Curriculum Vitae

Objective:
I am currently pursuing research on a PhD at the University of Colorado in the area of nano-scale materials and structures. I am excited to be in this rapidly developing field which has broad applications in the aerospace engineering industry as well as other industries including renewable energies. In addition, I enjoy working on spacecraft systems; business development and have a strong interest in national space policy. I am always interested to learn more in these areas as I pursue my PhD.

Recent Honors / Awards:

1. AIAA Foundation Numerical Analysis of Nanoscale Materials Graduate Award. June '11
2. 1st place, student presentation competition, Phononics 2011 Conference in Santa Fe, NM. Place first of eleven Phd presentations, each of which were competitively selected to orally present during the conference. June '11
3. The National Science Foundation Phononics 2011 Student Travel Grant May '11
4. Individually invited by the NASA Administrator's office to attend the Presidential Space Summit at The Kennedy Space Center on April 15th, 2010.
   -One of a few students among two-hundred guests to hear President Obama present his new policies for NASA.
5. Chapter of the Year Award, Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, Nov '09
   -Traveled with core group to accept award in Tuscon, AZ
6. Finalist, Biennial Conference on Mechanical Vibration and Noise Student Paper Competition, Sep '09
   -Won second place in the Biennial Conference on Mechanical Vibration and Noise Student Paper Competition, held in San Diego at the ASME IDETC conference.
7. Finalist, Frank J. Redd Student Scholarship Competition: Logan, Utah, Aug '09
   -Presented work on the DANDE spacecraft separation system at the 23rd annual Conference on Small Satellites.
   -Recognized with a $7,000 dollar scholarship for my contributions to the DANDE Satellite Project and an invitation to chair a technical session at the Small Satellite Systems and Services Symposium in Franchal, Portugal.
8. John A. Vise Memorial Scholarship, Mar '09
   -Annual CU Aerospace Engineering Department Award for a PhD student with demonstrated excellence in academics, research, and who have contributed community service.
   -Award recognized with a $6,000 dollar scholarship.
9. 1st Place, University Nano-Satellite Competition: AFRL, Kirtland-AFB, Jan '09
   -Core manager of graduate/undergraduate team of 40 challenged to build a 50kg spacecraft. Placing first awards manifests the spacecraft to fly aboard a DoD carrier.
   -Led the effort to design/analyze/build/test the spacecraft structural and separation subsystems.

Education:
      Ph.D. Aerospace Eng Sciences: Class of 2012, The University of Colorado at Boulder, (In Progress)
      M.S. Aerospace Eng Sciences: Class of 2008, The University of Colorado at Boulder, GPA 3.86
      B.S. Aerospace Engineering: Class of 2006, The Pennsylvania State University, GPA 3.31

Publications:
(note: four papers pending)

1. Davis, B.L., Hussein, M.I., “Thermal characterization of nanoscale phononic crystals using supercell lattice dynamics", AIP Advances 1, 041701 (2011)
2. Reinke, C.M., Mehmet F.S., Davis, B.L., Hussein, M.I., Bongsang, K., Hussein, M.I., Olsson-III, R.H., El-Kady, I., “Thermal conductivity prediction of nanoscale phononic crystal slabs using a hybrid lattice dynamics-continuum mechanics technique", AIP Advances 1, 041403 (2011)
3. Davis, B.L., Tomchek, A.S., Flores, E.A, Liu, L., Hussein, M.I., "Analysis of Periodicity Termination in Phononic Crystals", ASEM International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Denver 2011
4. Davis, B.L., Hussein, M.I., “A Three-Dimensional Lumped Parameter Model of Nanoscale Phononic Crystals”, ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, 22nd Biennial Conference on Mechanical Vibration and Noise (VIB), San Diego, California 2009
5. Davis, B.L., Palo, S., “The Design and Development of a Separation System for a a Low-Cost Spherical Nanosatellite”, 23rd Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites, [CD-ROM: SSC09-VIII-5, pp. 1-12], Logan, Utah 2009
6. Hussein, M.I., Ruzzene, M., Leamy, L.J., Durrie, J.J., Davis, B.L., “NEMS Components Design Using Intentionally Defected Dispersive Building Blocks”, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition. [CD ROM: pp. 1-7], Boston, Massachusetts 2008
7. Davis, B.L., Grusin, M.D., Helgesen, B., Koehler, C.J., “The Creation and Impact of Corporate Mentorship on Student-Led Satellite Projects”, 22nd Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites, [CD-ROM: SSC08-XII-5, pp. 1-13], Logan, Utah 2008
8. Davis, B.L., Pomeroy, B.R., “Design and Flight Data Comparison of Aluminum and Sandwich Composite Sounding Rocket Deckplates”, 17th ESA Symposium on European Rocket & Balloon Programmes and Related Research Conference, pp. 461-466, Sandefjord, Norway 2005

Research Experience:

1. Dynamics and Wave Propagation of Nano-Composites, Univ of Colorado, May '08-Present
   -Modeling lattice dynamics of crystalline materials and structures
   -Optimization of nano-scale materials for desired vibrations and thermal transport properties
2. Requirement Definition for a Lunar Outpost Analogue, Univ of Colorado, Jan '07-May '08
   -Worked to translate life support system functions into hardware and operational requirements.
   -Led a focus group on requirement definition and construction of a true-scale dust vestibule mockup for NASA’s VSE Lunar Lander dust mitigation vestibule.
3. Honeycomb Sandwich Composite Plates for Sounding Rockets, Penn State Univ, Jan '05-May '06
   -Developed a carbon fiber and honeycomb sandwich composite deckplate as a lighter alternative to industry-standard aluminum.
   -Demonstrated performance on two NASA Sounding Rocket Missions (41.035 & 41.056)

Teaching Experience:
Invited Talks

1. An Overview of Lattice Dynamics, Current Research
   -Presented to graduate level class on mechanical vibrations in physics, April '10
2. A Three-Dimensional Lumped Parameter Model of Nanoscale Phononic Crystals
   -2009 Design Engineering Technical Conferences, 22nd Biennial Conference on Mechanical and Vibration, Aug '09
3. A Lattice Dynamics Perspective to Nanomaterials: Modeling Analysis and Design
   -Presented to Univ of Colorado Multiscale Computation Mechanics Group, May '09
4. The Challenges of Keeping Humans Alive in a Hazardous Solar System
   -Presented as a high school seminar, Fayetteville-Manlius High School, Nov '07

Lectures / Tutoring

1. Teacher Assistant, Course on Aerospace Engineering Math (Graduate Level, 40+ students) at Univ of Colorado, Fall 2010
2. Guest Lecture, graduate level course on Fundamentals of Vibration Physics, Spring 2010
   -1st lecture on Lagrangian Mechanics (method for deriving of equations of motion for complex systems)
   -2nd lecture on Distributed Parameter Systems (derivation of natural frequencies / mode shapes of Euler-Bernoulli bar/beams)
   -3rd lecture on Modal Reduction of Distributed Parameter Systems
3. Teacher Assistant, Course on Aerospace Engineering Structures (Junior Level, 60+ students) at Univ of Colorado, Fall 2009
   -Taught 10+ recitation lectures, held weekly office hours, 3 semester lab assignments and graded 4 midterms
4. Private Tutor, Fall 2006
   -Orbital Mechanics & Spacecraft Systems Engineering, Student Cadet, US Air Force Academy

Work Experience:

1. Colorado Space Grant Consortium, University of Colorado, May '08-Jan '09
   -Grad Student Research Asst. / mentor to 60+ undergraduate students working on spacecraft projects.
   -Facilitated planning, personnel, state-wide activities, and lab procurement.
2. Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Aug '06-Jun '08
   -Graduate Student Research Assistant, working on the Glory Spacecraft
   -Verified requirements for Total Solar Irradiance instrument to be launched in late 2010
3. NASA Academy Internship, Goddard Space and Flight Center 2006, May '06-Aug '06
   -Assisted lead system engineer on the Glory satellite mission.
   -Determined reliability and vehicle vibration analyses presented at Mission Critical Design Review.
   -Lived with 20 other NASA Academy students participating in nightly guest lectures, weekly tours of space related companies in the Washington DC region and four trips to various space active regions such as Colorado, Alabama, Texas, etc.
4. NASA Goddard Space and Flight Center Internship, May '05-Aug '05
   -Supported lead system engineers for the James Webb Space Telescope satellite mission
   -Utilized DOORS™ Software to organize and refine system requirements.
5. Sensis Corporation, Dewitt, New York (aerospace) Internship, May '04-Aug '04
   -Coordinated with a team to design an air traffic control system.
   -Solely responsible for technical analysis detailing remote power generation and consumption.

Selected Curricular Activities:
Space Advocacy

1. Member of the Citizens for Space Exploration, Activist Group.
   -Invited to travel to Capitol Hill on three occasions (May '08,'09,'10) to discuss student perspectives and space policy to congressional leaders.
2. Member of the Colorado Space Business Roundtable, student representative to the board of directors (non-voting).
3. Member of Pro Space, Activist Group.
   -Attended training session, rally on Capitol Hill (Mar '07), active voting member.
4. Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), National Group
   -President of the University of Colorado at Boulder Chapter, '07-'08. Oversaw the organization of: lectures, planetarium viewings, policy panels, outreach and student trips (including to SEDS national conference and Washington DC), member since '06.
   -Secretary of National Governing Organization working with 25+ chapters, '08-present
   -Advisor to CUSEDS from '08-present.

Technical Projects

1. Advisor, DANDE Satellite Student team, Jan '09-Present
   -Established the post-competition student leadership.
   -Point-of-contact for engineers at the Air Force Research Lab, Kirtland AFB.
2. Core Manager of the DANDE Satellite Student team, Jan '07-Jan '09
   -One of two managers of a 40+ student team.
   -Responsible for schedule, integration, testing, personnel and budget.
   -Team won 1st place of 11 universities in Jan '09 earning additional funding and a launch manifest.
3. Advisor, Student Microgravity Team '08-'09
   -Wilberforce Pendulum, A Study of Coupled Mode Systems in a Microgravity Environment
   -Met with team weekly during the proposal stage, established mission goals and management structure. Reviewed engineering design and procedures
4. Advisor, Student Microgravity Team '07-'08
   -DANDE Spacecraft, Study and characterization of the DANDE Separation System
   -Wrote the proposal, assembled team, established/reviewed design, traveled with team to Johnson Space Center, performed post-analysis
5. Student Projects Involving Rocket Investigation Techniques (SPIRIT III), Jan '04-May '06
   -Led a group of 20 students to design, test and build the structure of a NASA sounding rocket.
   -Team interfaced with four other Penn State teams, NASA Engineers and three Norwegian Universities.
   -SPIRIT III launched to an altitude of 185km on July 1st, 2006 from Andøya, Norway.
   -Developed alternative sandwich composite deckplate for sounding rockets, 80% mass savings.

Collegiate Activities

1. Chair of the CU Aerospace Graduate Student Organization Sep '10-Present
   -Chair of a six person committee representing 260+ graduate students.
2. Mentor for a CU Undergraduate Discovery Learning Apprentice Student, Aug '08-Present
   -Mentor / collaborate with an undergraduate, foreign-national student working in research group.
   -Responsible for guiding the student into a contributing role of the research team.
3. University Park Allocation Committee (The Pennsylvania State University), May '03-May '05
   -Allocated university and student funds for club travel, operations and on-campus programming
   -Active in 100+ requests for funding with allocation totals ranging at times in excess of $100k
   -Elected '03 and re-elected '04 by the student body of Penn State
4. Penn State Crew Team, Varsity Rower '02-'04

High School Activities

1. Member of the Youth Leadership of Greater Syracuse Program '00-'02
2. Fayetteville-Manlius HS Technical Theatre Group, participating in 100+ events, lead for 10+ productions.
   -Founding Student Member of the FMTV News Studio
3. Fayetteville-Manlius HS Cross Country Runner '96-'02

Coursework
Graduate:                                                                        Undergraduate Electives:
      Quantum Mechanics                                                        The Space Environment
      Nano-scale Energy Transport and Conversion                 Spacecraft Propulsion
      Solid State Physics                                                           Engineering Composite Materials
      Vibration in Mechanics & Physics                                    Introduction to Astronomy
      Dynamics of Aerospace Structures                                  Sociology, Societal Problems
      Finite Element Analysis                                                    Introduction to Psychology
      Non-Linear Finite Element Analysis                                History of Germany 1890-1945
      Aerospace Mathematics in '06, TA in '10
      Space/Science Policy
      Spacecraft Habitat Design (3 courses)
      Systems Engineering
      Satellite Remote Sensing
      Statistics in Engineering

Hobbies:
Space Exploration/Policy, Spacecraft Design, Sailing, Hiking, Skiing, Rock Climbing, Technical Theatre and Lego Construction