Shane Dirks

Shane Dirks has a diverse work experience in various scientific and engineering roles. Shane is currently working as a Senior Software Developer at True Anomaly since May 2022. Previously, Shane worked at The Aerospace Corporation as an Astrodynamics Analyst from August 2019 to May 2022.

Shane was also involved in several research and development projects during their time at Stanford Student Space Initiative, where they served as a Founding Member from January 2018 to May 2019. Shane was responsible for designing, building, and testing a liquid bipropellant engine and oversaw the test stand design and construction.

In addition, Shane worked as a Student Trainee (Aerospace Engineering) at Air Force Research Laboratory from July 2018 to September 2018, where they obtained an active security clearance and conducted research on multilayer type-II superconducting films and their potential applications in aerospace systems.

Prior to that, Shane worked as a Research Technologist at Mayo Clinic from June 2016 to June 2017, where they developed software tools for optimizing computed tomography (CT) exam protocols and assisted with data acquisition and analysis for ongoing research projects.

Furthermore, Shane gained research experience as a Research Assistant at Bethel University, working in the Department of Physics from August 2015 to May 2016. Shane utilized MATLAB and Monte Carlo N-Particle simulations to enhance the capabilities of the AF-NUMIT2 algorithm for modeling deep dielectric charging in spacecraft.

Shane also worked as an Undergraduate Research Fellow at Mayo Clinic for a brief period in 2015, where they developed software tools for data collection and analysis as part of a CT radiation dose reduction study.

Finally, Shane gained research experience as a Research Assistant at Bethel University's Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Lab in 2014. Shane led an undergraduate research work group and conducted investigations on the behavior of a perturbed cloud of Lithium atoms suspended in a Magneto-Optical Trap.

Shane Dirks completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Bethel University, where they studied from 2012 to 2016. Following that, they pursued a Masters degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University from 2017 to 2019.