OUR PEOPLE
Academic Credentials
- Ph.D., Applied Mechanics, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), 2022
Academic Appointments
- Teaching Assistant, Mechanics of Structures and Solids, Caltech, 2019
Professional Honors
- NASA Space Technology Research Fellow, 2019-2021
Professional Affiliations
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Dr. Harmon specializes in engineering investigations of complex mechanical and civil engineering systems in various industries, including power and energy, aerospace, construction, space technology, and mining. Using his expertise in solid mechanics, structural dynamics, and failure analysis, Dr. Harmon often relies upon finite element analysis (FEA), multi-body simulation techniques, and physical testing to solve these engineering problems.
Prior to joining Ä¢¹½tv, Dr. Harmon worked in the grid-scale energy storage industry at Energy Vault, where his experience included the design, computer modeling, testing, and construction of solids-based gravitational energy storage systems (GESS), Li-ion battery energy storage systems (BESS) and pumped hydro storage (PHS). Examples of his contributions include work on Li-ion fire suppression strategies, wire rope analysis, fracture testing, wind turbine design, hoists and lifts, trolley wheels and bearings, seismic resistance, and concrete testing.
Dr. Harmon completed his PhD at Caltech in collaboration with NASA-JPL on predicting landing success on icy worlds in the solar system, such as Europa and Enceladus. Dr. Harmon used multi-body simulation techniques combined with ice sintering science to capture the process. Dr. Harmon's enabling contribution came from utilizing his knowledge in brittle fracture to enhance the state-of-the-art of computational modeling to include the brittle nature of porous surface ice. During his PhD, Dr. Harmon worked in collaboration with Rio Tinto to perform analysis on rock crushers and developed a novel computational technique to simulate the crushing process and predict resulting particle size distributions.
Dr. Harmon has been a licensed private pilot for over a decade and continues to fly regularly in his free time.