Rob Falck
OpenMDAO Software Team Lead at NASA Glenn Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Summary
👤
Senior🎓
Top SchoolRob Falck is an OpenMDAO software team lead and aerospace engineer with over two decades at NASA Glenn specializing in mission and systems analysis for low-thrust space missions. He leads development of Dymos, an open-source optimal-control library inspired by OTIS, and drives multidisciplinary optimization work that brings analytic derivatives and MPI-parallelization to trajectory optimization. His hands-on background includes maintaining flagship tools like OTIS4 (a NASA and R&D 100–recognized product), repository stewardship, and contributions to scientific libraries such as SciPy where he improved linear programming algorithms. Combining deep domain knowledge in propulsion and trajectory design with production-grade software engineering in Fortran, C++, and Python, he bridges research and operational mission analysis. Based in Cleveland, he pairs graduate training from Purdue with practical mission experience on projects from Orion to Jupiter Icy Moons concepts.
18 years of coding experience
BS Aerospace Engineering, BS Aerospace Engineering at Case Western Reserve UniversityMS Aerospace Aeronautical and Astronautical/Space Engineering, MS Aerospace Aeronautical and Astronautical/Space Engineering at Purdue University
Stackoverflow
2,434reputation
234kreached
80answers
5questions
Github Skills (19)
algorithm10
application-framework10
algorithms10
scipy10
event-handling10
python10
app-framework10
data-structure10
numpy10
mathematical-optimization10
data-structures10
data-handling10
web-framework10
linear-programming10
optimization9
Programming languages (7)
Github contributions (5)
OpenMDAO/OpenMDAO
Jan 2021 - Jan 2023
OpenMDAO repository.
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:1 release, 575 reviews, 204 commits in 2 years
Contributions summary:Rob's commits focused on improving the OpenMDAO codebase by adding and modifying unit handling in various methods. This involved incorporating calls to `simplify_unit` within the `get_val` methods of the `Problem`, `System`, and `Case` classes, as well as the `unit_conversion` in the `core.system` and `openmdao.recorders.case` files. Additionally, the user addressed shape and index issues, and fixed several instances that had errors related to retrieving units. This work contributed to the codebase by enhancing unit handling for the core OpenMDAO framework.
openmdaonasaframeworkoptimization
scipy/scipy
Dec 2007 - May 2014
SciPy library main repository
Role in this project:Back-end Developer & Algorithm Implementer
Back-end Developer & Algorithm ImplementerContributions:82 commits, 1 PR, 3 comments in 6 years 5 months
Contributions summary:Rob primarily contributed to the implementation and refinement of the simplex algorithm within the SciPy library. Their work focused on refactoring and simplifying the code, including the creation of supporting functions like pivot row and column selection. They introduced enhancements such as Bland's rule to prevent cycling, and addressed issues by updating constraint handling and output. The user's commits reflect expertise in linear programming techniques, and integration with the existing SciPy framework.
scipypythonscientific-computing
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