Dr. Hoey leads analysis efforts and own flight project deliverables quantifying the interactions of spacecraft with their natural and induced environments – and associated risks incurred to engineering and science objectives – across technical disciplines at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) including spacecraft contamination control, planetary protection, thermal and propulsion engineering.

As a subject matter expert he researches, develops, and implements a state-of-the-art modeling and simulation toolkit for free-molecular, rarefied-gas-dynamic, and continuum flow regimes across NASA applications.

Dr. Hoey supports a diverse portfolio of flight projects, instruments, and proposals including NASA’s Europa Clipper, Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover, Psyche, NEO Surveyor, and VERITAS missions and the Lunar Gateway program; the Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph; and Europa Lander and Mars Sample Return mission concepts. He also collaborate with commercial spaceflight and lunar landing providers through NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) and Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programs.

Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 2017

M. S. Aerospace Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 2014

B. S. Aerospace Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 2012

Spacecraft Engineering: computational physics modeling of multiphase gas & fluid dynamic processes including self-induced direct and reflected contamination by materials outgassing and molecular desorption; return flux by atmospheric scatter; hybrid multiregime simulations of spacecraft engine plumes and surface impingement; and particle transport in fairing depressurization environments.

Computational Physics Methods: ray-tracing Monte Carlo and view factor methods for free-molecular transport; rarefied-gas-dynamic Boltzmann solver and direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) methods; and CFD and Lagrangian particle tracking in engineering applications. Particular experience in high-performance computing, numerical analysis, and physics-based model development for spacecraft.

Planetary Science: Planetary Protection, including novel models of biological particle transport and UV sterilization processes; state-of-the-art DSMC simulations of upper-atmospheric processes on Earth and in the Pluto-Charon system; surface-to-exobase atmospheric and volcanic plume processes on Io.

• Software, Modeling, Simulation, and Information Processing  | Multi-Scale/Multi-Physics Modeling And Simulation
• Entry, Descent, and Landing Systems  | Modeling And Simulation Technologies
• Planetary Science  | Planetary Exospheres And Atmospheres
• Propulsion Systems  | Electric/Chemical In-Space Propulsion
• Exploration Destination Systems  | Planetary Protection

• Computational Fluid Dynamics  
• Contamination Control  
• Data Visualization  
• Direct Simulation Monte Carlo  
• Modeling  
• Planetary Protection  
• Rarefied Gas Dynamics  
• Simulation  

Reviewer for Acta Astronautica, Icarus, Physics of Fluids, and Vacuum. Conference leadership & review experience in the Rarefied Gas Dynamics and Space Systems Contamination communities.

• JPL Team Award | Near Earth Object Surveyor Contamination Control Team | For 'the successful execution of the NEO Surveyor Contamination Control Pre-CDR Peer Review.' (2025)
• JPL Team Award | Europa Clipper Contamination Control Team | For ‘analyzing outgassing deposition on PIMS Lower and designing a new/effective PIMS shield to mitigate contamination concerns from LVA design change.’ (2023)
• JPL Voyager Award | For ‘significant advances in innovating physics-based modeling and analysis capabilities which are applied to all missions and science instruments with high sensitivity to contamination. These innovative capabilities reduce risk to flight system and science instrument performance.’ (2023)
• NASA Award | Early Career Achievement Medal | For ‘exceptional contributions in the development of analytical models and simulations of molecular contaminant transport leading to improved flight system design solutions.’ (2023)
• NASA Award | Group Achievement Award | To the Europa Clipper Contamination Control Team for ‘group achievement and technical excellence during spacecraft integration to protect Europa Clipper science instrument performance in challenging space environments.’ (2023)
• JPL Team Award | Europa Clipper Contamination Control Team | For ‘significant improvements in Contamination Control Processes and exceptional execution of those processes to support many flight hardware deliveries.’ (2022)
• JPL Voyager Award | For ‘exceptional efforts for tool development for work on regolith modeling for HLS,’ NASA’s Human Landing System program. (2021)
• JPL Team Award | Europa Clipper Contamination Control Team | For ‘successful execution of proven and innovative new testing and analyses to support meeting Europa Clipper’s unique science-driven contamination control requirements.’ (2021)
• NASA Award | Group Achievement Award | To the Mars 2020 Contamination Control Team for ‘overcoming significant challenges in the implementation and execution of Contamination Control for the Mars 2020 project, and in support of Science Sample Integrity.’ (2021)
• JPL Team Award | Mars 2020 Contamination Control Team | For ‘the team effort that resulted in the successful delivery of the sterile flight hardware deliveries of the Mars 2020 Sample Caching Assembly.’ (2020)
• JPL Team Award | Europa Clipper Contamination Control Team | For ‘exceptional planning and implementation of the Europa Clipper Radiation Induced Outgassing Test in support of the Solar Array Delta PDR.’ (2019)
• JPL Voyager Award | For ‘contributing to significant improvements and the introduction of new tools to augment JPL Contamination Control modeling and analysis.’ (2018)