Kelly L Patterson

Kelly is a PhD student in Structural Engineering in UT Arlington’s Dr. Nur Yazdani research group. She has almost 20 years of experience, building expertise across several industries. Ms. Patterson began her career in machining, fabricating space shuttle main engine components and progressed from there to payload engineer and eventually launch director for the United States Air Force Space Command Atlas V rocket program, responsible for preparing scientific and military payloads for launch- including several NASA interplanetary missions. 

After service in the military, Ms. Patterson first worked as a design engineer on multiple advanced-concept military aircraft before returning to space launch- this time as the director of space launch complex construction for a private aerospace firm. Most recently, Ms. Patterson was a business owner, providing engineering, operational, and management expertise to customers on projects such as: complex rigging and transport engineering for large infrastructure projects, experimental test design and execution for rocket engine testing, and advanced instrumentation design for high torque rotary drills used in deep foundation construction.

Kelly is also the recipient of the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 2021.

Education

• B.S. Aerospace Engineering, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University 
• B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University