Technical Fellows

Sometimes growing up as a space and history geek can lead to big things. For Brandon “B.T.” Cesul, it was the springboard to a career in which he is recognized as a national expert in the critical areas of space security, space intelligence, space warfare and warfare strategy, and space domain awareness. Modern military might will be almost wholly enabled by space capabilities. Through his expertise, B.T. is helping the U.S. strengthen and protect those capabilities and maintain its advantage over potential threats.

Climate change is real, and to mitigate its effects, the world needs to advance a global energy transition at speed. Fortunately, experts at KBR like Dave Cole are developing technology that is helping move energy transition forward. David and his teams provide customers with digital solutions that calculate the cost of using renewables to power projects, automate energy transition-repetitive designs for things like electric vehicle charging stations, calculate emissions across the project life cycle and then reduce those emissions, and more.

As a trained astronomer, Amber Iler knows that understanding an object’s physical nature hinges on having the best possible resolution. Her work in remote sensing helps detect and monitor physical characteristics of an area by measuring the reflected and emitted energy from a distance using satellites. Spectral remote sensing has numerous applications. It can help detect the presence of specific materials, such as waste leaked in waterways or greenhouse gases. It can be used to measure shifts in the path of a wildfire or to monitor the use (or misuse) of natural resources. It can even help isolate factors, natural or in the optical system, that might be degrading an image and help mitigate those factors to achieve a crisper image. Amber’s work helps us have better physical knowledge of what’s being observed and thus improves the ability to measure, understand and resolve conditions where action is needed, whether it be for land use, addressing climate change, or for defensive purposes.

From low-earth orbit to the moon and beyond, humankind’s future is in space. Max Kandula is making that future possible. Max’s work has numerous practical applications in new frontiers of space. He has written 40 published journal articles and presented 40 conference papers covering topics such as thermal systems, propulsion, aerodynamics, multiphase flow, computational fluid dynamics and jet noise. And his work has been widely cited. From jet noise mitigation in launch acoustic environments, to in-space propellent transfer systems, to the design and analysis of thermal systems and commercial space stations, Max is helping ensure that space exploration will be safer and more cost-effective.

One day soon, NASA will send astronauts to the moon to stay. The work those astronauts do on the lunar surface will have been informed by simulations with wearable technologies developed by Kyoung Jae “KJ” Kim. KJ received the NASA Johnson Space Center Director’s Award for the development of multiple innovative processes that increase efficiency and improve accuracy in analyzing biomechanics and physiological data. In addition to improving eventual life on the moon, KJ’s mobile health and monitoring system could also have huge implications and become essential for people living on a planet increasingly beset by natural disasters and pandemics.

The tools of the Fourth Industrial Revolution — artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), statistical signal processing and information theory — are being used to spur a global digital transformation that doesn’t just pertain to how companies do business. Those tools are also components of an emerging field in which algorithms are being developed to automate approaches to many of the U.S. government’s hardest detection, tracking and classification problems. And Dr. Chris Kreucher is at the forefront of that field. His work is helping develop the fundamental mathematical and engineering approaches that will unlock transformational technology and modernize U.S. defense and intelligence capabilities, altering the character of warfare. Chris’s current activities are building on his work in AI and ML, which includes methods for automated synthetic aperture radar automatic target recognition, cognitive (or “fully adaptive”) radar, and a series of efforts related to planning optimal flight paths.

As systems get more complex and autonomous in nature, it’s critical to know their current state of health and to be able to predict their future health as it pertains to decision-making. This is important not only for ensuring operational efficiency but also for ensuring safety. Chetan Kulkarni’s work in systems health management and prognostics relies on model-based and hybrid (i.e., model plus machine learning) approaches of observing complex systems, subsystems and components and diagnosing and isolating faults in those systems. His approach also helps operators estimate and predict remaining system usefulness and make predictive maintenance decisions. He is a recognized leader in systems health and prognostics and has been honored numerous times for outstanding contributions to the field.

Air transport remains the safest way to travel. However, novel aviation systems (e.g., remote and autonomous piloting), in addition to new aviation concepts like urban air mobility, can threaten overall airspace system safety if not made safe by design. Prevailing solutions are insufficient to address the challenges posed by these increasingly complex systems, and systems are evolving faster than they can be safely regulated. Ganesh Pai’s work is at the forefront of a modern approach to safety analysis and assurance and helps tackle both technology complexity and the speed of evolution. The key question his work answers is, “How can stakeholders of an autonomous aviation system be assured that the safety risks posed by novel emergent behavior have been identified and appropriately mitigated?” The tools and techniques he’s developed to answer that question help create confidence that a system will safely perform its intended function and have been, and continue to be, sought by entities involved in the research and development of autonomous systems.

Autonomous systems are becoming more and more crucial in many areas, ranging from autonomous spacecraft/rovers to explore unknown territory in the solar system to self-driving cars on our streets. In all applications, safety is a major concern. Johann Schumann’s work on assured autonomy is helping provide the technology and tools necessary to achieve the goal of safe AI-based autonomous systems for science, exploration and everyday life. AI components (e.g., deep neural networks) in autonomous systems play an increasingly important role in numerous domains. Many such applications are safety-critical and thus require verification and validation (V&V), as well as certification. However, V&V for AI and autonomy is still in its infancy. Johann’s work aims to provide tools, techniques, and processes that support the design, development, and certification of safe autonomous AI-based systems.

Around the world, companies and governments are looking for solutions to reduce their carbon footprint and mitigate the impact of climate change. The fact that those kinds of solutions are becoming mandatory for many olefins projects is what attracted Michael Tallman to the field. Michael is an industry expert, with 41 years of experience and numerous patents under his belt. Through his work designing and developing innovative, low-carbon solutions that can be applied to olefins technologies, Michael is helping KBR’s customers accomplish their business objectives while also contributing to a more sustainable future.

Learn more from Michael about some of KBR’s sustainable technology solutions.