Dr. Kirsten Lovelace

Key Achievements:

• Supported qualification and acceptance testing for 4 major spacecraft thermal-control programs.
• Authored 8 test plans and procedures totaling 100+ pages.
• Executed and analyzed 60+ environmental and thermal performance tests.
• Supported 100+ hours of ambient and thermal-vacuum testing prior to customer delivery.
• Lead Thermal Engineer supporting 4 spacecraft Loop Heat Pipe (LHP) programs (CRS, LOKI, P321, and P800), responsible for thermal performance verification, customer acceptance testing, and flight hardware delivery.
• Authored and maintained 8 thermal test plans and procedures (100+ pages) defining instrumentation, test configurations, acceptance criteria, and environmental test requirements.
• Planned and executed 60+ ambient and thermal-vacuum (TVAC) tests, including startup, conductance, heat transport, acceptance, and reflux performance evaluations.
• Supported 100+ hours of ambient and thermal-vacuum testing across multiple customer programs, validating thermal performance and operational stability.
• Performed testing in both nominal and reflux configurations to verify worst-case operating conditions and system reliability.
• Reduced and analyzed thermal performance data to evaluate conductance, startup behavior, compensation chamber control, fluid inventory, and non-condensable gas (NCG) effects.
• Collaborated with 10+ design, systems, manufacturing, and thermal engineers to develop instrumentation schematics, test configurations, and engineering documentation.
• Directed customer-approved design modifications and instrumentation updates to ensure test readiness, requirements compliance, and successful hardware verification.
• Generated customer acceptance reports, engineering assessments, and technical documentation supporting flight hardware certification and delivery.
• Investigated thermal anomalies and test deviations, supporting root-cause analysis and corrective actions to improve hardware reliability and test efficiency.

• Serve as the Thermal Engineer for the Prototype Gamma-Ray and AntiMatter Survey (pGRAMS) project, a NASA and Northeastern University collaboration focused on developing next-generation MeV gamma-ray and dark matter detection technologies for balloon-borne astrophysics missions.
• Perform detailed thermal analysis of the pGRAMS cryostat using ANSYS Fluent and Thermal Desktop to predict cryogenic performance, thermal gradients, heat leaks, boil-off behavior, and environmental heat loads throughout mission operations.
• Develop and validate thermal models of the Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) cryostat system to ensure liquid argon operating temperatures near 87 K (-186C) are maintained during ground operations, ascent, float, and descent conditions.
• Conduct thermal trade studies evaluating insulation performance, support structure heat leaks, radiation loading, cryogen hold time, and operational margins for balloon-borne flight environments.
• Collaborate with structural engineers to compare thermal predictions against structural and mechanical analyses, ensuring cryostat integrity, material compatibility, and system performance under combined thermal-mechanical loading conditions.
• Analyze thermal responses associated with changing atmospheric conditions encountered during stratospheric balloon flights, including pressure, temperature, solar loading, Earth infrared radiation, and convective heat transfer effects.
• Support cryostat design reviews by generating thermal predictions, engineering recommendations, model correlations, and verification analyses used to guide hardware development decisions.
• Evaluate conductive, convective, and radiative heat transfer mechanisms affecting cryogenic system performance and mission duration.
• Work closely with cryogenic engineers, physicists, instrument scientists, and systems engineers to integrate thermal requirements into the overall pGRAMS instrument architecture.
• Develop technical reports, engineering documentation, and presentations communicating thermal model assumptions, results, risks, and design recommendations to NASA stakeholders and project leadership.
• Contribute to the development of a balloon-borne prototype designed to demonstrate advanced gamma-ray imaging capabilities and enable future large-scale astrophysics missions investigating the MeV gamma-ray sky and indirect dark matter signatures.
• Skills: ANSYS Fluent, Thermal Desktop, Cryogenic Systems, Liquid Argon (LArTPC), Thermal Analysis, Heat Transfer, Spacecraft Thermal Control, Balloon-Borne Instrumentation, Environmental Modeling, Systems Engineering, Aerospace Research

• Led cryogenic systems research as part of the CRYO team within AFTERLab under the direction of Dr. Sonya Smith, focusing on thermal-fluid behavior and material performance in extreme environments

• Designed and executed experimental and computational studies analyzing thermal expansion, strain behavior, and material properties of sapphire and silicon nitride under cryogenic conditions

• Performed numerical modeling and simulation using MATLAB and ANSYS to evaluate heat transfer, structural response, and system performance

• Collected, processed, and analyzed large datasets to validate experimental findings and support engineering conclusions

• Authored and contributed to peer-reviewed publications, conference papers, and technical presentations for national and international forums

• Maintained and calibrated laboratory equipment, ensuring accuracy and reliability of experimental measurements

• Mentored and supervised junior researchers and lab interns, providing guidance on research methodologies, data analysis, and technical reporting

• Collaborated across interdisciplinary teams to support research initiatives in atmospheric science, planetary science, and aerospace applications

• Conducted atmospheric chemistry research focused on long-term trends in ozone-depleting substances and their impact on global hydroxyl radical (OH) concentrations and stratospheric ozone recovery.
• Analyzed historical atmospheric measurements of methyl chloroform (CH₃CCl₃) collected through NOAA's Global Monitoring Laboratory observational network to evaluate hemispheric and global-scale atmospheric variability.
• Investigated monthly hemispheric mean mixing ratios, atmospheric removal rates, and annual hemispheric percentage changes of methyl chloroform from 1992 to present using observational datasets and atmospheric chemistry methodologies.
• Evaluated changes in the atmospheric burden of methyl chloroform to assess potential shifts in global hydroxyl radical concentrations and atmospheric oxidation capacity.
• Developed data acquisition and data analysis tools to modernize greenhouse gas measurement workflows and improve accessibility of atmospheric datasets for Cooperative Science Center students.
• Utilized Python, VBA, and Microsoft Excel to process, analyze, visualize, and interpret large atmospheric datasets derived from long-term environmental monitoring programs.
• Generated scientific figures and trend analyses illustrating hemispheric differences in methyl chloroform concentrations, atmospheric removal rates, and emission-related variability.
• Applied mathematical and atmospheric chemistry models to examine the relationship between methyl chloroform decay rates, atmospheric removal processes, and indirect estimates of hydroxyl radical abundance.
• Investigated recent deviations from historical methyl chloroform decline trends to assess potential indicators of changing emissions, altered atmospheric removal rates, or previously unidentified ozone-depleting substance sources.
• Evaluated the effectiveness of international environmental policies, including the Montreal Protocol, through analysis of long-term atmospheric observations and emission trends.
• Prepared technical reports, scientific presentations, and research documentation communicating atmospheric chemistry findings to NOAA scientists, faculty advisors, and NCAS-M program leadership.
• Collaborated with NOAA researchers to support ongoing efforts in greenhouse gas monitoring, atmospheric trace gas measurements, ozone depletion research, and climate science investigations.

Skills: Atmospheric Chemistry • Environmental Data Analysis • Python • VBA • Advanced Excel • Scientific Programming • Greenhouse Gas Monitoring • Atmospheric Modeling • Data Visualization • Research Methods • Technical Writing • Climate Science • Ozone Depletion Studies

• Implemented thermal fluid mechanics to analyze chaos formation theories on Europa’s surface.
• Numerically modeled Europa’s outer ice shell by developing a pseudo-two dimensional (1.5-D) finite element model, using MATLAB, that quantifies and characterizes heat transfer and mechanical deformation related to chaos terrain formation.
• Modeled properties of interest including: temperature, strain, porosity, viscosity, thermal conductivity, heat capacity, density, thermal diffusivity and thermal expansivity.
• Dynamically evolved the ice shell with depth response to regional and temporal changes in basal heating and tidal heat production using the Forward Euler Approximation and discretization of the one-dimensional heat equation.
• Porous compaction models were developed to hypothesize the geologic interpretations of chaos formation through surface collapse and the fluidization of debris.
• Skills: MATLAB, quantitative data analysis, geophysical sciences, planetary sciences, collaboration, time management, adaptability, virtual networking

• Taught 180+ students across middle- and elementary-school levels by promoting, positioning, and synthesizing a wide range of engineering topics, including friction, eccentric motion, box-frame, and various transmission systems.
• Leveraged LEGO implementation and instructional design strategies to spark engineering awareness and teach kids ages 5-12 about engineering and architectural principles.
• Project-managed summer camps focused on pre-engineering and engineering fundamental programs while executing twice-daily projects featuring gondolas, corbel arch bridges.
• Skills: Manual dexterity, Excel

• Elevate peer-reviewed journal publications by crafting reports, presentations, and submissions inclusive of coefficient thermal expansion sapphire and silicon nitride materials.
• Plan, modify, and execute research techniques, procedures, and tests to conduct research and measure coefficient thermal expansion material properties within specific temperature ranges.
• Direct and manage (3) mechanical engineering lab interns by providing coaching sessions on assigned tasks, teaching research techniques, and evaluating performance.
• Drive information integrity for academic publications by conducting research and analyses, gathering and presenting information, and recording temperature and strain data.
• Govern and orchestrate operations across mechanical engineering landscape by maintaining and calibrating equipment.
• Conduct failure and fatigue analyses on nickel alloy to determine material characteristics and characterize materials while maintaining adept source documentation practices.
• Ascertain failure reasoning by forming adiabatic shear bands.
• Skills: Lab Experimentation and Reporting, Data Collection, System Design, MATLAB, Advanced Excel, Technical Writing, Python, ANSYS Fluent, Equipment troubleshooting, Linux

• Conducted and presented extensive research analysis on single bubble injection and its effects on excitation and pressurization while flexing high-speed imaging camera knowledge.
• Project-managed a Sandia National Laboratories-sponsored project focused on the observation and categorization of the behavior of mixed phased fluids under vibrating conditions.
• Skills: Manual dexterity, Microsoft Office, Technical writing/reports, MATLAB, Equipment troubleshooting