Matthew Mullin

Washington, D.C.508-681-9049matwmullin@gmail.com

Professional Experience

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, MD

June 2020 - Present

Built and space qualified the "THANOS" UV laser system for the Dragonfly Mission – a drone mission to Titan.
Expertise in environmental testing of spaceflight hardware (vibration, shock, thermal, TVAC and radiation).
Developed scripts to allow space flight lasers to perform sample analysis autonomously (Moon, Mars, Titan)
Participating in the prototyping of laser-based sample analysis tools for deep space applications.
Expertise in 3D printing - providing hundreds of parts to various spaceflight projects per year – including R&D efforts to the ISS.
Experience with fiber optics, microchip lasers, thermal control, optics characterization, laser diode testing, optical system design.
Currently supporting the space qualification effort on the Laser Interferometry Space Antenna (LISA) laser system.
Presented qualification results to mission leadership at preliminary and critical design reviews.

American University Physics Department

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, MD

June 2016 - May 2020

Research assistant Junior year of undergraduate and then full time engineer in 2018 working on the GEDI Space LIDAR Mission.
Supported several airborne LIDAR campaigns to map vegetation and tree coverage in the Southern US and in Northern Canada.
Assisted with optical testing of laser systems, test setup/breakdown, lab inventory and procurement.
Learned the fundamentals of laser system design and gained competence in a variety of research lab skills.

U.S. Congressman William Keating (MA - 09)

Washington, D.C.

Sept 2015 - Dec 2015

Served as a Capitol Hill intern for my home district in Massachusetts. Main responsibilities included: attending briefings and hearings, interacting with constituents on a daily basis through email, letters and by operating the office telephone.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Space Grant

Cambridge, MA

May 2017 - Jan 2018

Wrote and was awarded a grant to study how autonomous drones equipped with LIDAR and cameras could 3D model coastal erosion of the beaches of Massachusetts. Reported the results to MIT researchers, policy makers and homeowners in MA.

Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science & Minor in Applied Physics, Class of 2018

Washington, D.C.

AU Center of Innovation - won several grants as founder of "Sand Scan" a company which tracked erosion with drone technology

High School Diploma, Class of 2014

Sandwich, MA

11 publications & conference papers on space laser development
Principle Investigator for NASA R&D Project: "Ultra Compact Space Lasers for Handheld, Rover and Drone Applications" - 2025
NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Award 2023 – Team award for space qualifying the laser for the Dragonfly Mission
NASA Goddard "Unsung Hero" Award 2023 – Individual award for advancing several R&D laser systems
Principle Investigator for NASA HQ Award from the Center Innovation Fund (CIF) for exploring novel laser gain materials – 2020
American University's Big Idea Contest 1st Place Winner 2017 – for starting company named "Sand Scan" which used drones to 3D model coastal erosion

NASA Product Development Lead (PDL) Training – Completed 2024
NASA Airborne Instrument Operator Certified (2019 - Present)
Certified in NASA Standards: Polymeric/Bonding Applications (NASA-STD-8739.1B), Workmanship for Crimping Interconnecting Cables, Harnesses and Wiring (NASA-STD-8739.4A)
Significant experience with 3D CAD (Solidworks, CREO & Fusion 360) and optical system design software (ZEMAX)
Manufacturing experience: 3 & 5-axis toolpath programming, 3D printing systems (SLA & FDM), laser cutting, soldering and electrical harness fabrication. Preparing mechanical drawings compliance with GD&T
Programming: proficient in Python, significant experience with Arduino prototyping, AWS for IOT applications/web development