Bryant Loomis (AeroEngr MS’05, PhD’09)
Excellence in Technical Achievement and LeadershipÌý
Over 40 CategoryÌý
Bryant Loomis received his MS (’05) and PhD (’09) degrees in aerospace engineering sciences from ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ, and his BS (’03) in engineering from Hope College. His graduate work focused on the first numerical simulations of a dual-pair satellite configuration equipped with a laser ranging interferometer (LRI) for measuring Earth’s time variable gravity field.Ìý
At the time, this instrument was in development through a NASA-funded collaboration between ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ and Ball Aerospace, and led to the technology demonstration LRI on the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) satellite mission, which launched in 2018 and is still operating.Ìý
Following graduation, Loomis joined the Planetary Geodynamics Laboratory at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) as a contractor with SGT, Inc. In 2016, he transitioned to the newly formed Geodesy and Geophysics Laboratory, where he then became a NASA civil servant in 2017.Ìý
Since 2022, he has served as Chief of the Geodesy and Geophysics Laboratory, which manages NASA’s Space Geodesy Project; develops and operates geodetic lidar instruments including LVIS, GEDI, and the Hazard Detection Lidar; and has critical roles supporting a wide range of NASA Earth Science missions including ICESat-2, GEDI, GRACE-FO, TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1/2/3, Sentinel-6A, and EDGE, which was recently selected for flight under the Earth System Explorers Program.
In addition to his duties as lab chief, Loomis has led research efforts under a variety of NASA programs, resulting in the development and application of novel mass change science products derived from the GRACE missions and satellite laser ranging (SLR), where the SLR record is one of the longest climate data records of the space age, dating back to the 1970’s.Ìý
Research programs have included the GRACE and GRACE-FO Science Teams, High Mountain Asia Science Team, Sea Level Change Science Team, Ocean Surface Topography Science Team, and Solid Earth Team. He is part of the GRACE-FO and GRACE-C Science Data System teams, the NASA/ESA MAGIC Working Group, and leads NGA-funded gravity field development.Ìý
Loomis is a member of the NASA Solid Earth Team CORE 2.0 Committee and serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including a NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 2020 and a Robert H. Goddard Exceptional Achievement in Science Award in 2016.Ìý