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Umesh Ketkar - Loyola Marymount University. Los Angeles, CA, US

Umesh Ketkar

Clinical Assistant Professor in Systems Engineering | Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA, UNITED STATES

Seaver College of Science and Engineering

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Occupy Mars final presentations - Umesh Ketkar (professor) loading image

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Biography

Umesh Ketkar has more than 30 years of aerospace industry experience including a long history of mentorship, empowerment, & successful leadership of large diverse organizations, with a focus on high technology engineering projects.

His LMU work includes both teaching and research. He currently teaches the following classes here at LMU: Spacecraft Design, Advanced Program Management, Lean Management, Occupy Mars, Engineering Economics, Science in Science Fiction, and Systems Engineering Integrative Project. Leading LMU efforts to initiate an on-campus, student-run Cubesat development & operations lab. He brings his advanced spacecraft design expertise and advanced technology organization into our LMU classrooms.

In addition, he is the founder and leader of a social justice organization in Los Angeles' South Bay. The 900-member organization focused on improving democratic processes, increasing voter participation, and making government at all levels more responsive to community needs and interests.

HIs industry expertise expands from programmatic & technical leadership for development of space-based environmental monitoring systems & electro-optical imaging technologies (IESE Solution/Raytheon) to Mechanical Engineering (Hughes).

Prior to teaching at LMU, Umesh was the director of National Space Communications Programs (Boeing) leading family of major Space Systems programs (>500 people, over $250M annual revenue). Activities performed included: advanced technology development, evolutionary design, development of a new modular multi-mission spacecraft bus, multiple communications payloads, and long-term sustaining operations.

Adding on to that, he led program & customer team through transition from legacy systems to modern product lines and commercial-like processes, resulting in streamlined program, schedule acceleration, cost reductions, and improved customer satisfaction.

Early in his career, Umesh coordinated major engineering efforts spanning multiple government agencies, which resulted in addition of significant new mission capabilities to program, while simultaneously streamlining activities into a fixed-price commercial-like model.

Education (2)

U.C.L.A: Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Dynamics and Control) 1995

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering 1982

Social

Areas of Expertise (9)

Lean Management & Enterprise

Electro-Optical Imaging

Spacecraft Design

Systems Engineering

Aerospace Engineering

Systems Engineering and Design

Space

High Technology Operations and Logistics

Remote Sensing

Industry Expertise (4)

Defense

Aerospace

Program Development

Mechanical/Industrial Engineering

Accomplishments (1)

Awards & Honors (professional)

Inventor, with five U.S. Patents in Mechanism Design, Attitude Control, Spacecraft Safing, and Spacecraft On-Orbit Power Optimization. 2002: Boeing Associate Technical Fellowship 1998: NASA Group Achievement Award, TRMM Microwave Imager Team 1993: Joe Sanders cmi Leadership Award. 1990: Space Vehicle Electronics Division Technical Achievement Award.

Affiliations (2)

  • Indivisible South Bay LA
  • INCoSE

Sample Talks (1)

LMU's New Cubesat Lab Information Session

Umesh Ketkar, along with Dr. Claire Leon, spearheaded LMU's new Cubesat Research Lab. This is a student-run, hands-on research and learning opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students.

Patents (1)

Patents with Boeing

2

2005: Boeing Special Invention Award; Spacecraft Safing and Power Acquisition 2003: Boeing Special Invention Award; Stellar Inertial Architecture

Courses (1)

Visiting Professor

SELP 500 - Systems Engineering SELP 670 - Spacecraft Design SELP 677 - Engineering Economics and Finance SELP 530 - Lean Principles SELP 600 - Advanced Systems Engineering and Program Management SELP 584 - Occupy Mars