Nicholas Campbell
Research Associate II in Hypersonics, Center for National Security Initiatives
Aerospace Engineering Sciences

Education

PhD, Aerospace Engineering Sciences, CU Boulder, 2019

MSc, Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, 2014

BSc (with Honors), Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 2011

Professional Experience

2020 - 2022, Research Associate, Nonequilibrium Gas & Plasma Dynamics Laboratory, CU Boulder

2019 - 2020, Research Associate, Research & Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles, CU Boulder

2016 - 2019, Resource Chair & Lead Developer, Committee for Expansion into Key Space Industries (CENKI)

2016 - 2019, Research Assistant, Research & Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles, CU Boulder

2014 - 2015, Teaching Assistant, ASEN 4013 & ASEN 2004, Aerospace Engineering Sciences, CU Boulder

2012 - 2013, Research Assistant, Applied Physics Research Group, University of Florida

Summer 2010, Mechanical Engineering Intern, Northern Power Systems, Barre, VT

2008-2010,  Engineering Intern, Kalow Technologies, N. Clarendon, VT

    Background/Focus Areas/Research Interests

    Nick received his PhD in aerospace engineering with a focus in fluids and propulsion from the University of Colorado in 2019. His doctoral research was funded under a private contract with the United Launch Alliance to study hypersonic flight trajectories, the nonequilibirum aerothermodynamics and internal boiling of cryogenic propellant which occurs when aerobraking a massive upper-stage. He started getting specific experience working on advanced space concepts while serving two summers as a research fellow at the Center for Space Nuclear Research in the Idaho National Laboratory. Since, his work has included a variety of experimental and numerical investigations into the dynamics of fluids, fields and space mission architectures. Additionally, he was recently awarded a patent for a novel electro-fluidic transducer (plasma actuator) developed while doing his masters research at the University of Florida. After graduating, Nick joined Dr. Boyd and the NGPDL, where he worked on CFD modeling of advanced materials in high-speed flows. He has continued to grow this portfolio as an RA II for the CNSI. Part of this work is concerned with thermionic materials, capable of Electron Transpiration Cooling (ETC) and another part focuses on a class of materials called Ultra High Temperature Ceramics(UHTC), which offer very promising characteristics in the high temperature ranges experienced by high-speed flight vehicles. Overall Nick is committed to advancing multiphysics analysis and modeling capabilities to help realize and control the technology of the future.

    Professional Works

    • Campbell, N.S., Chen, S.Y., Boyd, I.D., Gasch, M.J., Ellerby, D.T., Unified Material-Environment Interaction Model for Binary UHTC Composites, AIAA AVIATION 2021 FORUM, AIAA 2021-3168, Virtual Event, August 2-6, 2021. DOI: 10.2514/6.2021-3168
    • Campbell, N.S., Hanquist, K., Morin, A., Meyers, J., Boyd, I. D., Evaluation of Computational Models for Electron Transpiration Cooling. Aerospace 2021, 8, 243. DOI: 10.3390/aerospace8090243
    • Ripoll, P.M., Campbell, N.S., Argrow, B.M., Aerothermodynamic Uncertainty in Lifting and Boost-Glide Entry Trajectories, AIAA Scitech 2021 Forum, AIAA 2021-0934, Virtual Event, January 11-15 & 19-21, 2021. DOI: 10.2514/6.2021-0934
    • Howe, T. and  Howe, S and Miller, J and Campbell, N.S., "Advanced Thermoelectric Power Generation System for Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Reactors," 50th Int. Conference on Environmental Systems, 2020.
    • Campbell, N.S., "Analysis Methods for Reusable Spacecraft Undergoing Aeroassist Maneuvers," Dissertation, CU Boulder, 2019.  
    • Nicholas S. Campbell and Brian M. Argrow, Unsteady Heat Transfer for Pressure Vessels in Atmospheric Flight at Orbital Velocities. Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, (2019). 
    • T. Bennett,  C. Cain,  N. Campbell,  A. Gemer, J. Marino,  T. Niederweiser, A. Rao, The CENKI Space Economic Simulator: Demonstrating Agent-Based Modeling on Satelllite Market Data, Conference Paper for: IEEE Aerospace Conference 2018, Big Sky, MT, March 2018.
    • T. Bennett,  C. Cain,  N. Campbell,  A. Gemer, J. Marino,  T. Niederweiser, A. Rao, The CENKI Space Economic Simulator: Analytical Verification of an Agent-Based Modeling Engine, Conference Paper for: IEEE Aerospace Conference 2018, Big Sky, MT, March 2018.
    • Subrata Roy, Nicholas S. Campbell, Electro-Fluid Transducers. US Patent Pending under US2017/0284429 A1. October 5th, 2017.
    • Nicholas S. Campbell, Brian Argrow and Jeremy C. Ralph, Aerobraking in the Cislunar Economy, Conference paper for: AIAA ScitTech 2017, AIAA 2017-0468, Grapevine, TX, January 2017.
    • T. Bennett,  C. Cain,  N. Campbell,  A. Gemer, T. Green,  T. Niederweiser, Engineering the CisLunar Economic System based on ULA's CisLunar-1000 Vision,  Conference Paper for: AIAA SPACE  2016,  Long Beach, California, 13 - 16 Sep 2016
    • N. S. Campbell and B.M. Argrow, Non-Equilibrium Aerothermodynamics for the In-Space Transportation Industry, Presentation at: Rocky Mountain Fluid Mechanics Research Symposium, Boulder, CO, Aug 9th, 2016.
    • N. S. Campbell and B.M. Argrow, Non-Inertial Frame Simulations of Rigid Body Dynamics in a Discrete Gas, Presentation at: AIAA-RMS Annual Technical Symposium, Golden, CO, Nov 6th, 2015.
    • Campbell, Nicholas S. and Roy, Subrata, Plasma channel flows: Electro-fluid dynamic jets. Applied Physics Letters, 105, 132906 (2014)
    • V. Patel, R. Davis, N. Campbell, Carl Runco, and S. Howe, Optical Nuclear Electric Propulsion. Conference Extended Abstract for: Nuclear & Emerging Technologies for Space, February 24-26th, 2013, NASA Infinity Center, MI.
    • R. Shrestha, N. Campbell, D. Roberts, S. Howe, Microwave Extraction of Water and Thermal-Hydraulics Analyses in a Radioactive Core of a Lunar Hopper for Steam-Propelled Flight.  Conference Paper for: Nuclear & Emerging Technologies for Space, February 25-28th, 2013, Albuquerque, NM.