Erik Kraus

At work: Erik is currently the operations manager of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Propulsion Academy. The Propulsion Academy is a rigorous 10-week internship program designed to lead interns through an intense crash-course in modern forms of rocket propulsion and to expose students to an accelerated team project work experience. Erik is currently supervising projects involving thrust vector control, green mono propellant thrusters, nuclear thermal propulsion, and solid rocket motors. Erik is also a member of the Lunar Lion Society which supports the efforts of the Penn State Lunar Lions in vying for the Google Lunar XPRIZE.

Outside of work: Erik is a recent graduate of Harvard University, from which he received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. As a culmination of his interests and academic work, Erik's senior thesis project involved the design, prototyping, and testing of a mechanical counter-pressure space suit glove which served as a proof of concept for innovative construction methods for space suits. In addition to his academic pursuits, Erik ran D1 Mens Varsity Track and Field for four years and was president of the Phoenix S.K. Club. Additionally, Erik is an avid Scuba Diver, working on his advanced scuba certification.

In the past: Erik's previous professional work includes a summer internship at NASA Johnson Space Center, working on developing a software solution to enable autonomous healthcare for astronauts in the Cardiovascular Research Laboratory in 2012. Erik graduated from the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Propulsion Academy in the summer of 2013. For his design project, Erik helped design, build, and test an integrated thrust vector control system for nano-launch vehicles.