Stephen Samples Email & Phone Number

El Segundo, California, United States

Subject Matter Expert (SME) on Electric Propulsion and RF breakdown/Multipactor. I consult and perform R&D in a few areas:- Electric thruster (Hall-Effect, Ion, etc) development and characterization- Plasma diagnostics - RF Breakdown and Multipactor analysis, testing, and mitigation

El Segundo, California, United States

Greater Los Angeles Area

I obtained my PhD in the UCLA Plasma and Space Propulsion Laboratory. My research focus was on the technical development of MiXI, a miniature DC ion thruster, as part of an NSTRF Fellowship. This work included:• Design, simulation, manufacture, characterization, and analysis of plasma devices• Plasma diagnostics including Langmuir, Faraday, ExB, and emissive probing• Thermal, stress, and electromagnetic computational simulations of plasma devices including ion thrusters, micro-hollow cathodes, and split-ring resonators• Technical mentorship to a team of undergraduates (UCLA BruinSpace's Project Rapid) working on electric propulsion devices including a CubeSat MiXI demonstrator, ion thruster digital control interface unit (DCIU), power processing unit (PPU), and propellant feed systemOther projects I have worked on include:• Miniature plasma sources for non-intrusive diagnostics development, including optical emission spectroscopy and laser absorption• Split-ring resonator erosion studies for plasma-based tunable metamaterials• Build-up of vacuum systems including interlock design, data acquisition system design, and Labview programming

Los Angeles, California, United States

I assisted teaching MAE161B "Intro to Spacecraft Technology" as a Teaching Assistant (TA) in Winter 2017, and fully oversaw the course as a Course Administrator in Summer 2020.• As TA, wrote and graded homework and exams, and held a weekly lecture/discussion session and office hours.• As Administrator, performed all instructor course duties including preparing and grading homework and exams, interacting with students, preparing and giving virtual lectures, and holding office hours.

Pasadena, California, United States

• Analytical lifetime modeling of hollow cathodes in support of ASTRAEUS mini Hall Effect thruster development • Investigated heaterless hollow cathodes through internal Langmuir probing and FastCam observations

Cleveland, Ohio, United States

• Participated in NEXT-C power rack integration and testing• Developed calibration rig for inverted pendulum thrust stands• Observed NEXT-C S/N 1 qualification vibration testing in Dec. 2018

Centennial, Co

• Designed and optimized mission trajectories from Liftoff to End of Mission• Used in-house tools to calculate RF link margin over critical phases of flight, modifying the mission antenna sequence to ensure compliance with coverage requirements• Participated in CubeSat Rideshare project, working towards inclusion of free STEM CubeSat slots on every Atlas mission through auxiliary payload integration cycle time reduction (http://www.ulalaunch.com/cubesats.aspx)

Huntsville, Alabama Area

- Designed iodine propellant feed system for a 200 W hall thruster using Proportional Flow Control Valves (PFCVs) as part of iSat program - Utilized NASA's Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP) to create architecture for analysis and simulation of system performance - Developed and built test setup for characterization of PFCV for simulation input

Auburn, Al

- Assisted Dr. Majdalani by performing parametric ANSYS CFD investigations into the effect of non-dimensional parameters (flow swirl, Reynolds number, etc) on the flowfield of bidirectional vortex rocket engines. - Visualized analytical and computational flowfield solutions through MATLAB scripting of visualization software.

Centennial, Co

• Coordinated with suppliers for component testing and failure investigations • Organized meetings and communications to update supplier Statements of Work

Centennial, Co

• Supported patent and business development efforts, from financial and technical perspectives• Performed technical feasibility analyses on future technology projects

Decatur, Alabama

• Supported floor production through planning standardization• Provided stress analyses for hardware damages

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Master Of Science - Ms

Bachelor’S Degree