Kenneth R. Hamm, Jr.
NESC Chief Engineer at ARC
Mr. Hamm began work at NASA Ames Research Center in 1984, starting in the Facilities Engineering Branch, before moving to the Test Engineering and Analysis Branch as a structural engineer and analyst. In these groups he worked a number of major facility upgrades including the National Full Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC), the 12-Foot Pressure Wind Tunnel Restoration Project, and the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT) Modernization Project. He was project lead for the development of composite compressor blades for the UPWT and led the repair effort for NFAC cracked wooden fan blades with the design, development, and fabrication of novel composite overwraps.
From 1998 through 2000, he worked for a small aerospace design and manufacturing company in Central California. There he led development of advanced composite designs for satellite and aircraft structures for many large aerospace customers.
In 2000 he returned to NASA Ames to work as lead structural analyst for the SOFIA cavity door design team which developed and fabricated the outer telescope door and inner Aperture assembly for the SOFIA aircraft (a modified 747 intended to carry an infrared telescope).
From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Hamm served on the ORION Thermal Protection System Advanced Development Project and worked as Deputy Lead of the Heatshield Design and Analysis Team. More recently he was Structures and Technical Lead for the Adaptive Deployable Entry System Project (ADEPT), a novel mechanically deployable heatshield concept using 3D woven carbon fiber as the aero surface and then as Structures and Analysis Lead on the LADEE Spacecraft Program. Mr. Hamm also served as the Structures and Analysis Group Lead in the Mechanical Systems Branch and was responsible for maintaining and overseeing structural analysis capability and resources at Ames Research Center. He is an expert in the area of structural modeling and analysis using finite elements, especially using the MSC-NASTRAN analysis code.
Mr. Hamm has a B.S. in Civil Engineering (1982) and a M.S. in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics (1984) both from the University of Arizona.