People Category: AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum 2019

Robert Hanley

Robert J. Hanley is the deputy manager for the Operations Integration Office and acting deputy manager for the Utilization Office for NASA’s Gateway Program.  Robert helps to lead the integration of flight operations, and utilization and science integration in support of the Gateway which will be assembled in cis-lunar space to support NASA’s forward mission to land humans on the moon and provide a stepping stone to Mars.  He is located at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Robert began his career at the Johnson Space Center in 1987 in support of the Space Shuttle program as an engineer in the Vehicle Integration Test Office. He supported the International Space Station (ISS) Program starting in 1996 with assembly and checkout of Space Station elements for astronaut flight crew operations.  He provided lead roles with the first element of the Space Station’s Unity module as well as the US Laboratory, and robotic elements provided by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Beginning in 2005, Robert served as the ISS chief engineer for the Astronaut Office providing leadership for engineering support of the ISS, visiting vehicles to the ISS, crew procedures and payloads. He was also a certified ISS Capsule Communicator (Capcom) for the conduct of integrated simulations and real-time mission operations in NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston.

In 2013, Robert served as the first non-astronaut Technical Deputy to the Chief of the Astronaut Office. He assisted with office oversight including ISS integration, CapCom office, information technology, administrative staff, astronaut appearances and contractor management.

In 2018, Robert conducted a detail at NASA headquarters in the Office of the Administrator as the Council Executive for agency program management councils. He provided strategic support to senior NASA leadership, and program and project executives to conduct decisional council and acquisition meetings and managed monthly performance reporting for mission directorates and mission support offices.

Born in Victoria, Texas, Robert earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Robert is married and lives in League City, Texas just south of the Johnson Space Center.

Meagan Austgen

Meagan is the Vice President of Sales at Rolls-Royce for the Americas Customer Team where she leads sales activity for original equipment and long-term maintenance support agreements with commercial airline customers.

Previously, Meagan worked in finance for a US-based airline before moving to Rolls-Royce. She initially spent time in the Commercial department, negotiating contracts primarily with customers in Southeast Asia. Prior to taking on her current role, Meagan was a Sales Director for Rolls-Royce in both the UK and China for several years, working with multiple major commercial airlines.

Meagan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctor from Boston College.

Shawn Gregg

Shawn is the General Manager of Propulsion Engineering at Delta Air Lines.  His teams are responsible for managing on-wing engine reliability, directing maintenance in the engine shop, engine health monitoring, and on-wing troubleshooting.  He is currently focused on asset management strategy, data analytics, and predictive/prescriptive maintenance.
 
Prior to joining Delta Air Lines in 2015, Shawn spent 15 years at Pratt & Whitney specializing in turbine airfoil heat transfer where he advanced from part level design to overall turbine design philosophy, management, and lifing.  As a manager, Shawn advanced physics-based heat transfer and structural analysis/lifing  tools and oversaw their corresponding technology roadmaps and university research programs.   From there, he moved into a program management role responsible for legacy commercial engine hot-section components.  
 
Shawn holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Florida State University and The University of Florida, respectively; both in Mechanical Engineering.  He holds over 20 patents in the area of turbine airfoil and hot-section design & repair.

Eric Falk

Eric Falk is currently the executive Military Aerodynamics Leader at GE Aviation.  In this role, he has overall responsibility for aerodynamic technology development, design, validation, and product support across all GE military engine platforms.  Since joining GE in 2004, he has held various roles related to aerodynamic design, preliminary design, advanced systems design, and operations, supporting both commercial & military engine products.  Prior to joining GE, he was an Assistant Professor and Instructor of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering at Oklahoma State University, the University of Notre Dame, and the U.S. Air Force Academy.  Eric holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.  He is a member of the AIAA.

Peter McGrath

Peter McGrath is Global Sales & Marketing director for the Space Exploration business in Space and Launch, part of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. He is responsible for leading a business development team in shaping, extending, and capturing business in support of human space exploration missions.

Prior to assuming his current role in July 2010, McGrath was program manager for the U.S. Army’s Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) program and led the capture and program startup of the fixed-price production contract for BCTM. He returned to this position in October 2009 after originally functioning as the program manager for the initial LRIP proposal efforts in 2007/2008 and serving under the Production organization supporting the Non Line-of-Sight Cannon (NLOS-C) Special Interest Program proposal and core development program restructure activities.

Before working on the BCTM program, McGrath was senior manager of Business Development for the Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programs. His responsibilities encompassed supporting the program manager and the U.S. Air Force in restructuring the program, implementing program best practices, supporting user community and Capitol Hill briefings, and creating solutions to expand the capabilities of the existing program to support mission area requirements.

McGrath’s background covers more than 29 years in related Department of Defense, NASA, and commercial businesses. Previous assignments included senior manager of Business Development Marketing Operations for Air Force Space Systems, senior manager of Business Development Marketing Operations for Launch and Satellite Systems, customer engineer for Boeing Launch Services (Delta and Sea Launch Programs), liaison engineer for Delta IV Upper Stage, and project engineer in the Phantom Works Composite Structures Research and Development group. McGrath started his career as a structural analyst on the International Space Station program, working in increasing levels of responsibility from program start-up through early production and system qualification testing.

McGrath holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California and two master’s degrees: one in aerospace structures/composites from California State University, Long Beach, and one in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the University of Southern California.

Daniel L. Dumbacher

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Dan Dumbacher is the Executive Director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Before joining the AIAA staff in January 2018, Dumbacher was a Professor of Engineering Practice in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University, where he taught courses in systems thinking, systems engineering, and space policy.

Prior to Purdue, Dumbacher served as the Deputy Associate Administrator, Exploration Systems Development Division, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. In that capacity, he provided leadership and management as the Program Director for Exploration Systems Development, which included: the Space Launch System, Orion, and Ground Systems Development and Operations development and integration efforts. He led a national team of over 5,000, spanning all NASA centers and industry, and was responsible for a $3 billion annual budget.

During his career, he has received numerous awards and honors including the coveted Silver Snoopy Award and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. In 2015, Purdue recognized him with the Gustafson Teaching Award.

Dumbacher earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has also completed the Senior Managers in Government program at Harvard University.

Dumbacher is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana. He and his wife Lee have three grown children.

Jim Free

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James (Jim) Free serves as Senior Vice President of Aerospace Systems with a focus on expanding Peerless’ robust aerospace portfolio, including civilian, commercial and military space, aeronautics and hypersonics programs.

Previously, Mr. Free served as the deputy associate administrator for technical in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate and was responsible for assisting the associate administrator in providing strategic direction for all aspects of NASA’s human spaceflight exploration mission. Mr. Free is also the former Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration John H. Glenn Research Center. In that role, he was responsible for planning, organizing and directing the activities required to accomplish center missions pertaining to research, technology, and systems development programs in space propulsion, space power, space communications, aeronautical propulsion, microgravity sciences, and materials. Mr. Free has served in all aspects of aerospace programs from discipline engineer, systems engineer and project manager on domestic
and international programs.

Mr. Free is the recipient of the Presidential Rank Award, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, NASA Significant Achievement Medal, and numerous other awards. He earned his B.S. in Aeronautics from Miami University and his M.S. in Space Systems Engineering from Delft University, Netherlands.

Kent Rominger

Kent Rominger is the vice president and capture lead for the OmegA launch system, which Northrop Grumman is currently developing for the U.S. Air Force National Security Space Launch program as well as commercial customers.

Prior to his current role, Kent served as the vice president of Strategic Programs with responsibility for the Navy’s Fleet Ballistic Missile Program, the Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent pursuit and Minuteman III Sustainment (FISAC PSSC) for Northrop Grumman. He also served as vice president of Strategy and Business Development for Northrop Grumman Propulsion Systems and as vice president of Propulsion Systems’ Test and Research Operations. He joined Northrop Grumman in October 2006 as vice president, Advanced Programs, following distinguished careers with NASA and the U.S. Navy.

Rominger was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1992. A veteran of five space shuttle flights, including two as the mission commander, he has logged over 1,600 hours and traveled almost 27 million miles in space. He culminated his NASA career as the chief of the Astronaut Office.

Rominger was commissioned as a naval officer in 1979. During his 26-year career, he served as an F-14 Tomcat pilot with fighter squadrons VF-2 and VF-211 and as a Navy test pilot. While with VF-211, he completed a deployment to the Arabian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. Rominger is a graduate of the Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) and the Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland. He has logged more than 7,000 flying hours in 35 different types of aircraft and has completed 685 carrier landings.

A native of Del Norte, Colorado, Rominger received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Colorado State University and a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, space, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide. Please visit news.northropgrumman.com and follow us on Twitter, @NGCNews, for more information.

Eric Ducharme

Dr. Eric Ducharme is Chief Engineer at GE Aviation, a $30B global business in
Aircraft Engines and Aviation Systems. He is responsible for airworthiness &
certification, design process & quality, product &  flight safety, and technical talent
development for a global team of 7000 engineers.

He joined GE Aircraft Engines in 1987, where he led the aeromechanical design
of swept composite fan blades, resulting in the first successful engine
applications. He also led Systems Engineering for the CFM56-7B engine entry
into service (on the 737NG) and the GE90-115B engine through FAA
certification. He was the General Manger of Commercial Engine new product
development at GE Aviation, delivering on over $2B+ of certification programs for
next-gen engines including the: LEAP-1A/-1B/-1C (A320neo/737 Max/C919), and
the Passport 20 (Bombardier Global 7500). Most recently he led Advanced
Technology, responsible for a global team of 800 engineers delivering
differentiated technologies and architectures for next-gen engines.

Dr. Ducharme also served as VP Global Technology at GE Transportation (2009-
’14), a $6B business providing propulsion, power and control solutions for rail,
mining & marine customers. There he led the development of the Evolution
Series of locomotives, with state-of-the-art efficiency and low-emissions.

Dr Ducharme holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University,
and a Masters and Doctorate in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT.

He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering active in aeronautics
and engineering education initiatives, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society,
an Associate Fellow of the AIAA, and a member of the Civil Aviation Council of
the AIA. He was also a past member of the NASA Aeronautics Advisory
Committee, and past chair of the ASME Industry Advisory Board.