Franklin L. Robinson is a thermal engineer and technologist, and manager of the Thermal Technology Development and Demonstration (T2D2) Facility. After earning his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland, he joined NASA as a summer intern in 2010. He became a pathways intern while pursuing his graduate degree, and, upon graduation in 2011, he converted to a permanent position. During his first few years at NASA, he supported a variety of flight projects (primarily DSCOVR and ICESat-2) and technology development efforts (conventional and cryogenic loop heat pipes, EHD-assisted film boiling, and synthetic aperture radars).

He currently leads the Flow Boiling in Microgap Coolers effort, which aims to provide gravity-insensitive two-phase cooling for high heat flux components and systems. The early years of the effort, which demonstrated orientation-independent performance at high heat fluxes and low pumping power, were funded internally at GSFC. Payload flights aboard the Blue Origin New Shepard space vehicle were subsequently funded by the NASA Flight Opportunities program. Those flights, which exposed the microgap cooling system to low- and high-g, as well as impulse loads, revealed the gravity-insensitive performance and validated models developed during earlier ground testing. For this work, Frank was awarded the NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal in 2019.

In his role with T2D2, Frank leads a team of engineers, technicians, visiting technologists, and interns to provide thermal and thermal-vacuum test support for many flight projects, research and development activities, and proposals. He is leading efforts to improve capabilities (temperature and pressure control, sensor count, measurement accuracy, scan speed); enhance efficiency, reliability, and safety; and provide automated and remote control capabilities. Frank also supports the NSTGRO, ECF, OSTEM, and SBIR programs. He was awarded the Robert H. Goddard Exceptional Achievement Award for Engineering in 2020 in part for leading collaborations in T2D2 and the Guiding Star NASA Mentor Award in 2022 for “exceptional mentorship, fostering inspiration, and dedication to the future diverse generation of NASA’s talent.”

Outside of work, Frank enjoys watching films, playing volleyball, supporting his favorite Baltimore sports teams (go O’s!), and spending time with his family and friends.