Patrick Vail

Patrick Vail has a diverse work experience in the field of engineering. Patrick started their career as an Engineering Intern at BCD Semiconductor Manufacturing Limited in 2009. Patrick then worked as an Engineering Co-op at NASA in 2010, where they contributed to the design of the Orion spacecraft and participated in astronaut spacewalk training. From 2011 to 2012, Patrick served as a Propulsion Engineer at Space Exploration Technologies, where they collaborated on the development of an ultra-low cost thrust chamber for the Merlin 1D engine.

Following that, they joined Princeton University as a Graduate Research Assistant. In this role, Patrick managed the design, implementation, and experimental validation of advanced divertor control algorithms on several tokamaks. Patrick also led the development of control-oriented dynamical models and optimized advanced divertor scenarios for heat flux mitigation and divertor cryopumping.

In 2019, Patrick joined Ursa Major, where they initially served as a Systems Development Engineer. Patrick then took on the role of Senior Propulsion Engineer, and most recently, they became the Lead Propulsion Engineer.

Overall, Patrick Vail has gained significant experience in propulsion engineering, research, and project management throughout their career.

Patrick Vail attended the University of Southern California from 2007 to 2011, where they obtained a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Aerospace Engineering. Patrick then pursued further education at Princeton University, earning a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from 2012 to 2015. Patrick continued their studies at Princeton and obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from 2012 to 2019.