Dr. Valerie J. Lyons, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is Chief of the Power and In-Space Propulsion Division of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s John H. Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio. This organization performs NASA’s research and technology development for aerospace power systems including batteries, fuel cells, solar cells, Stirling convertors, and power electronics. The Division also leads electric propulsion, chemical thruster, and cryogenic systems research and development for NASA.
A native of Morristown, New Jersey, Dr. Lyons earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering degree from the University of Michigan. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1988, sponsored by NASA’s training program. She is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute.
While at NASA, she has authored more than a 20 technical papers on combustion research and propulsion technology. As a research engineer, she developed advanced laser diagnostic techniques for measuring fuel droplets, chemical species and particle sizes in flames. She worked on fundamental combustion projects supporting both aeronautical and space applications. She conceived of and advocated for funding to build a laser diagnostic facility for rocket engines, now Cell 32 in the Research Combustion Laboratory at Glenn Research Center.
As the Deputy Chief of the Combustion Technology Branch for seven years, she successfully advocated for the addition of a $10M Advanced Subsonic Combustion Rig facility, capable of producing 60 atmospheres of pressure simulating advanced gas turbine combustors in the Engine Research Building at GRC. She has served as acting Branch Chief for 4 branches (Icing, Acoustics, Combustion, and National Aerospace Plane Program Office) and acting chief of the Propulsion Systems Division.
She also served 1 year as the chief of the Facilities Management Branch, which is in charge of all the major facilities at NASA Glenn. As part of Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program training, she spent 4 months at NASA HQ in Codes X and U in 1995. In 1998, she served as acting Director of the Research and Technology Directorate. She is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aerospace and Astronautics and has served as the Vice-Chair of the Terrestrial Energy Systems Technical Committee and was the General Chair of the 2005 International Energy Conversion Engineering Conference.
Dr. Lyons’ hobbies include scuba diving, underwater photography, community band, ice hockey, skiing and directing an aerospace summer camp for future scientists and engineers ages 10-15. She has a son employed as a video game developer in Seattle and a daughter in college.
