Grad Gallery: Dayne Kemp

LinkedIn: bit.ly/2P9utPU

Current position:

Spacecraft Integration and Test Lead and Lead Systems Engineer at NASA Ames Research Centre in California, USA

Past positions:

Electrical Engineer and Researcher at NASA Ames Research Centre in California, USA

Ammunition Design and Analysis at Rheinmetall Denel Munition

Electrical Engineer at South African Astronomical Observatory

Electrical Engineer at Tellumat

Academic history:

2016 (Currently) Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering specialising in Electrical Engineering at UCT

2015 Master of Science in Engineering specialising in Electrical Engineering at UCT

2013 Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Electrical Engineering at UCT

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How did you obtain your position at NASA?

During my final year of undergraduate studies, I travelled to California with a good friend/classmate to visit various institutions and companies focused on nanosatellite research and technology development.

Visiting NASA Ames Research Center was our primary motivation. I was fortunate enough to be offered an internship after my studies and I have not left since.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?

Fortunately, these vary significantly on a daily basis ranging from documentation, soldering circuit boards, inspecting flight articles through a microscope, radiation testing a science instrument, integration/assembly of a spacecraft and launching our work into space.

What value do your qualifications add to your work?

I studied Electrical Engineering focusing on analogue and digital electronics. Although not space science or aeronautical engineering, I felt confident with my education and technical abilities among my peers at NASA and it has been a solid foundation to build on.

My UCT PhD research project was recently selected for an orbital spaceflight mission launching in June 2021.

Any advice for graduates applying for a position at NASA?

NASA is an incredible agency to work for, and if you are passionate, practical and hardworking, you will have an exciting career ahead of you. Do not be intimidated but rather eager to learn.

What have been some of the highlights in your career so far?

There have been a few but there are two that stand out. Firstly, my UCT PhD research project, supervised by Samuel Ginsberg and Prof. Andy Buffler, was recently selected for an orbital spaceflight mission that will be launching in June 2021. The thesis project is a high-energy particle detector for deep space exploration. It is manifested for launch into LEO in June 2021 and potentially a second launch between Dec 2021 and May 2022.

The second is being chosen for the two roles I currently serve at NASA Ames where I work with great people and demonstrate new technologies for future science and space exploration missions.

What are the key skills that have contributed to your success?

Practical application and implementation of advanced concepts as well as the ability to learn and adapt to new projects, missions and environments.

How do you see astronomy evolving in the next few years?

I see three key areas for the “next-generation” of astronomy and astrophysics:

1. Large aperture and multi-spectral Earth-based telescopes. South Africa will likely host the largest radio telescope in the world, SKA, within half a decade.

2. Large aperture and multispectral spacecraft-based telescopes. NASA’s Kepler space telescope has detected over 2,500 planets, some of which are habitable. Imagine what we would discover if Kepler were monitoring the rest of the electromagnetic spectrum (UV, X-Ray, gamma-ray, etc.).

3. Planetary- and moon-based telescopes that can detect fainter stars and therefore look further back in time.

I hope this will assist us in answering some of the many questions we have about our universe and with the search for extraterrestrial life.