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Prof. Mitchell Walker

Prof. Mitchell Walker

Laboratory Director
Dr. Dan Lev

Dr. Dan Lev

Research Engineer
Dr. Dongho Lee

Dr. Dongho Lee

Postdoctoral Researcher

Dongho Lee obtained a Ph.D. in Physics from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea in 2022 where he focused on developing micro-Hall thrusters (50 - 300 W) as well as various electrostatic/optical plasma diagnostics. He mainly investigated ionization/acceleration structures and their correlation between thruster performances in micro-Hall thrusters. He joined HPEPL as a postdoctoral researcher in August 2022 and is particularly interested in analyzing the underlying plasma plasmas by using advanced diagnostics to improve operations of electric propulsion.

Graduate Students

Jean Luis Suazo Betancourt

Jean Luis Suazo Betancourt (US citizen) received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland College Park in the Spring of 2017 before joining HPEPL as a graduate student in the Fall of 2017. His primary research interests include the development of laser-based diagnostic systems for fundamental plasma physics and performance investigations of electric propulsion devices. On a macro-scale, he is interested in the effects these performance investigations have on the current models for electric propulsion devices as they become a more integral part of the satellite architectures associated with our national space infrastructure.

William Brabston

William (Will) Brabston (US Citizen) graduated with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and B.G.S. in Economics from the University of Kansas in Spring 2020. He started at Georgia Tech in Fall 2020 as a graduate student where he then joined HPEPL.  His primary research interests lie in advanced plasma diagnostics and plasma interactions within a thruster. Will believes high-power electric propulsion will play an integral part in deep space exploration and multi-planetary habitation. 

Naia Butler-Craig

Naia Butler-Craig

NSTGRO Fellow, GEM Fellow

Naia Butler-Craig (US citizen) graduated with a B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with minors in Computational and Applied Mathematics. She joined HPEPL as a graduate student in August 2019. Her primary research interests include the plasma physics of electron confinement and miniaturization of electric thrusters for nanosatellite applications. Naia desires to help enable deep space exploration with electric propulsion technologies and inspire the next generation of STEM professionals.

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Janice Cabrera

Janice Cabrera

NSF Fellow, GEM Fellow

Janice Cabrera (US citizen) graduated with a B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She joined HPEPL as a graduate student in August 2020. Her primary research interests include high-speed plasma diagnostics and facility effects on Hall effect thrusters. 

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Chhavi

Chhavi

Graduate Research Assistant

Chhavi graduated with a B. Tech degree in Aerospace Engineering from SRM University, Chennai, India in 2018.  She joined HPEPL as a graduate student in August 2018. Her primary research interests include functional Hall thruster design and plasma turbulence.  Chhavi desires to help enable deep space exploration with electric propulsion technologies using economical and innovative solutions.

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Muhannad Eladl

Muhannad Eladl

Graduate Research Assistant

Muhannad Eladl (US citizen) received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2019. He started in the lab as an undergraduate student in 2018 and as a graduate student in 2019.  His primary interest is in non-invasive plasma diagnostic techniques and facility effects for high-power electric propulsion devices.

David Jovel

David Jovel

GEM Fellow, SREB Fellow, Aerospace Corporation Fellow

David earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2011. His primary research interest is electrical facility effects with a focus on the various ion-electron recombination pathways in ground test facilities. David strongly believes in the equity of public education and mentoring the next generation of engineers, especially the youth from underrepresented communities in STEM.

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Jacob Knott

Jacob Knott

Graduate Research Assistant

Jacob Knott (US citizen) graduated with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of technology in 2019, working as an undergraduate research assistant for HPEPL beginning in 2018. After graduation, Jacob worked as an Electric Propulsion Test Engineer for Busek Co. from 2019-2022, before rejoining HPEPL as a graduate research assistant in fall 2022. His research interests include plasma-material interactions and wear mechanisms in electric propulsion systems, as well as the use of novel propellants in EP. Jacob hopes to use this research to inform the designs of new EP systems enabling more ambitious space exploration and transportation missions.

Ajay Krishnan

Ajay Krishnan (US Citizen) graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley in May 2018 and an MEng in Space Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in April 2021. He started at Georgia Tech in Spring 2021 as a PhD student, where he went on to join HPEPL. His primary research interests include power electronics, electric propulsion, and fusion. He is presently interested in investigating new topologies, components, and control techniques for use in power processing units (PPUs), along with thruster-PPU interactions. Ajay believes that high power electric propulsion, fusion, and their accompanying power electronics will be vital in deep space exploration efforts.  

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Adrian Vicente La Lande

Adrian Vicente La Lande (US citizen) graduated with an A.A. from Hillsborough Community College and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2020. He joined HPEPL in 2018 as an undergraduate research student and has stayed on to pursue a Ph.D. in the field of electric propulsion. Adrian is interested in furthering our understanding of plasma interactions with regard to high-power electric propulsion applications. He sees progress in the new wave of space development, both as a harbinger of scientific advancement and as a means of uplifting all members of society.

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Julian Lopez-Uricoechea

Julian Lopez-Uricoechea

NSTGRO Fellow, GEM Fellow

Julian Lopez-Uricoechea (US citizen) graduated with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and a B.A. in Physics from Brown University in Spring 2020. He joined HPEPL as a graduate student in Fall 2020. His primary research interest is in developing laser-based plasma diagnostics to help better understand the underlying plasma physics in electric propulsion.

Arega Margousian

Arega Margousian

GTRI Fellow

Arega Margousian (US citizen) graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2019 with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. She joined HPEPL as an undergraduate research assistant in 2017 and as a graduate student in August 2021. Her research interests are in developing plasma computational models and optimizing electric propulsion devices for cubesat applications. Arega believes in transforming the space exploration field through sustainable and clean technologies.  

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Joshua Moore

Joshua Moore (US citizen) graduated with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2023. He joined HPEPL as an undergraduate research student in 2022 and as a graduate student in 2023. His research interest lin in alternative propellants and advanced plasma diagnostics.

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Markus Perkins

Markus Perkins (US citizen) earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2023. He joined HPEPL as an undergraduate research assistant in 2021 and as a graduate student in 2023. His primary interests lie in alternative propellants and facility effects on high-power electric propulsion devices.

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Ebise Teshale

Ebise Teshale received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in May 2023. She joined HPEPL in August 2023 as a graduate student. Her research interest lies in the materials used for electric propulsion devices.

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Undergraduate Research Assistants

HPEPL graduate students rely on the support of highly-skilled undergraduates in advancing their research forward. Below are the active undergraduate teams supporting VTF-1 and VTF-2.

VTF-1

Josh Moore

Jeff Pan

Sabrina Mayor

Kevin Zhang

Elijah Clouatre

John Stafford

Alex Garcia

Markus Perkins

 

 

 

 

VTF-2

 

Alex Mealey

Jeffrey Pan

Jason Smith

 

Lab Alumni

"Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance." - Samuel Johnson

Luke Marino, MS

SpaceX

 

Evan Bloom, MS

Blue Origin

 

Christopher Roper, MS

Georgia Tech, Physics

 

Nathan Brown, Ph.D.

Sandia National Laboratories

 

David Gomez, MS

BUSEK

 

Sarah Miller, MS

Cornell University

 

Arega Margousian, BS

BUSEK

 

Jacob Knott, BS

BUSEK

 

Nicholas Branch, MS

Aerojet Rocketdyne

 

Connie Liu, Ph.D.

SpaceX

 

Hisham Ali, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, University of Colorado - Boulder

 

Jason Frieman, Ph.D.

NASA Glenn Research Center

 

Jonathan Walker, Ph.D.

ASML

 

Aaron Schinder, Ph.D.

Lockheed Martin - Skunk Works

 

Tyler Scogin, MS

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

 

Natalie (Schloeder) Caruso, Ph.D.

Northrop Grumman

 

Samuel Langendorf, Ph.D.

Los Alamos National Laboratory

 

Carl Book, MS

Lam Research

 

Lake Singh, Ph.D.

The Aerospace Corporation

 

Logan Williams, Ph.D.

Naval Research Laboratory

 

Brian Fein, MS

Independent Consultant

 

Sebastiano Giannelli, MS

CERN

 

Sherrie Hall, MS

MIT

 

Rafael Martinez, MS

Apollo Fusion

 

Cheong Chan, MS

Northrop Grumman

 

Brandon Sforzo, Ph.D. (postdoc)

Argonne National Laboratory

 

Nils Gerrit Kottke, MS

TU Braunschweig, Germany

 

Howell Hsieh, MS

U.S. Air Force

 

Alex Kieckhafer, Ph.D. (postdoc)

Zinn Technologies

 

Greg McCormick, MS

Georgia Tech Research Institute

 

Doug Palmer, MS

Booz Allen Hamilton

 

Gabriella Possa, MS

Associate Professor, University of Brasilia

 

Kunning Xu, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, University of Alabama Huntsville

 

Kybeom Kwon, Ph.D.

Research Professor, Seoul National University

 

Hoang Dao, MS

Aerojet Rocketdyne

 

Mason Freeman, MS

SpaceX

 

Sean Barnes, MS

Netflix

 

Chenhoe Bae, MS

National Fusion Research Institute, South Korea