The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/456562
46 Winter 2015 While he may have missed the tail end of GASCAN, Kearns even- tually oversaw or directed more than 100 successful experiments at NASA, experiments on the space shuttles, the Mir and Interna- tional space stations, suborbital rockets, and parabolic research aircraft. They included work in materials science, biotechnology, combustion science, and fuids, among other areas. During that time he received eight NASA Group Achievement Awards and 43 NASA Certifcates of Achievement. Kearns now lives in West Lake, Ohio, with his wife, Lori; they have a son, Ben, and a daughter, Molly, in college. He has worked three stints for NASA, interspersed with jobs in pri- vate industry. In the private sector, he has been a space systems engineer at Grumman Aerospace, a leading manufacturer of military and civilian aircraft (later acquired by Northrup Cor- poration to become Northtrup Grumman), vice president for engineering and technology at SUMCO USA, and vice presi- dent and director of solar wafer research and development at SunEdison, both manufacturers of silicon wafers for the semicon- ductor industry. Much of his work has centered on crystal growth, for which he holds four patents, specifcally as it relates to semiconductors. He explains that crystals provide high purity and structural perfection in platforms for microelectronic devices. Though Kearns earned his degrees in mechanical engineering, course work at WPI in materials science and materials processing have also helped greatly in his career. As he explains, "My mechani- cal engineering background, along with the knowledge of other areas that I picked up over the years, has allowed me to build on it and get better at crystal growth, equipment design, and space fight project management." While working for NASA is perhaps a dream job for someone with a lifelong interest in space, Kearns is equally proud of his work in private industry, particularly in materials science. Indeed, he is pursuing his PhD in materials science at WPI, working with Profes- sor Diran Apelian. DUAL PERSPECTIVE Going back and forth between the government and the private sector has enabled him to see two sides of the work world. NASA is mission-oriented while industry is commodity-oriented, and this allows him to bring both perspectives to his jobs. "It's been really interesting to have the background to move be- tween those different areas and see the different ways people think and the different ways they work," Kearns says. "What I've tried to do is look around and try to remember what are the best things that I've seen in each of the areas and try to bring that to wherever I work. As deputy director at the Glenn Research Center, Kearns is an executive manager for all space fight activities there. Founded in 1941 and originally called the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory, the center was renamed in honor of John H. Glenn. The Ohio astro- naut was the frst American to orbit the Earth, in 1962, and later became a U.S. senator. More than 3,400 people work at the center, including scientists, engineers, technicians and support personnel. Aeronautical and space fight technology is designed at both Glenn and at the Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio; wind tun- nels, drop towers, vacuum chambers, and other facilities simulate the environment in space and allow specialized research and testing. Scientists and engineers tackle a range of aerospace issues in Ohio, including air-breathing propulsion, communications tech- nology, in-space propulsion, cryogenic fuids management, energy storage and materials for extreme environments, according the NASA's website. "I get to touch a lot of those things," Kearns says, "to keep them moving along." Now that the space shuttles—which Kearns managed during his 2006–2010 stint at NASA—have been retired, both he and the space agency are turning their attention to the next manned program, Orion, a joint mission of NASA and international partners. NASA has had Lockheed Martin build the spacecraft's astronaut capsule, while the European Space Agency has contracted with Airbus Defence and Space to make the service module, which will in- clude the propulsion system, fight support gases (oxygen, nitrogen), and water for the crew. Kearns is working with people in the U.S. and Europe on that part of the project. "We do a lot of work in making sure that the service module is well- described in what it's supposed to do, and that it fts very well with the rest of Orion, so we can put it all together in a well functioning aircraft," Kearns says. NASA launched the 11-foot-long capsule, which resembles those vessels so familiar from the Apollo program, on December 5 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. That test fight, with a simulated service module, orbited Earth twice and re-entered its atmosphere at 20,000 miles per hour, which heated the craft's heat shield to almost 4,000 degrees. The capsule splashed down in the Pacifc Ocean 4½ hours after liftoff. Kearns says Orion's maiden voyage was a success, going exactly according to plan. Orion's next fight, at least two years away and also unmanned, will be a high-altitude orbit of the moon, according to Kearns. The frst manned fight, several years from now, will also orbit the moon, although the vehicle is being designed to take astronauts to Mars and beyond. The New York Times reported that one mission under consideration for the new spacecraft will be to fy astronauts to an asteroid that had been captured and brought close to the moon.