Peter Henson

Experience in the space industry, civil engineering, and agriculture.

Interstate Engineering, Inc. (IE) Jamestown, ND

Staff Engineer (EIT) January 2022 – December 2023

IE provides civil engineering services for civil works projects, including water treatment /distribution, structures, roads, airports, surveying, and waste management, among others.

• Displayed engineering professionalism, while drafting plans and compiling contract documents for projects with budgets up to multi-million-dollar range
• Demonstrated ability to communicate, through construction site observation, engineer field diaries, quantity reports, quality inspections, monitoring project budget and contractor/client correspondence

Plant Pathologist Research Assistant July 2011 – August 2013, January 2020 – December 2020

CREC is a research farm, conducting experiments on crop planting, disease control, and harvesting methods.

• Showed versatility by performing various agricultural research tasks such as constructing irrigation systems, handling chemicals, counting plants, hand-weeding, and inoculating crop rows with diseases
• Demonstrated dependability, allowing professionals to rely on my data collection over 15 acres of crops

NASA Intern June 2019 – August 2019

Nominated for KSC Intern of the Year, I helped with a project called CO2 Freezer. Its goal is to collect carbon dioxide to generate rocket propellant on Mars. I assisted integration of electrical, mechanical, and software systems,

• Saving NASA time and money, soldering, crimping, and wrench-turning, reducing the load to subcontractors 
• Displaying diligence while editing, testing, and following procedures for delicate instrumentation and components
• Demonstrating leadership, giving a “Lunch N Learn” presentation, participating in KSC’s HAM Radio Club “Field Day,” and being featured on KSC’s social media on National Intern Day 

Mission VII Crewmember April 2019 - May 2019

ILMAH is a NASA-funded planetary analog habitat similar to JSC’s HERA or the University of Hawaii’s HI-SEAS programs. I served as a crewmember in a 2-week long closed lunar habitat simulation,

• Learning experiments quickly, involving geologic rock classification, microbiology, biometrics, psychology, personal fitness, and plant care
• Completing 3 EVAs in an NDX-2 (North Dakota Explorer-2) “trainer” space suit for 6 hours
• Working a communications console for a total of 15 hours – an ILMAH record - relaying information to crewmembers on 6 different EVAs

Junior Electrical Engineer August 2018 – April 2019

ASP produces parts compatible with John Deere farm equipment. I prototyped electronics for seed-planting technology,

• Testing circuits alongside software engineers, 3D-printing, microcontroller circuits, and C++ programming

Facilities & Maintenance Intern  July 2018 – August 2018

Here, I performed janitor-type tasks, at a production facility, which produces wind turbine blades,

• Showing versatility, updating electrical panel labels and AutoCAD drawings, performing dust control (vacuuming & replacing air filters), and operating a waste compactor & cardboard baler 

Co-Student Lead January 2017 – May 2018

NASA-funded STEM-outreach program, we engaged over 100 K-12 students & teachers in a payload design project to be flown on balloons. We led a program, called the “Near-Space Balloon Challenge,”

• Displaying small-scale systems engineering, reviewing students’ experiments before flight
• Demonstrating ability to write detailed documents, developing a project requirements guidebook 
• Exhibiting teamwork, participating in the nation-wide 2017 NASA Total Solar Eclipse Project

Undergraduate Research Fellow January 2016 – May 2016

NDSGC provides funding for students to get hands-on experience in NASA-relevant sciences. This gave me my first experience, working on a small-scale as a scientist and project manager, in a topic called “structural health monitoring.”

• Demonstrated ability to present scientific information, with 2 poster presentations and final report 

Construction Materials Testing Technician May 2014 – August 2014

On construction projects, it is a standard for tests to be completed to ensure materials will perform according to design. I worked in a lab and at construction sites for a new housing development, a small bike path, and a Subway restaurant,

• Demonstrated responsibility, completing tests on soils and concrete on my own 

Dakota Space Society (DSS) Grand Forks, ND

Chapter President August 2017 – December 2019

• Showed organization, planning 2 trips to Lunar Planetary Science Conference with budgets over $2,000 each
• Facilitated digital and in-person meetings with 3 scientists from NASA Ames, JSC, and Headquarters 

NDSU Student Chapter Member Fall 2013 – Fall 2016

• Displayed aptitude to learn, attending monthly meetings, listening to local civil engineers as public speakers
• Demonstrating teamwork, participating in ASCE Steel Bridge Competition

• ILMAH Mission IV, V & VI Mission Control and Support Team Member
• Volunteer Telescope Operator at Space Studies Internet Observatory 
• UND Aerospace’s 2018 & 2019 “Community Day” Volunteer
• Spring 2017 Dakota Elementary Science Fair Judge 

Education 

North Dakota State University’s (NDSU) College of Engineering Fargo, ND

Bachelor of Science, Civil & Environmental Engineering December 2016

University of North Dakota’s (UND) School of Aerospace Sciences Grand Forks, ND

Master of Science, Space Studies August 2021