Alumni Awards 2023

Daniel Kubitschek (MechEngr BS'90; AeroEngr MS'94, PhD'97)

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 22:08:24 +0000

Daniel Kubitschek (MechEngr BS'90; AeroEngr MS'94, PhD'97) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/03/2023 - 15:08

Dan received a BS in Mechanical Engineering at CU �鶹ӰԺ in 1990, a MS in Aerospace Engineering at CU in 1994 and his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering at CU under the direction of Dr. George Born in 1997.

After 3 years of research and teaching, Dan joined the Optical Navigation Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he worked on the autonomous navigation (AutoNav) systems for the Deep Impact mission to comet Tempel 1 in 2005 and aerobraking operations for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2006.

Dan left JPL in 2007 to work for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company and led the Orion Guidance, Navigation & Control team from 2010 through the Exploration Flight Test 1 on December 5, 2014.

Dan is now part of the Research Faculty at CU’s Laboratory for Atmospheric & Space Physics, where he led the Attitude Determination & Control and Flight Dynamics teams for the Emirates Mars Mission, which is now completing the second year of primary science operations.

Dan is currently the Deputy Program Manager and Flight Dynamics lead for the upcoming multiple, main-belt asteroid mission, which is set to launch in 2028.

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Gary Wick (AeroEngr BS'88, MS'90, PhD'95)

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 22:03:33 +0000

Gary Wick (AeroEngr BS'88, MS'90, PhD'95) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/03/2023 - 15:03

Dr. Gary A. Wick obtained his B.S. (1988), M.S. (1990), and PhD (1995) degrees from the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the �鶹ӰԺ.

His graduate work, performed through the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research, was in the area of satellite-derived measurements of the sea surface temperature with a focus on integrating the processes occurring at the air-sea interface. He completed a post-doctoral position at the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington and then worked through the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the �鶹ӰԺ before joining the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2000.

Since then, he has worked as a Research Physicist with the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory and its predecessor, the Environmental Technology Laboratory, and currently is the Chief of the Boundary Layer Observation and Processes Division.

Dr. Wick’s research has focused on the application and evaluation of remotely sensed measurements of oceanic and atmospheric parameters as well as the characterization of processes at the ocean-atmosphere interface. He has served on multiple NOAA committees addressing satellite observing requirements and is an active member of the International Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature, the American Meteorological Society, and American Geophysical Union.

He has further supported Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) activities within NOAA since 2007 and served details as deputy director and acting director of the Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office. Within his UAS activities, he led major campaigns demonstrating the scientific applications of the Global Hawk aircraft including the Sensing Hazards with Operational Unmanned Technology (SHOUT) experiment for which he was awarded the NOAA Research Employee of the Year Award for Leadership in 2017.

His other research has resulted in multiple Group Achievement awards and two NOAA outstanding scientific paper awards. Gary remains involved with the academic community, mentoring summer students, and giving frequent guest and invited seminars at CU and other universities.

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Kyle Kemble (AeroEngr BS'13, MS'13)

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 21:58:38 +0000

Kyle Kemble (AeroEngr BS'13, MS'13) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/03/2023 - 14:58

Kyle Kemble is the Space Data Transport Division Chief at the Space Warfighting Analysis Center (SWAC) in the United States Space Force (USSF).

The SWAC is chartered to develop analytically derived force designs to guide mission area strategies informing the investment priorities for the Chief of Space Operations. In Kyle’s case this is focused on the communications services to support both satellites and terrestrial warfighters across the globe.

As the DoD pivots into a JADC2 era the evolving user and threat landscapes challenge how services are currently rendered – Force Designs are developed to balance the performance needs of users, enable “Resilient-by-Design” services for a contested environment, and determine affordable courses of action to mitigate operational liabilities.

In 2021 the Space Data Transport division released the Data Transmit & Receive Network Force Design for USSF satellite operations, and in 2022 the team released the overarching Space Data Transport Force Design Topology to describe Resilient-By-Design services for the warfighter. Now the division is currently investigating government reference architectures for Broadband, Mobile, and Space Transport Services.

Prior to joining the SWAC from 2013-2020 Kyle worked at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Vehicles directorate where he was a program manager in the Small Satellite Portfolio. There he led 6 flight missions investigating technologies enabling small satellite missions for the DoD, as well as distributed and disaggregated systems for hybrid architectures.

During his undergraduate and graduate degrees in the Aerospace Engineering Sciences Department at the �鶹ӰԺ in partnership with the Colorado Space Grant Consortium (COSGC) he was involved with the AFRL University Nanosatellite Program (UNP) fifth competition cycle with the Drag & Atmospheric Neutral Density Explorer that launched in 2013.

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Tim Straube (AeroEngr BS'91, MS'93, PhD'10)

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 21:48:41 +0000

Tim Straube (AeroEngr BS'91, MS'93, PhD'10) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/03/2023 - 14:48

Dr. Timothy Straube has worked human spaceflight missions at NASA's Johnson Space Center for 30 years. He is currently serving as the deputy manager in the Orion Program's Avionics, Power, and Software office where he led the office flight readiness activities leading up to the successful Artemis I mission in November and December of 2022, the first human rated mission to lunar vicinity in 50 years.

Prior to that, Dr. Straube managed the Orion Guidance, Navigation, and Controls development team for over a decade. In that roll, he led the flight dynamics activities for Orion's three successful flight tests. Pad Abort 1 in 2010 and Ascent Abort 2 in 2019 successfully demonstrated Orion's early abort capability with the launch abort system. Exploration flight test 1 (EFT-1) in 2014 showcased Orion's automated man-rated re-entry flight system.

After the EFT-1, Dr. Straube and his team were awarded the NASA Flight Software of the Year award for the development and execution of the flight control software on that mission. For his leadership on the Orion program, Tim has received the NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal in 2013 and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 2022.

Prior to Orion, Dr. Straube worked and led GN&C development projects for the Space Shuttle program, the International Space Station Program, and the Autonomous Landing Hazard Avoidance Technology Program.

Raised in Windsor Colorado, Tim is a proud Colorado Buffalo and received both his Bachelor's and Master's in Aerospace Engineering in �鶹ӰԺ. He later received his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the �鶹ӰԺ on a NASA fellowship, working with his advisor Professor K.C. Park.

Dr. Straube lives in Houston with his wife Pam, and has two college aged children, Jacob and Megan. He is looking forward to the upcoming Artemis missions and the return of humans to the lunar surface!

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Bradley Cheetham (AeroEngr MS'11)

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 21:22:00 +0000

Bradley Cheetham (AeroEngr MS'11) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/03/2023 - 14:22

Bradley Cheetham is a lifelong space advocate, highly experienced engineer, a three-time entrepreneur and, seasoned graduate-level instructor. Best known as the co-founder and CEO of Advanced Space, he leads the company in its efforts to enable the sustainable exploration, development, and settlement of space by delivering solutions in flight dynamics, technology development, and rapid turn-key missions to clients across the space industry.

Advanced Space is the owner and operator of the CAPSTONE spacecraft, which successfully arrived at the Moon in 2022 as a pathfinder for NASA's Artemis program. Bradley serves as the Principal Investigator for this mission which represents the first-ever commercial spacecraft to operate at the Moon.

Cheetham earned a degree in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo and received his Masters in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the �鶹ӰԺ. There, he also conducted significant research on spacecraft navigation at the Moon in support of a Doctorate of Philosophy under the guidance of the late Dr. George Born. He created and taught a graduate level course in Commercial Spaceflight Operations at CU �鶹ӰԺ for seven years.

As an advocate for the space industry, he co-founded and currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Future Space Leaders Foundation, is a member of the Entrepreneurship and Investment Committee of the International Astronautical Federation, and serves on the Board of Advisors and the Board of Trustees of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS).

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Daryl Bahls (AeroEngr'77)

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 21:18:58 +0000

Daryl Bahls (AeroEngr'77) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/03/2023 - 14:18

Daryl Bahls was born on the south side of Chicago in 1951. He grew up in Aurora, Colorado during the 1960’s heyday of early space exploration. Those early space adventures set the direction of his future career: a commitment to being involved in space exploration.

In 1970, Daryl enrolled at CU �鶹ӰԺ, majoring in Aerospace Engineering Sciences. He was president of the CU �鶹ӰԺ AIAA student chapter and was elected to the Tau Beta Pi (Engineering) and Sigma Gamma Tau (Aerospace) honor societies. In May 1977 he graduated and moved to Boeing Aerospace in Seattle, Washington.

During his career at Boeing and Martin Marietta, Daryl contributed to solving a great many problems in applying astrodynamics and space mission analysis to space system design and operation.

He held both engineering and management positions and was a member of the Boeing Technical Fellowship, a position held by only 2% of Boeing engineers. His most rewarding experiences were those working on national programs.

If Daryl accomplished anything significant during his career it could not have been done without the loving support of his wife, Randy.

After 37 years in aerospace, Daryl retired and established the Bahls Space Mission Analysis and Design Endowment at the CU Aerospace Engineering Sciences department in �鶹ӰԺ. The endowment will provide a ‘full ride’ annually for two students working toward a combined Bachelor's and Master's aerospace degree that emphasizes Astrodynamics and Space Mission Design. He looks forward to seeing the contributions made by endowment recipients to the future exploration of space.

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Kenneth Center (AeroEngr BS'89, MS'91, PhD'93)

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 21:13:53 +0000

Kenneth Center (AeroEngr BS'89, MS'91, PhD'93) Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/03/2023 - 14:13

Dr. Ken Center completed his Bachelors and Masters degrees at CU �鶹ӰԺ in the Aerospace Engineering program prior to receiving his PhD in 1993, with an emphasis in aerodynamics, aircraft flight mechanics, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). His thesis work involved the development of a design and analysis package for hypersonic forebodies (called WIPAR) based upon a class of optimized shapes called “waveriders”.

The research was performed under his advisor, and former CU Dean of Engineering Dr. Richard Seebass. Upon graduation, he held a post-doctoral position in the CU Mechanical Engineering department performing CFD combustion simulations of compact waste incinerators.

For 10 years, he operated Centerstage Animated Reconstructions, a sole proprietorship small business that produced over 60 scientifically-grounded computer animations to visually highlight key issues contributing to aircraft accidents.

Ken first entered the space domain area as a software consultant for the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA) at CU �鶹ӰԺ, developing ground support and test software for the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) mission. He has remained in the satellite realm ever since, specializing in autonomous onboard flight software and service-oriented data architectures that allow satellites or constellations of satellites to be developed quickly and more easily maintained over time.

He was the flight software team lead at Design-Net Engineering in Lakewood Colorado from 1996 through 2008, and the Director of Advanced Software Technologies at PnP Innovations in Albuquerque New Mexico from 2008 through 2015.

He is currently the Director of Advanced Programs at Orbit Logic LLC, where he leads the Autonomous Planning System (APS) product team. Since joining Orbit Logic, he has prioritized collaboration with CU Aerospace to infuse cutting-edge fundamental research into APS, securing multiple Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards from the Air Force, the Navy and NASA.

Being of �鶹ӰԺ descent, he remains an avid rock climber and mountain biker and enjoys family time with his wife Lara and grown children Quinton and Ian, all of whom are also CU �鶹ӰԺ graduates.

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