William (Will) Brabston (US Citizen) graduated with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and B.G.S. in Economics from the University of Kansas in Spring 2020. He started at Georgia Tech in Fall 2020 as a graduate student where he then joined HPEPL.  His primary research interests lie in advanced plasma diagnostics and plasma interactions within a thruster. Will believes high-power electric propulsion will play an integral part in deep space exploration and multi-planetary habitation. 

Naia Butler-Craig (US citizen) graduated with a B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with minors in Computational and Applied Mathematics. She joined HPEPL as a graduate student in August 2019. Her primary research interests include the plasma physics of electron confinement and miniaturization of electric thrusters for nanosatellite applications. Naia desires to help enable deep space exploration with electric propulsion technologies and inspire the next generation of STEM professionals.

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Janice Cabrera (US citizen) graduated with a B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She joined HPEPL as a graduate student in August 2020. Her primary research interests include high-speed plasma diagnostics and facility effects on Hall effect thrusters. 

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Richeek Dutta (US citizen) graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2024 with a BS in Aerospace Engineering. He joined HPEPL as a graduate student in Fall 2024. His interests lie in alternative propellants for Hall effect thrusters and non-invasive plasma diagnostics. He strives to make the field of space exploration sustainable and accessible to all.

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Muhannad Eladl (US citizen) received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2019. He started in the lab as an undergraduate student in 2018 and as a graduate student in 2019.  His primary interest is in non-invasive plasma diagnostic techniques and facility effects for high-power electric propulsion devices.

Jacob Knott (US citizen) graduated with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of technology in 2019, working as an undergraduate research assistant for HPEPL beginning in 2018. After graduation, Jacob worked as an Electric Propulsion Test Engineer for Busek Co. from 2019-2022, before rejoining HPEPL as a graduate research assistant in fall 2022. His research interests include plasma-material interactions and wear mechanisms in electric propulsion systems, as well as the use of novel propellants in EP. Jacob hopes to use this research to inform the designs of new EP systems enabling more ambitious space exploration and transportation missions.

Ajay Krishnan (US Citizen) graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley in May 2018 and an MEng in Space Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in April 2021. He started at Georgia Tech in Spring 2021 as a PhD student, where he went on to join HPEPL. His primary research interests include power electronics, electric propulsion, and fusion. He is presently interested in investigating new topologies, components, and control techniques for use in power processing units (PPUs), along with thruster-PPU interactions. Ajay believes that high power electric propulsion, fusion, and their accompanying power electronics will be vital in deep space exploration efforts.  

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Adrian Vicente La Lande (US citizen) graduated with an A.A. from Hillsborough Community College and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2020. He joined HPEPL in 2018 as an undergraduate research student and has stayed on to pursue a Ph.D. in the field of electric propulsion. Adrian is interested in furthering our understanding of plasma interactions with regard to high-power electric propulsion applications. He sees progress in the new wave of space development, both as a harbinger of scientific advancement and as a means of uplifting all members of society.

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Julian Lopez-Uricoechea (US citizen) graduated with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and a B.A. in Physics from Brown University in Spring 2020. He joined HPEPL as a graduate student in Fall 2020. His primary research interest is in developing laser-based plasma diagnostics to help better understand the underlying plasma physics in electric propulsion.

Arega Margousian (US citizen) graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2019 with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. She joined HPEPL as an undergraduate research assistant in 2017 and as a graduate student in August 2021. Her research interests are in developing plasma computational models and optimizing electric propulsion devices for cubesat applications. Arega believes in transforming the space exploration field through sustainable and clean technologies.  

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Ebise Teshale received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in May 2023. She joined HPEPL in August 2023 as a graduate student. Her research interest lies in the materials used for electric propulsion devices.

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