7 November 2001

Senior Mechanical Engineer Hired at Space Dynamics Lab

The Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) at Utah State University is pleased to announce that Steven R. Wassom, PhD, PE, has joined the laboratory as a Senior Mechanical Engineer. He will be responsible for the mechanisms on the Russian American Observational Satellites (RAMOS) program. He will also serve as the group leader for the newly created Mechanical & Thermal Engineering Group, which consists of 25 engineers, designers, and technicians.

Dr. Wassom, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Wassom of Tooele, was born and raised in Tooele and graduated from Tooele High in 1973. He received his BS and ME in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University and graduated with his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Utah State University. Prior to coming to SDL, he spent 2 years with Allied-Signal in Phoenix, Arizona, and 19 years with Thiokol Corporation in Brigham City. He has authored or co-authored 23 publications and holds 3 patents. He received his professional engineering license in 1984. He and his wife Debbie live in Smithfield, Utah, with their three boys and two girls.

RAMOS is an international cooperative program between America and Russia, sponsored by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) under the University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) contract. The program objective is to fly two similarly instrumented satellites in the same orbit while viewing backgrounds in stereo. The engineering data will be shared and used by each nation. Launch is set for 2006.