Dr. Carlos I. Calle is the founder and lead of NASA's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at the Kennedy Space Center. He received his Ph.D in theoretical nuclear physics from Ohio University. Dr. Calle is currently working on the problem of electrostatic phenomena on planetary surfaces, particularly on Mars and the Moon, developing instrumentation for future planetary exploration missions.His earlier research work involved the development of a theoretical model for a microscopic treatment of particle scattering. He also introduced one-particle excitation operators in a separable particle-hole Hamiltonian for the calculation of particle excitations. He has published over 150 scientific papers and been invited to participate in international scientific conferences. He has been the recipient of numerous research grants from NSF, from NASA, and from private foundations. Dr. Calle is the author of Superstrings and Other Things: A Guide to Physics, Second Edition, Taylor & Francis (2009), Einstein for Dummies, Wiley (2005), Coffee with Einstein, Duncan Baird (2008), and The Universe, Prometheus Books (2009). His books have been translated into French, Spanish, Dutch, German, and Serbian.

Dr. Charles Buhler received his B.S. in Engineering Physics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1995. He then pursued his M.S and Ph.D degrees in Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics from Florida State University while working at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. His research focused on the physics of High Temperataure Superconductors. Soon after graduating, he began working at the EMPL as a postdoctoral scientist and is currently working on trying to understand the electrostatic nature of Martian and lunar soil simulants. He is responsible for overseeing graduate student research while performing experiments in simulated Martian environments to test and develop future instrumentation for a Mars Landing mission.

Dr. Michael Hogue holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Central Florida, an M.S. in Physics and a graduate certificate in Applied Mathematics also from UCF, an M.S. in Space Systems from Florida Institute of Technology, and a B.S. in Physics from Mississippi State University. He is a physicist in the Electrostatics & Surface Physics Laboratory at NASA and has performed experimental and theoretical research to determine the fundamental triboelectric (or rubbing) charging mechanism between insulating materials such as polymers. His work in this area has been published in the Journal of Electrostatics and in the proceedings of the Electrostatics Society of America annual conferences. Previous projects include work on magnetic liquid oxygen pumping and magnetic levitation/ propulsion. His other interests include electromagnetism, relativity, and cosmology. Currently he is assisting in research on the electrostatic properties of Lunar and Martian regolith simulants and in development of instrumentation to measure these properties.

Sarah Snyder graduated from Florida Institute of Technology in 2005 with a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Space Sciences. Since that time, she has worked on Project SHORE with Florida Space Research Institute and with ASRC Aerospace in the Transducer Development Lab prior to joining the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Lab in December 2007. She is currently working on her M.S. degree in Space Sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology.

Dr. Steve Trigwell is a senior research scientist in the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory. He received his B.Sc. in Physics from Leicester University in England, his M.S. in Materials Engineering from San Jose State University, and his Ph.D. in Applied Science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Prior to joining KSC, he held positions as a Scientist in the Materials Science and Characterization Group at Raychem Corporation, and as the Laboratory Director for the Auger Electron Spectroscopy Lab at Surface Science Laboratories in California. His current research interests include atmospheric plasma glow discharge (APGD) modification of material surfaces for space applications, investigation of the tribocharging properties of simulated Lunar and Mars dust, and characterization of modified nanomaterials.

Dr. Albert Chen is a professor of Physics at Oklahoma Baptist University and a faculty fellow in the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory. Dr. Chen obtained his Ph.D. in physics from Baylor University. He joined the ESPL in 2002 as a NASA Summer Faculty Felow, after serving in the same capacity at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and Dryden Flight Research Center in the engineering research division in Edwards, California. Dr. Chen’s research includes Martian dust simulation studies and researching the design of high altitude diffusers for space shuttle main engines. He also has worked on the NASA project CODEM, where he designed and tested prototype hardware and simulation software. Currently, he is part of our research effort in the development of dust mitigation technologies for lunar and Martian exploration.

Summer Students