Paul M. Dees
NASA Armstrong Deputy Propulsion Lead
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Paul M. Dees is the deputy propulsion lead for the X-59 supersonic research aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Appointed to this position in 2018, he is responsible for overseeing the integration, testing, and operations of the X-59 engine.
Experience
Previously, from 2015 to 2018, Dees served as an aerospace engineer at NASA Armstrong, planning and executing multiple sonic boom acoustics measurements campaigns. He also was the ALIGNS (Airborne Location Integrating Geospatial Navigation System) principal investigator. In 2014, he served as a propulsion engineer for the NASA Vehicle Integrated Propulsion Research (VIPR) engine tests.
Dees first came to NASA in 2011 as an informal education intern at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. He curated museum learning opportunities for students in grades K-12 at Goddard’s visitor center. Then from 2011 to 2013, he was an aerospace engineering intern at NASA Armstrong, where he supported sonic boom acoustics research, F-15 operations, and upgrades to the Gulfstream G-III simulator force feedback model.
Prior to coming to NASA, Dees was a strain gauge technician for NIAR (National Institute for Aviation Research) from 2009 to 2011. He was responsible for applying strain gauges to composite test coupons.
Honors and Education
Dees received a NASA Early Career Achievement Medal in 2022 and an Armstrong Peer Award in 2016.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering in 2013 from Wichita State University in Kansas.