Andrew L. Email & Phone Number

Stanford University

Developing in-situ materials and methods for extraterrestrial surface construction with terrestrial sustainability applications. My work currently focuses on biopolymer-bound soil composite (BSC), a concrete analog made from any type of granular soil (including regolith) and an inexpensive protein binder. I'm developing methods for 3D printing the material as we assess methods for autonomous construction.

The SSI Mars Team is a winner of NASA's SPOCS (Student Payload Opportunity with Citizen Science) design competition, with an experiment flying aboard the ISS sometime in 2022. Our experiment will reveal the material properties of biopolymer-bound soil composite (a concrete analog material that can be prepared on Mars and the Moon) when formed in microgravity. This should allow predictions for the material's properties in Martian and lunar gravity, informing its use for extraterrestrial surface construction.

Founder and co-lead of new SSI core team centered on Martian exploration and settlement. Some projects focus on in situ resource utilization (ISRU), a broad group of technologies that use Martian resources to sustain long-term (and eventually indefinite) surface missions. Others are more outside the box, such as subscale tests of ice-regolith landing pads.

Overseeing research and analysis for the Spaceshot project, a suborbital rockoon (balloon-suspended sounding rocket) mission seeking to make Stanford University the first civilian college to cross the Kármán Line and enter outer space.

Hawthorne, California, United States

Developed an upgraded regolith excavation system for Astrolab’s FLEX (Flexible Logistics and Exploration) rover, a lunar terrain vehicle contracted for delivery to the lunar surface in 2026. Led a student team to assist with excavator development and produce controlled low-strength cementitious material (CLSM) to mimic ice-bearing regolith.

Longyearbyen, Svalbard

Worked as a polar bear guard and launched over 100 high-altitude weather balloons from Svalbard in support of the U.S. Office of Naval Research’s 2021 and 2022 THINICE campaigns.

Assisting with research for development of MultiSorb, a 3D-printed zeolite structure optimized to surpass the capabilities of traditional CO2 scrubbers in terms of cost and cyclability. This next-generation life support technology may aid long duration missions in enclosed environments such as spacecraft, space stations, and submarines.

Hawthorne, California, United States

Developed thermal protection system component for Dragon space capsule (both cargo and crew variants), worked at height on Starship test vehicle.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Designed and built manufacturing equipment to produce high-temperature superconducting magnets for SPARC tokamak fusion reactor.

Long Beach, California, United States

Assisted with additive manufacturing, metallurgy, metrology, and data analysis in support of Terran 1 first flight and Terran R launch vehicle development.

Seattle, Washington, United States

Performed mechanical analysis and computer-aided design for nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system fueled with low-enriched uranium. Assisted modeling and prototyping of chargeable atomic battery (CAB), a safe radioisotope device that provides continuous heat and electricity after being charged in a fission reactor.

Moffett Field, Ca

Helped design microgravity manufacturing facility for ISS National Laboratory, performed systems engineering work (including requirement decomposition, ConOps development, and risk database management) for NASA contract deliverables. Performed research and development work for lunar in situ resource utilization (ISRU) and microgravity crystal growth.

Center For Advanced Energy Studies, Idaho National Laboratory

Performing finite element analysis and computational modeling for multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), examining oxygen stoichiometry in plutonium dioxide fuel pellets.

Chemical Engineering Department, Stanford University

Creating novel combinations of electrode material, electrolyte, and organic substrate to replace OER (oxygen evolution reaction) with an oxidation reaction of increased efficiency, thereby lowering power requirements for HER (hydrogen evolution reaction) to lower hydrogen cost while producing value-added organic products

Chavín De Huántar, Áncash Region, Peru

Performed survey and sample collection of damaging crystal formations on temple structures of Chavín de Huántar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sampled residue on El Lanzón (last idol in original worship location in New World) for conservation purposes and chemical analysis

Chavín De Huántar, Áncash Region, Peru

Engineered camera probes for investigating underground spaces, used comparative photography to prove existence of new subterranean gallery prior to entry during following year, obtained evidence of gallery complex sealed for ~2500 years using camera probes and novel excavation techniques (entry to begin in 2019 excavation season)

Founding board member of SAIG, responsibilities include organizing weekly ethics discussions, inviting relevant speakers, advocating for ethical behavior in AI/tech industry

Chemistry Department, Stanford University

Research of novel lead-free perovskite materials for use in photovoltaic devices, developed process for creating Cs2AgBiBr6 thin films to evaluate potential for photovoltaic use as replacement for lead halideperovskites, discovery of nanoparticle formation hindering material absorbance

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Master'S Degree, Chemical Engineering

Bachelor'S Degree, Chemical Engineering

International Baccalaureate Diploma, Valedictorian