Lyon Bradley King
American engineer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
L. Brad King is an American engineer. He is the CEO and co-founder of Orbion Space Technology,[1] an aerospace company based in Houghton, MI, specializing in Hall-effect thrusters.[2] He is also the CEO of Aerophysics Inc, a company based in Allouez, MI, providing "intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance" to the government.[3] He is a Richard and Elizabeth Henes Endowed Professor for Space Systems in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Technological University.[4]
Plasma Physics
Optical Fluid Diagnostics
Lyon Bradley King | |
|---|---|
| Education | University of Michigan |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Space Propulsion Plasma Physics Optical Fluid Diagnostics |
| Institutions | Michigan Technological University |
| Awards | Richard and Elizabeth Henes Professor of Space Systems Engineering |
Early life and education
King was born in Calument, Michigan[5] and graduated from Calument High School in 1989. He holds a master's and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan.[6] He did a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado.[5]
Career
King was hired at Michigan Technological University in 2000 and developed a research program centered around advance space propulsion technologies, including Hall-effect thrusters, ion engines, and arcjets.[7][5]
King, along with Jason Sommervile, founded Orbion Space Technology in 2016.[8] The company was sold to York Space Systems on March 2026.[9]
King is the Richard and Elizabeth Henes Professor of Space Systems Engineering at Michigan Technological University.[10]
King is a 2003 recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award[11] from President George W. Bush and was selected as a recipient of the Society of Automotive Engineers Ralph R. Teetor Award[12] for engineering educators in 2006.
Research interests
King's research experience in the broader field of plasma physics includes such subjects as the design of the in-situ electrostatic probes, ion-energy analysis and time-of-flight mass spectrometry, Doppler laser cooling of trapped ions, optical flow diagnostics, and antimatter confinement. He holds patents for generating electrospray from a ferrofluid, self-regenerating nanotips for low-power electric propulsion cathodes, and a method and apparatus for improving efficiency of a Hall-effect thruster.[13]
Select publications
- Radiation-induced solidification of ionic liquid under extreme electric field[14] (2016) Terhune, K.J., King, L.B., He, K., Cumings, J., Nanotechnology
- Performance Comparison Between a Magnesium- and Xenon-Fueled 2 Kilowatt Hall Thruster[15] (2016) Hopkins, M.A. and King, L.B. Journal of Propulsion and Power
- Ionic liquid ferrofluid interface deformation and spray onset under electric and magnetic stresses[16] (2014) B. A. Jackson, K. J. Terhune and L. B. King, Physics of FluidsJournal of Propulsion and Power
