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Academic Experience Dr. Christensen has earned three academic degrees and, since 1997, holds an academic appointment at the University of Missouri - Rolla (UMR). He has taught both graduate and undergraduate classes at UMR for 10 years. The courses taught include aerospace propulsion, thermodynamics, aerodynamics, compressible and incompressible flow, heat transfer, and dynamics. He has been awarded two School of Engineering Teaching Awards (not just department awards) from UMR. Dr. Christensen also served as Manager of the Missouri NASA Space Consortium for nearly 5 years (1996 to 2001). He has conducted many review courses for students taking the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam as well as working professionals taking the Professional Engineer (PE) Exam. He also was a faculty member of National University (Sacramento California campus) in 1984 and 1985. Details regarding these academic achievements are provided below. Academic Rank
Adjunct Assistant Professor
214A ME Building
Dept of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of Missouri – Rolla (UMR)
1870 Miner Circle
Rolla, MO 65401 January 1997 to present
Academic Degrees
BS Cum Laude in Mechanical Engineering (GPA 3.5/4.0), BYU, Dec 1976
MS in Mechanical Engineering (GPA 3.7/4.0), BYU, Dec 1976
Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering (GPA 3.8/4.0), UMR, May 1997
Academic Honors And Distinctions
School of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award 2005-2006 from UMR
School of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award 2004-2005 from UMR
Member Tau Beta Pi, 1975 to present
Bank of America Outstanding Student of Math and Science Awarded June 1968
Life Member California Scholarship Federation c.1966
| Teaching Experience
Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Missouri-Rolla, 1-97 to present
Aerospace Engineering Course 335 (Aerospace Propulsion); off-design/non-ideal cycle analyses of turbojet, turbofan and ramjet engines, modeling of major liquid rocket engine power cycles, propulsion system evaluation using trajectory analysis, introduction to hypersonic propulsion and space power generation
Aerospace Engineering Course 235 (Aircraft and Space Vehicle Propulsion); quasi-one-dimensional compressible fluid flow, liquid and solid propellant rockets, ideal and non-ideal cycle analyses of turbojet and turbofan engines, and airbreathing propulsion system component modeling
Aerospace Engineering Course 231 (Aerodynamics I); review of energy, momentum and continuity equations; vorticity, circulation, stream and velocity potential equations; Bernoulli’s equation; LaPlace’s equation; Kutta-Joukowski Theorem; thin airfoil theory; finite wings; boundary layer flow
Mechanical Engineering Course 325 (Intermediate Heat Transfer); analytical study of conduction; theory of thermal radiation and applications; energy and momentum equations in convective heat transfer and review of empirical relations
Mechanical Engineering Course 231 (Thermofluids I); Bernoulli Equation; linear impulse and momentum; angular impulse and momentum; dimensional analysis; energy equation; pipe flow analysis and flow measurement; introduction to compressible fluid flow
Mechanical Engineering Course 227 (Thermodynamics & Heat Transfer); first and second laws of thermodynamics and applications; fundamentals of heat transfer by conduction, convection, and radiation with applications
Mechanical Engineering Course 160 (Dynamics); kinematic and kinetic analyses of planar and 3-dimensional motion of particle masses and rigid bodies, momentum and energy method kinetic analysis
Professional Engineer(PE)/Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Review Courses
Dr. Christensen taught 13 PE and FE review sessions on Thermodynamics and Power & Refrgeration Cycles at UMR and at the UM campus in St Louis (UMSL) from 1999 through 2002 | Academic Service
Missouri Space Grant student adviser, 1996 – 2001
Member of Master Plan Advisory Committee for Buckeye Union School District, Shingle Springs, California 1991 and 1992
Participant in Aerojet’s "Adopt a School" K12 program in California and Alabama, c.1987 – 1992
Have made numerous technical presentations to national audiences, high schools and elementary schools
Research Interests
Development of advanced methods for simulation of both design and off-design steady state liquid rocket engine simulation (power balance) computer codes
Development and flight testing of the ATR (Air Turbo Rocket) combined cycle propulsion system
Development of FORTRAN based, point mass and 6 degree of freedom trajectory analysis computer codes Academic Management Experience
Manager, Missouri NASA Space Grant Consortium, 4-96 to 12-01
Annual budget: $170,499 (1996), $170,000 (1997), $212,500 (1998), $212,500 (1999), $212,500 (2000), $212,500 (2001)
Overall responsibility for allocating and tracking funds spent by Consortium members:
Southwest Missouri State University
St. Louis Science Center
University of Missouri - Columbia
University of Missouri - Rolla
University of Missouri - St Louis
Washington University
Organized Annual Space Grant meeting held in various locations in the state
Organized/conducted annual visits to US Congressional members, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001
Organized Midwest Regional Space Grant Consortium Meeting to be held Chicago, Nov 2001
Supervised student research during summer, 1997 and 1998
Other administrative duties: correspondence, phone, proposal writing, etc
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