
He is an expert in the area of structural modeling and analysis using finite elements, especially using the MSC-NASTRAN analysis code. Hamm also serves as the Structures and Analysis Group Lead in the Mechanical Systems Branch and is responsible for performing and maintaining structural analysis capability and resources at Ames Research Center.

More recently he was Structures and Technical Lead for the Adaptive Deployable Entry System Project (ADEPT), a novel mechanically deployable heatshield concept using 3D woven carbon fiber as the aero surface. Hamm served on the ORION Thermal Protection System Advanced Development Project and worked as Deputy Lead of the Heatshield Design and Analysis Team. VIPER is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon’s South Pole in late 2024 by Astrobotic’s Griffin lander as part of the. Funding for these awards is derived from multiple sources including NASA, California Space Grant, private organizations, and State and Federal agencies. In 2000 he returned to NASA Ames to work as lead structural analyst for the SOFIA cavity door design team which developed and fabricated the outer telescope door and inner Aperture assembly for the SOFIA aircraft (a modified 747 intended to carry an infrared telescope). A science instrument that can reveal the composition of lunar soil has arrived at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for integration into NASAs Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER). The California Space Grant Consortium Scholarship (undergraduate) and Fellowship (graduate) Program is active throughout California at the Space Grant affiliate institutions. There he led development of advanced composite designs for satellite and aircraft structures for many large aerospace customers. From 1998 through 2000, he worked for a small aerospace design and manufacturing company in Central California. In all these programs he was directly involved in structural design and analysis of critical structural parts and assemblies which informed the final designs of these structures.

#Nasa ames research center academy full
In these groups he worked a number of major facility upgrades including the National Full Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC), the 12-Foot Pressure Wind Tunnel Restoration Project, and the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel Modernization Project. Hamm began work at NASA Ames Research Center in 1984, starting in the Facilities Engineering Branch, before moving to the Test Engineering and Analysis Branch.
