Loay Elbasyouni

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Loay Elbasyouni
لؤي البسيوني
Born
Loay Elbasyouni

Electrical engineer
Years active2005–Present
Employer(s)NASA, General Electric
Notable workMars 2020, Ingenuity, Azure Transit Connect Electric
Websiteloay.us

Loay Elbasyouni is a

Palestinian–American electrical engineer.[1] He helped design the Mars rover Perseverance and was an electrical and power electronics lead in the team that built the Ingenuity helicopter.[2][3][4]

Early life

Elbasyouni was born in Germany while his father was studying medicine in that country.[5] He moved to Beit Hanoun[3][6] in Gaza when he was five years old. He lived through the First Intifada, a period in which the academic year was shortened to as few as eighty days.[7] He attended UNRWA schools during his primary and secondary education.[1] In 1998, he moved to the United States at the age of twenty to continue higher education.[8] He received a master's degree in Electrical engineering from the University of Louisville in 2005.[2][9]

Career

In 2012, Elbasyouni began working for a company developing an electric aircraft. In 2014, the company became a contractor for NASA, and Elbasyouni became an electric and power electronics lead for the Mars helicopter team.[3] As of 2023, he works for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[3][4] He has been a member of the team that sent the Perseverance to Mars in March 2020 and a chief engineer for the design team of the Ingenuity robotic helicopter.[2][10][11]

Elbasyouni holds the position of senior manager of electric engine design at Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. In this role, he is engaged in a wide range of projects, including the development of Blue Moon, a lunar lander designed to transport payloads to the surface of the Moon, and New Glenn, a heavy-lift launch vehicle currently undergoing development. He is involved in rocket engines, managing a large team and overseeing the development of avionics—the control module that governs the engine's functions.[12]

Personal life

Elbasyouni lives in Los Angeles, California. He has not returned to Palestine since 2000 due to instability in the region.[1][7][8][13][14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Salah, Hanah (May 14, 2021). "NASA engineer from Gaza following escalation with concern". Al-Monitor. Retrieved February 2, 2022. From his house in Los Angeles, California, he told Al-Monitor over Zoom about the historical accomplishment he achieved with the NASA team.
  2. ^ a b c Doğru, Islam (May 2, 2021). "Palestinian engineer behiind helicopter flight on Mars". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Agencies. "From Gaza to Mars: Palestinian engineer behind helicopter flight on red planet". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "2014–2019 on Ingenuity Mars Helicopter NASA-JPL". Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  5. ^ San Román, Gabriel (November 18, 2023). "A space engineer who brought us images of Mars confronts Earth's brutal realities in Gaza". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  6. ^ "Palestinian behind Mars drone says visiting home is no small step". Aljazeera. April 29, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Emily Webb (September 1, 2021). "From Gaza to NASA A Space Odyssey" (Podcast). BBC Sounds. Event occurs at 19:23. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  8. ^ a b "UNRWA Honours NASA Engineer and Former School Student Loay Elbasyouni". UNRWA. September 13, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  9. ^ Hinson, Holly (April 27, 2021). "From UofL to Mars, alumnus finds passion in engineering". Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  10. ^ Ayyoub, Loureen (May 20, 2021). "Gaza refugee designs first NASA helicopter to fly on Mars". Spectrum News. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  11. ^ "Palestinian engineer behind helicopter flight on Mars". The Jerusalem Post. May 2, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  12. ^ "What's it like to have a job in space?". WIRED Middle East. May 13, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  13. ^ Abusidu EmAbusidu, Eman (April 19, 2021). "NASA's Palestinian engineer gets ready to make history once again". Middle East Monitor. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  14. ^ Akram, Fares (April 30, 2021). "Gazan behind Mars drone says visiting home is no small step". Egypt Independent. Retrieved February 8, 2022.