Part-Time Lecturer of Astronautical Engineering
Education
- 2012, Doctoral Degree, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, George Washington University
- 2005, Master's Degree, Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Virginia Tech
Biography
Education:
Ph.D., Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University, 2012
M.Sc., Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2005
B.Sc., Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2003
Professional Experience:
2012 - Present: President, Particle in Cell Consulting LLC, Westlake Village, CA
2020 - Present: Lecturer, Dept. of Astronautical Engineering, USC, Los Angeles, CA
2008 - 2012: Contamination Engineer, MEI Inc., NASA GSFC, MD
2005 - 2008: Research Engineer, ERC Inc., Air Force Research Laboratory, Edwards AFB, CA
Books:
Brieda, L., Plasma Simulations by Example, CRC Press, 2019
Brieda, L., Wang, J., Martin R., Introduction to Modern Scientific Programming and Numerical Methods, CRC Press, 2024
Teaching:
ASTE-404: Computational Programming and Numerical Methods
ASTE-546: Computational Plasma Dynamics
ASTE-599: Contamination Control of Space Systems and Planetary Protection
ASTE-591: Independent Research
AME-491: Undergraduate Senior Project, ASPEN
Research Summary
My research focuses on the use of particle-based simulation methods to model low density plasmas and rarefied gases. I have developed many high performance codes for modeling spacecraft plasma thrusters and their interactions with spacecraft, and also for modeling the evolution of molecular and particulate contamination during spacecraft testing, deployment, and operation. The plasma codes have been used to model the plasma discharge in Hall effect thrusters, plasma dynamics in fusion reactors, and charging in the lunar environment. The contamination codes haves been using support of space missions such as MMS, GOES-R, Restore-L, JWST, and Dragonfly. I am also interested in emerging computational approaches, such as the use of embedded systems, or the direct use of CAD geometries for improving simulation realism.
