David McKeown

Dr. David McKeown is an Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at University College Dublin (UCD). His research focuses on dynamics and control of space structures, nanosatellite hardware design, and attitude determination and control systems (ADCS). He leads the EIRSAT-1 project, Ireland's first satellite, launched in 2023, and manages the National Space Subsystems and Payloads Initiative (NSSPI), securing €7.9 million in funding. As an investigator for the European Space Agency’s DEAR project, he develops robotic systems to mitigate lunar dust effects. He collaborates with UCD’s School of Physics on ADCS projects and founded Dublin Maker and Science Hack Day Dublin.

Education:

• Bachelor of Engineering (BE), University College Dublin
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University College Dublin

Research Themes: Spacecraft dynamics control, nanosatellite ADCS, space mission design, and space hardware testing. His work bridges academia and industry, with a focus on advancing Ireland’s space capabilities through projects like EIRSAT-1 and NSSPI.

Grants & Funding: Principal Investigator for the €7.9M NSSPI project under DTIF and SFI grants supporting ADCS testbed development and lunar dust mitigation research.

Advising & Leadership: Leads the Space Structure Dynamics and Control Theme at UCD’s Centre for Space Research (C-Space). Chair of SMME PhD transfer panels and member of various university committees. Public engagement includes roles in RTE’s Big Life Fix and Kildare Libraries’ Space Week.

Labs & Teams: UCD Centre for Space Research, DEAR project collaborations, and partnerships with industry through NSSPI.