Samantha Whipple

Samantha Whipple is an accomplished engineering manager with extensive experience in the field of space photovoltaics and materials science. Currently serving as the Manager of Panel Program Engineering at SolAero by Rocket Lab since January 2015, Samantha oversees engineering initiatives related to space solar cells, the CIC, and panel program support and development. Prior to this role, Samantha was a Principal Engineer in R&D, focusing on high-efficiency space photovoltaics. Samantha's background includes serving as the NNIN Educational Outreach Coordinator at UC Santa Barbara, where coordination of science outreach programs and summer internships in nanoscience took place from September 2006 to June 2014. Samantha is also a former Graduate Student Researcher at UC Santa Barbara, specializing in MOCVD growth methods for optoelectronics. Samantha holds a PhD in Materials from UC Santa Barbara (2013) and a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University (2006).