Richard Wirz

Richard Wirz

ADJUNCT PROFESSOR
MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Email: wirz@g.ucla.edu

RESEARCH AND INTERESTS
Electric and micro propulsion, low temperature plasma and plasma discharges, spacecraft and space mission design, alternative energy generation and storage.
NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS
Google Scholar page
Patents
  1. Wirz R.E., Aspe S., “Integrated Wind Turbine,” Patent No. US 9,228,564, Jan. 05, 2016
  2. Wirz R.E., “Accelerator System and Method for Accelerating Particles,” Patent No. US 7,773,362 B1, Aug. 10, 2010
  3. Wirz R.E., “Internally Conductively-Heated Cathode,” Patent No. US 7,471,035 B2, Dec. 30, 2008
  4. Conversano R.W., Goebel D.M., Wirz R.E., “Magnetically Shielded Miniature Hall Thruster,” Patent Application No. US 14/506,635, filed Oct 4, 2014
  5. Wirz R.E., Stopin A., Tse L.A., Lavine A.S., Kavehpour H.P., Lakeh R.B., Furst B., Bran-Anleu G. , Garcia-Garibay M.A., “High-Density, High-Temperature Thermal Energy Storage And Retrieval ,” Patent Application No. US 14/475479 , filed Sept 02, 2014

NASA Tech Briefs
  1. Wirz R., Gamero, Goebel D., “Pulsed Operation of an Ion Accelerator,” NASA Tech Brief, NPO-44961, pg. 52, Vol. 33, No. 2, Feb 2009.
  2. Goebel D., Polk J. E., Wirz R., “Increasing the Life of a Xenon-Ion Spacecraft Thruster,” NASA Tech Brief, NPO-43495, Vol. 31, No. 11, Nov 2007.
EDUCATION
Caltech, 2005
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS
  • Senior Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, AIAA
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE
  • Power & Energy Society
  • Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society
  • Sigma Gamma Tau, Aerospace Honor Society
  • Electric Rocket Propulsion Society, ERPS
  • American Solar Energy Society, ASES
  • Part-time Senior Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology