Mitchell Louis Ronald Walker II (born July 18, 1977) is an American aerospace engineer, researcher, and educator. As of January 1, 2024, he is the chair of the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering (AE) in the College of Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.[1] Prior to serving as the chair, he was the associate dean for academic affairs at the Georgia Tech College of Engineering.[2] He is the founder and director of the High-Power Electric Propulsion Laboratory (HPEPL) at Georgia Tech, founded in 2005.[3] The lab aims to advance the understanding of plasma physics and expand the technology of electric propulsion devices for future space use.
He earned his B.S.E. in aerospace engineering in 1999, M.S. in aerospace engineering in 2000, and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering in 2005 from the University of Michigan.[12]
US Patent No. 10,823,158, “Deployable Gridded Ion Thruster,” Authors: Walker, M. L. R., Cheong, C., Filed February 19, 2019, Issued: November 3, 2020.[19]
U.S. Patent No. 8,604,681, “Cold Cathodes and Ion Thrusters and Methods of Making and Using Same,” Authors: M. L. R. Walker, W. J. Ready, Filed March 2009, Issued December 10, 2013.[20]
^National Research Council. 2012. Reusable Booster System: Review and Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13534.
^"High Power Electric Propulsion Laboratory Publications". The High-Power Electric Propulsion Laboratory (HPEPL) at the Georgia Institute of Technology Department of Aerospace Engineering. Georgia Institute of Technology. January 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
^"Journal of spacecraft and rockets". AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Retrieved June 4, 2024.