United States of America

Dr. Sam Gurol is an engineer and president of the consulting company Levet8.

Professional Experience

Sam Gurol is an engineer and project manager with decades of professional experience.  He received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1975 and his B.S. and M.S. also in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1971 and 1972, respectively, and graduated Magna Cum Laude.

2016 - Present, Levet8:  President of his consulting company Levet8.
Recent projects include:       

1.  nuclear radiation and safety analysis for TAE Technologies, a fusion start-up company,
2. detail design of NASA Glenn Research Center’s Electromagnetic Drop Test (EMDT) facility, a zero-gravity test facility using magnetic forces to provide desired payload acceleration levels, simulating space flight,
3. maglev consulting for General Atomics, and
4. use of maglev technologies for a space launch plane. Capabilities include mechanical design, stress analysis, power electronics, controls, electromagnetics, and energy systems.

1998 – 2016, General Atomics (GA):  Prior to becoming a consultant in 2017, Dr. Gurol was Director of Transportation Programs at GA, where he led maglev and linear motor transportation programs and oversaw development of the world’s first permanent magnet maglev system, including construction of a full-scale 120-m test track.  He was manager and analyst for the Holloman Air Force rocket maglev project using superconducting electrodynamic levitation; this system achieved a maximum speed of over 1,000 km/h over a track length of 0.64 km in 2016. He participated in the high-speed maglev project using the Transrapid technology connecting Las Vegas and Anaheim, collaborating with Siemens and Thyssen-Krupp. He was also technical lead for the magnetic design of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), which has become a multi-billion-dollar program. 

1984 – 1998, General Dynamics (GD) and Lockheed-Martin: Prior to joining GA in 1998, Dr. Gurol was Chief Scientist for the Energy Programs Group at GD, which was acquired by Lockheed-Martin in 1996, in which capacity he was responsible for overseeing and providing solutions for challenging problems in superconducting magnet design.  As a program manager from 1988 to 1996, Dr. Gurol led GD’s development of superconducting propulsion magnets for the Navy’s Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Submarine program.  He also led the electromagnetic design activities for the SSC (Superconducting Super Collider) program, responsible for ensuring the magnetic field quality of the accelerator dipole magnets. He taught extension classes at University of California San Diego in superconducting magnet design. From 1984 to 1988, Dr. Gurol was lead electromagnetics analyst for superconducting magnet programs for fusion and isotope separation systems.

1982 – 1984, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC): Senior scientist from 1982 to 1984, in which capacity he led work on the effects of irradiated first wall and blanket materials in advanced (DD and DHe3 fuel cycle) fusion reactors.

1976 – 1982, University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB): Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, responsible for research and teaching in nuclear reactor theory.

 Professional Awards and Recognitions

• Elected Member, Sigma Xi, 1975
• Outstanding Professor Award, UCSB, Department Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, 1982
• Winner of the “Jimmie Hamilton” award for best paper in Naval Engineering Journal, 1991
• Executive Program for Scientists and Engineers, UCLA, 1994
• Seven patents related to accelerator magnets, maglev, linear motor control and high thrust density linear motor designs
• Past member of the editorial advisory board of Superconductor Industry
• Winner of R&D 100 Award, 2004 for one of the year’s top 100 inventions (shared with LLNL for the permanent magnet levitation system)
• More than 80 papers and conference proceedings on neutron scattering, radiation damage, electromagnetic systems design and testing, maglev, and electric transportation systems
• Member of the International Steering Committee for The International Conference on Magnetically Levitated Systems and Linear Drives
• Co-Chairman of the 2008 International Conference on Magnetically Levitated Systems and Linear Drives in San Diego, CA.
• Numerous invited lectures and presentations on a variety of topics including neutron scattering, radiation damage effects, fusion technology, superconducting magnet design, maglev, and linear motor technology
• Presentations at universities, government agencies, industry, and national laboratories.