Research Team
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Alfred E. Lynam
Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Alfred Lynam is an assistant professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at West Virginia University. He is an expert in interplanetary mission design, interplanetary spacecraft navigation, and low-thrust trajectory optimization. He teaches MAE 241 (Statics), MAE 476 (Space Flight and Systems), and MAE 478 (Guided Missile Systems). He is also the faculty advisor for the WVU RASC-AL team associated with the WVU SPACE student organization.
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Alan M. Didion
Graduated with M.S. Degree, December 2015, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Alan M. Didion is a Graduate Student Pursuing a Master's of Science in Aerospace Engineering (Dec. 2015) at West Virginia University. For nearly two years, he has researched under Dr. Lynam on the triple-satellite-aided capture problem, and has published his work in the AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. Alan specializes in GMAT and MATLAB model formulation and navigation of the impulsive trajectories, making sure that the mission can realistically be performed with low chance of incident. In 2013, Alan earned two Bachelor's of Science degrees from WVU in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He has interned at three NASA facilities and is a graduate of NASA Academy; he hopes to continue his work in the industry of astrodynamics and mission formulation & navigation after graduation.
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Sean Patrick
Graduated with M.S. Degree in December 2015, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Before beginning his Master's degree here at West Virginia University, Sean Patrick graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Physics from California University of Pennsylvania. For the past two years he has worked with Dr. Lynam to explore Low-thrust mission design and optimization techniques. Focusing on Jupiter mission design, Sean employs the MALTO and Mystic programs developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to design and optimize potential low-thrust missions to Jupiter and its moons. A major focus is on the application of Multiple Satellite aided capture sequences in lowering the time and energy requirements to capture into Jupiter orbit. Sean's work has been presented at the AIAA/AAS astrodynamics specialist conference in 2014 and 2015 and has been submitted to publication in the Journal of Astronautical Sciences. Post graduation, Sean plans to explore work opportunities in industry