Joshua Eckels
University of Michigan
PhD student in Aerospace Engineering
About me
I am currently pursuing a PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan. My research is focused on predictive modeling, uncertainty quantification, and the design/analysis of algorithms for scientific computing and machine learning, with a specific emphasis on electric propulsion and plasma physics applications. Member of the Joint Advanced Propulsion Institute (JANUS), a NASA space technology research institute pursuing high-power electric propulsion thrusters for deep-space missions.
Education
University of Michigan, PhD Aerospace Engineering2021-2026
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, BS Mechanical Engineering2021
Experience
Computational Autonomy Lab, Ann Arbor, MICurrent
PhD candidate
- Bayesian methods, uncertainty quantification, algorithm design and analysis
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM2026
Theoretical/Applied-math research intern
- Graph-theoretic algorithms, online kinetic/fluid coupling
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA2025
Machine learning intern
- Hall thruster simulations, reduced-order modeling, data-driven acceleration
NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH2024
Electric propulsion modeling intern
- Hybrid particle-in-cell modeling, spacecraft interactions, adaptive surrogates
Tesla, Palo Alto, CA2021
High-voltage firmware intern
- Test automation, high-voltage controllers, battery firmware
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM2020
R&D engineering intern
- Ultrasonic wavefield imaging, computer vision, nondestructive evaluation
Assistive Robotics Lab, Blacksburg, VA2019
Undergraduate research intern
- Robotic navigation, computer vision, accessibility constraint mapping
News
| Mar 2026 | Presentation at SIAM UQ in Minneapolis, MN on work entitled "Learning reduced-order models for high-dimensional plasma simulations." |
| Oct 2025 | Article published in Journal of Applied Physics entitled "Uncertainty quantification of a multi-component Hall thruster model at varying facility pressures." |
| Oct 2025 | Article published in Journal of Propulsion and Power entitled "Simulation of vacuum chamber pressure distributions with uncertainty quantification." |
| Sep 2025 | Presentation at IEPC in London, UK on work entitled "Data-driven acceleration of Hall thruster simulations with a sliding-window method." |
| March 2025 | Presentation at SIAM CSE in Fort Worth, TX on work entitled "Adaptive Surrogate Modeling of Coupled Hall Thruster Plasma and Plume Simulations." |
| Sep 2024 | Article published in the Journal of Electric Propulsion entitled "Hall thruster model improvement by multidisciplinary uncertainty quantification." |
| June 2024 | Presentation at the International Electric Propulsion Conference (IEPC) in Toulouse, France on work entitled "Dynamic mode decomposition for particle-in-cell simulations of a Hall thruster and plume." |
| Feb 2024 | Presentation at SIAM UQ in Trieste, Italy on work entitled "Surrogate-Enabled Inference of High-Dimensional Systems Through Dimension Reduction: Applications to Fluid Plasma Simulations." |
| April 2023 | NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunity (NSTGRO) fellowship awarded for research on "Multifidelity reduced-order modeling of particle-in-cell simulations for anomalous transport closure models." |
| Jan 2023 | Presentation at AIAA SciTech in Orlando, FL on work entitled "Optimal experimental design to learn reduced-fidelity models for porous electrosprays." |
| Nov 2022 | Los Alamos ASSESS project wins R&D100 award in San Diego, CA for work on ultrasonic imaging for nondestructive evaluation. |
| June 2022 | Presentation at the International Electric Propulsion Conference (IEPC) in Boston, MA on work entitled "Simulation-based surrogate methodology of electric field for electrospray emitter geometry design and uncertainty quantification." |
| Aug 2021 | Joined the JANUS institute at Michigan to support research on ground testing limitations of high-power electric propulsion systems. |
| May 2021 | Featured at Rose-Hulman's MakerLab for creating a mechanical chess robot based on the Stockfish chess engine. |
| Feb 2021 | Presentation at SEM IMAC on work entitled "Application of a U-Net Convolutional Neural Network to Ultrasonic Wavefield Measurements for Defect Characterization." |