assistant in a Collaborative Research Center dealing with basic research and technologies for two-stage-to-orbit vehicles.  

• Implemented Fortran programs determining the change of center of gravity and moments of inertia by consuming propellants during ascent of a TSTO spacecraft.

• Optimized TSTO tank layout which led to an enhanced maneuverability.

EDUCATION                

04/2005 - 10/2009     Dr.-Ing. in Aerospace Engineering, Institute of Aerodynamics, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

             Major: Computational Fluid Dynamics

10/1999 - 12/2004     Dipl.-Ing. in Mechanical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University,

             Major: Aerospace Engineering, Propulsion Systems

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

02/2012 – present     California State University, Long Beach, USA

Develops an aerospike engine in the framework of a 16-month research fellowship.

10/2007 – 03/2008    University of California, San Diego, USA

Implemented multi-species capability into a Fortran flow solver.                                                

05/2004 – 10/2004    University of California, Davis, USA

Handled diploma thesis.     

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

Languages                   German (mother tongue)

English (fluent)

French (basic)

Computer skills           OS: Windows, Linux (proficient)

MS Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint (proficient)

Tecplot, CFD++, Fortran, LaTeX (proficient)

NX Unigraphics, MatLab, Mathematica (basic)