Researcher

Ms. O’Brien is a Principal Research Engineer in the Rotorcraft Systems Engineering and Simulation Center (RSESC) at The University of Alabama in Huntsville specializing in the areas of systems development and system engineering. Over the past 24 years, she has been the Principal Investigator and Project Manager on over twenty-five engineering contracts with a total value in excess of seventeen million dollars. She has over twenty years of experience in hardware and software systems including flight hardware design, development, management, integration and systems operation for flight and ground payloads for NASA and Army Aviation. Her NASA experience includes the design and development of numerous International Space Station, Space Shuttle, sounding rocket, and KC-135 payloads. Preliminary design, critical design and safety review Phases 1-3 experience. She has also been working with Army Aviation, Army Missiles and Space, NAVIAR and the Office of the Secretary of Defense in systems engineering tasks, feasibility studies, airworthiness, building field replaceable kits for Army Aviation assets, completing independent assessments and value engineering designs.