Mitchell Trotsky (BS/ME ’22), a PhD student in aerospace engineering, has been selected for a prestigious internship at the NASA Ames Research Center, where he will help develop novel laser diagnostics for arc jet tunnels.
Located in Moffett Field, California, which is 40 miles south of San Francisco, NASA Ames Research Center is the largest test facility in the world for testing materials for hypersonic applications. Trotsky’s four-month internship, which begins October 6, is funded by the San José State University Research Foundation (SJSURF).
Trotsky will be working with a state-of-the-art femtosecond laser, which is an ultrafast laser that enables unique investigations of plasma flow physics. The technology allows researchers to obtain more information about the interaction between the plasma flow and material surface in high-temperature ground testing facilities.
Trotsky has been tasked with launching the project at NASA Ames to get experiments with the lasers up and running.
“The work I am doing will eventually be transferred to a postdoc. My purpose of being brought on is to get it started and make sure that everything is operating as expected,” said Trotsky. “I will kind of build up a test plan, maybe get a few preliminary tests in, and get it to where it’s in a state to be transferred over to a postdoc for full completion of the project in the long run.”
Epicenter of Aerothermodynamics Research
Trotsky is part of MAE Assistant Professor Damiano Baccarella’s research group at UT. His research focuses on developing innovative diagnostics for characterizing hypersonic thermal protection materials. Trotsky has already published two peer-reviewed journal articles and earned recognition from major research institutions.
“Mitchell is an outstanding PhD student who has been extremely proficient in research,” Baccarella said. “This internship serves as a clear recognition of the impactful research we are conducting at UT. NASA Ames has been, for decades, the epicenter of research in aerothermodynamics. Through this internship, Mitchell and our group will receive invaluable hands-on experience with state-of-the-art facilities and direct collaboration with leading experts in the field.”
NASA Aerospace Engineer Megan MacDonald will be Trotsky’s advisor at NASA Ames. They met at a conference last year, when MacDonald expressed interest in the work being done in Baccarella’s lab.
“She’s very well known in this field, and she has her own list of accolades,” Trotsky said. “I know she’s extremely knowledgeable and she’s extremely good with people, so I think she’ll be someone who I will be able to get along with really well and learn a lot from. I think it’s a really good match.”
Invaluable Internship Opportunities
Earlier this year, Trotsky spent the spring semester as an intern at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, working on an extended project surrounding aerospace applications.
Trotsky is on schedule to graduate with his PhD in May of 2027. He credits the “incredible opportunities” he’s received at UT, like the high-profile internships, for providing a roadmap for his future career.
“I really like what I do in my research currently, so I’m interested in continuing in this field of taking measurements in high temperature, arcjet wind tunnels, and doing more research in the field of hypersonics in general,” Trotsky said. “My goal is to stay in that experimental side of things and transfer it to either a position at NASA or at the Air Force, or really any number of places that do this type of work.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])