Team

Bio:

Bio:

Jason Swenson holds two Master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jason was originally part of the Mission Design Center (MDC) at NASA Ames Research Center, before finally joining the Navigation and Mission Design Branch (NMDB) at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). In addition to his passion for space exploration, Jason enjoys creating music, hiking, reading, and doing puzzles of all types.

Bio:

Kevin Walsh studies the dynamics of solar system asteroids and planets and the geology of rubble pile asteroids, hunting for ways to deliver water to the Earth while the planets were still forming and also how to re-shape and small asteroids and build their satellites. Kevin is the lead scientist for the Regolith Science on OSIRIS-REx, whose group has mapped the boulders and craters across the surface of Bennu.

Kevin has an asteroid named in his honor (7987) Walshkevin, which is a very excellent asteroid.

Bio:

Mathilde Westermann began her career working on OSIRIS-REx at the University of Arizona as a graduate student intern. After receiving her degree in the summer of 2016, she was hired on the mission full time to work as part of the Science Planning Team, designing and implementing science observations. Mathilde has a B.S. in Geoscience and an M.S. in Geographic Information Systems, both from the University of Arizona. She is a born and raised Tucsonan who loves the desert and its creatures including her husband and dog Mr. Otto. Mathilde plans to continue working with OSIRIS-REx through sample analysis and hopes to work on other space missions in the future.

Bio:

Dan Wibben is the Maneuver and Trajectory Design lead for the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission with the Space Navigation and Flight Dynamics practice at KinetX Aerospace, Inc. Prior to joining KinetX in 2015, he worked at the University of Arizona as the OSIRIS-REx Science Processing and Operations Center Systems Engineer. He originally joined the mission as a graduate student at the University of Arizona in 2011. He received his B.S. degrees in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and M.S. and Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from the University of Arizona where his research was focused on nonlinear guidance techniques for asteroid proximity operations and planetary landing.

Bio:

Bobby G. Williams holds degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the U. of Texas (B.S. and M.S.) and the U. of Southern California (PhD). While employed at CalTech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he eventually headed the orbit determination teams at JPL for the Viking missions to Mars, the Pioneer Venus Orbiter mission, and the Earth oceanographic mission TOPEX/Poseidon; he was Navigation Team Chief for the NEAR mission to asteroid Eros. He participated in gravity field determination for both Mars and Venus and was a member of the Phobos Experiment Team that first determined the mass of the Martian moon, Phobos, from spacecraft tracking data. At JPL and later at KinetX Aerospace, he has supported navigation trade studies and design for many space mission proposals, including proposals and site visits for OSIRIS and OSIRIS-REx. His wife, Beverly, three children, and seven grandchildren keep him grounded in spite of having his head in space.

Bio:

Ken graduated from Indiana State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics and Mathematics and a Master’s Degree in Physics. He joined KinetX, Inc. in 2007, where he has served as Flight Director of the Space Navigation and Flight Dynamics practice at KinetX, Inc., supporting navigation for MESSENGER, New Horizons and several other NASA missions. Prior to joining KinetX, he had also worked on NEAR at JHU/APL and Cassini, Genesis, Stardust and Phoenix at JPL. He joined OSIRIS-REx as part of the Step 1 proposal effort, serving as the original Nav Team Chief through Phase C development, and is currently an advisor to current Nav Team Chief Peter Antreasian. Ken is a recipient of NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal for his work as Stardust Navigation Team Chief for the comet sample return. He intends to provide such experience to help ensure a successful return of regolith samples from Bennu to Earth.

Bio:

Bio:

Cat came to OSIRIS-REx via a meandering path through writing, editing, program coordination, and geoscience. Before moving to Tucson, she spent several years in D.C. working for the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), and the journal Science, along with some memorable summers of field work in the Tobacco Root Mountains of Montana and on the barrier islands off the Eastern Shore of Virginia. In 2014, her team at the USGCRP received an Award for Excellence from the Obama administration for outstanding contributions to the Third National Climate Assessment. Cat holds a BA in Geology from Oberlin College and an MS in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia. A retired rugby player, she enjoys hiking, stretching, traveling, reading fiction, and spending time with her companion and their cat.

Bio:

Jodi began her career at Lockheed Martin as a college cooperative education student with the Missiles and Fire Control organization. After college, Jodi transitioned to the Space organization, where she supported several missile and satellite programs as a Certified Principal Engineer and technical lead for development and flight hardware electronics prior to joining OSIRIS-REx as a Systems Engineer for mission operations. Jodi has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Northeastern University and a Master of Science in Mechatronics Systems Engineering from the University of Denver. Outside of work, Jodi enjoys spending time in the great outdoors hiking/backpacking and skiing/snowboarding.

Bio:

Zoe Zeszut joined the OSIRIS-REx team in March 2018. Her work is focused on science planning and operations, creating spacecraft commanding for science and OpNav observations, and reviewing commanding to ensure spacecraft safety. Zoe holds dual degrees from Ohio University: a BS in Geological Sciences and a BSC in Digital Media. She earned an MS in Earth and Planetary Science from Case Western Reserve University. Her MS thesis research, in collaboration with NASA Glenn Research Center, involved physical properties of meteorites. In her spare time, Zoe enjoys nature photography, drawing, painting, hiking, and collecting minerals and fossils.