Reaction Systems Senior Staff

Jeffrey R. Engel

President

B.S. Aerospace Engineering. University of Kansas, 1993

Jeff Engel has over seventeen years experience in the development of endothermic fuel systems used in high speed aircraft. He has extensive experience in reactor design and analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer in high heat flux environments. He also is well-experienced in the design, construction, and operation of automated laboratory systems used to evaluate catalysts and fuel additives in a wide variety of applications, including high pressure and temperature environments encountered in high speed aircraft fuel systems.

Dr. David Wickham

Senior Project Manager

Ph.D., Applied Chemistry, Colorado School of Mines, 1986
B.A. Chemistry, University of Colorado, 1972

Dr. David Wickham has over 25 years of experience in the design, use, and characterization of chemical processes. As a project manager at Reaction Systems, he has carried out extensive investigations of a wide variety of catalytic chemical reactions and processes, including endothermic reactions used for high-speed propulsion and highly exothermic reactions used as ignition sources. He also has extensive experience in the application of modern analytical techniques to characterize the reaction products and in the development of kinetic rate expressions to model the extent of reaction as a function of input parameters.

Bradley D. Hitch

Chief Engineer

M.S. Mechanical Engineering. Purdue University, 1988.
B.S. Mechanical Engineering. University of Nebraska, 1985.

Brad Hitch has an extensive background in combustion kinetics, heat transfer, real-gas thermodynamics, chemically reacting and supercritical fluid flows, and mechanical design. He developed Reaction Systems approach to produce reduced mechanisms and has carried out extensive testing to verify accuracy and quantify speed up factors. At GE Aircraft Engines Mr. Hitch supported GE’s Lean Premixed Prevaporized Low NOx combustor development work using detailed kinetic modeling of propane ignition and thermal management.

Todd W. Leeson

Chief Financial Officer

B.S. Finance, Colorado State University, 1993

Mr. Todd Leeson is an expert in the field of accounting, financial analysis, contract compliance and business development. He has extensive experience working with small government contractors to ensure their financial reporting and contractual obligations are being met.

Dr. Sibylle Walter

Principal Engineer

Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering Science, University of Colorado Boulder, 2016

M.Sc. Aerospace Engineering Science, University of Colorado Boulder, 2012

B.Sc. Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland College Park, 2007

Dr. Sibylle Walter has extensive experience in fluid dynamics with a focus on propulsion. Dr. Walter’s main experience lies in data analysis and reduction, especially when it comes to complex flow visualization. Her Ph.D., funded by NASA, was focused on optimizing probe placement to determine inlet flow distortion, inspired by test data from NASA’s turbine-based combined cycle vehicle inlet testing.

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