Meet Thermal Engineer Matt R. and explore the unique expertise he provides at SDL. Photo Credit: SDL | Allison Bills
Matt R. works as a thermal engineer, focusing mostly on designing thermal subsystems. After years of work on NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) program, Matt enjoyed watching the November 9, 2023, launch from Cape Canaveral, FL. He is looking forward to more such projects.
“Anything That Makes Heat”
Matt worked on the AWE team almost from the beginning of his now five years at SDL, designing the Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (AMTM) instrument’s thermal subsystem and overseeing its fabrication, testing, and integration. Creating a thermal subsystem includes structural and thermal design of radiators, conductor bars, thermal straps, thermal switches, and many more elements to dissipate heat. Matt explained, “Just like humans add a coat when it’s cold to help keep us warm, and we wear shorts when it’s hot so the breeze can help keep us cool, anything that makes heat must have that heat managed to keep it at a comfortable temperature.” This includes everyday electronics that we use on Earth, like computers and cell phones; Matt completed his doctoral dissertation on high-performance thermal interface materials using liquid metal and polymers, which has applications in computer packaging. However, the space environment, where AWE is operating, brings distinct challenges in materials, thermal radiation, and more that must be considered in spacecraft development.
An AWE-some Endeavor
AWE presented a unique design opportunity to Matt’s team due to its placement on the International Space Station. “Since it’s on the ISS, we don’t have any control over how it flies and are just along for the ride,” Matt explained. “We had to plan for many possibilities in the thermal design.” For example, because the ISS sees a wide range of angles from the Sun, the team added radiators in two directions on the AMTM instrument, so it always has a clear view to space as a means to dispose of heat. Matt and his colleague Mike H. will present a paper about the AWE thermal effort at the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES) in July 2024. The paper will “explain the design and show how the instrument is performing as expected, with temperatures on orbit comparable to what we predicted,” Matt said.
A Growth Mindset
AWE is another step in the right direction for Matt’s team as SDL supports the end-to-end development of increasingly larger spacecraft systems. This growth mindset suits Matt well, as he enjoys being at the forefront of advances in his field: “How do we improve the state of the art? How do we move things forward?” After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Utah State University, and his doctorate at Arizona State University (all in mechanical engineering), he specifically sought out jobs at research institutions like SDL to remain involved in important work. His favorite part of working at the Lab is the variety—every new program brings unique challenges and learning opportunities.
Outside of Work
Matt stays busy with his family, which includes wife Amanda and their four young children. The family likes to play sports, hike, and watch movies together. They also enjoy camping and are eager to use their newly acquired tent trailer this summer in the Utah mountains. Matt is a skier and a regular attendee of SDL’s soccer and ultimate Frisbee clubs. He also enjoys reading, especially sci-fi and fantasy: “Non-fiction can be boring and too close to reality. I want to get away when I read a book.”
