Todd Letcher

Education

PhD, Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University, 2012
MS, Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University, 2008
BS, Mechanical Engineering, South Dakota State University, 2005

Academic Interests

Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing
Off-earth Robotics
Engineering Entrepreneurship
Experimental Mechanics
Materials Characterization
Solid Mechanics
Design Optimization

Academic Responsibilities

Current:
ME 230 - Engineering Design Methods
ME 478/479 - Mechanical Systems Design I/II (Senior Design Capstone course sequence)
ME 490 - Design Seminar

Past:
ME 121 - Production and Manufacturing Processes
ME 212 - Mechanical Engineering Design Technologies
ME 240 - Introduction to Mechanical Design
ME 321 - Fundamentals of Machine Design
ME 376 - Measurements and Instrumentation Lab
ME 741 - Advanced Stress Analysis

Committee Activities

Mechanical Engineering Department Laboratory Committee
College of Engineering Promotion and Tenure Committee

Awards and Honors

August 2023, NASA FLOATing DRAGON Finalist
June 2023, 1st Place in Lunar Transport Vehicle at NASA RASC-AL 2023
December 2022, NASA's Break the Ice Lunar Challenge - Invited to Phase 2, Level 2, Space Trajectory (Team Leader)
September 2021, Clearest Water Award Winner, NASA's Moon to Mars Ice and Prospecting Challenge (Team Leader)
August 2021, Runner Up Award for NASA's Break the Ice Lunar Challenge Phase 1, Space Trajectory (Team Leader)
April 2020, Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering Young Investigator of the Year
March 2019, ASME IAM3D Challenge 2019 West 1st Place (Advisor)
April 2017, Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering Advisor of the Year
April 2014, 2014 Student’s Choice for Teacher of the Year in Mechanical Engineering at South Dakota State University
May 2012, ASME IGTI Young Engineers Travel Award

Grants

Letcher, T., Kavaserri, R., NSF I-Corps Hub: Great Plains Region, NSF I-Corps Hub Program
Letcher, T., Messerli, M. “Investigating Green and Renewable Polymers to Combat Drought,” North Central Region Sun Grant
Bruno, N., Kharel, Letcher, T. “Advanced Soft-Magnetic Materials for Electrified Propulsion” NASA EPSCoR
McKillip, A., Cutler, K. Letcher, T., Silvernagel, C., “Living and Working in Space - Children’s Museum Traveling Exhibit Design”
Letcher, T. “In-Situ Resource Utilization NASA Challenges” SD Space Grant Consortium"
Ciarcia, M., Letcher, T. “Design, Development, and Testing of an Advanced Multirotor for Human Transportation”
Letcher, T. “South Dakota Space Grant Consortium 2020-2024”
Letcher, T. “Dynamic Aluminum Embedment in Bolted Joints” August 21, 2020 to August 31, 2021. Private Industry - Matrix Engineering
Letcher, T., Prasad, A. “Additively Manufactured GRCoP Extended Investigation” NASA EPSCoR Rapid Response
Letcher, T., Prasad, A. “Characterization of GRCop-42 Additively Manufactured Material” NASA EPSCoR Rapid Response
Letcher, T. “Thermal Protection System Testing” NASA Marshall/University of Alabama Huntsville
Letcher, T. “Development of Novel Feedstocks for In-Space Manufacturing Applications” NASA Exploration Systems and Habitation Academic Innovation Challenge 2019
Letcher, T., Burckhard, S. “3D Printed Habitat Challenge Extension” SD Space Grant Consortium
Letcher, T., Michna, G. “Advanced Materials for 3D printable heat exchangers” SD Space Grant Consortium
Michna, G., Letcher, T. “Startup of South Dakota State University CubeSat Club” SD Space Grant Consortium
Gent, S., Letcher, T. “Initial Engineering Analysis of KB Balance Trainer”
Letcher, T. "Investigating Paint Embedment in Dynamic Bolted Connection - Phase 2"
Letcher, T. "Investigating Paint Embedment in Dynamic Bolted Connection - Phase 1"
Messerli, M., Letcher, T. “Constructing a Prototype for Automated Pancreatic Islet Sorting and Screening” SD Board of Regents Competitive Research Grant Program FY17
Letcher, T., Michna, G. “3D printable heat exchangers to enhance student learning related to space science” SD Space Grant Consortium Project Innovation Grant

Patents

McKillip, A., Letcher, T., Lucchesi, R., Silvernagel, C., Heller, B., Cutler, K., ... & Gottsleben, T. (2022). U.S. Patent Application No. 29/713,541
Miller, K. S., Letcher, T. M., Nearman, N. L., Munson, L. A., & Fuls, C. L. (2010). U.S. Patent No. 7,694,444. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Professional Memberships

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)

Creative Activities

Journal Papers
Landes, S., Letcher, T. "Mechanical strength of bamboo filled PLA composite material in fused filament fabrication." Journal of Composites Science 4.4 (2020): 159.

Amatya, I., Seo, J., Letcher, T., & Bierschbach, D. "Tensile-and shear-strength tests with adhesive connections in dynamic message signs." Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering 33.6 (2021): 04021131.

McTaggart, R., Rankouhi, B. & Letcher, T. “Effects of gamma irradiation on mechanical properties of 3D-printed carbon fiber–reinforced ABS.” Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-020-06243-4

Amatya, Ibin, Seo, J., Letcher, T., Ahn, JH. "Peel and cleavage strength tests with adhesive connections in dynamic message signs." International Journal of Adhesion and Adhesives 103 (2020): 102715.

Coughlin, N., Drake, B., Fjerstad, M., Schuster, E., Waege, T., Weerakkody, A., & Letcher, T. (2019). Development and mechanical properties of basalt fiber-reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene for in-space manufacturing applications. Journal of Composites Science, 3(3), 89.

West, C., McTaggart, R., Letcher, T., Raynie, D., & Roy, R. (2019). Effects of gamma irradiation upon the mechanical and chemical properties of 3D-printed samples of polylactic acid. Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 141(4).


Conference Publications
Silvernagel, C., Letcher, T., McKillip, A., Nester, J., Cutler, K. “Work-in-Progress: The Transformative Cauldron, Development of the Optimal Space-in-Between” ASEE 2022 Annual Conference

Landes, S., Suresh, T., Prasad, A., Letcher, T., Gradl, P, Ellis, D. “Investigation of Additive Manufactured GRCop-42 Alloy Developed by Directed Energy Deposition Methods” ASME IMECE Conference 2020, IMECE2020-24400

Landes, S., Suresh, T., Prasad, A., Letcher, T., Gradl, P, Ellis, D. “Nanomechanical Characterization of Additive Manufactured GRCop-42 Alloy Developed by Directed Energy Deposition Methods” ASME IMECE Conference 2020, IMECE2020-23382

Smithee, I., Berg, S., Olson, W., Twedt, R., Runge, N., Letcher, T., Ciarcia, M. Design, Development, and Testing of an Autonomous Multirotor for Personal Transportation. 2020 USCToMM Symposium on Mechanical Systems and Robotics

Pereira, L., Letcher, T., Michna, G. The Effects of 3D Printing Parameters and Surface Roughness on Convective Heat Transfer Performance. Summer Heat Transfer Conference 2017, Bellevue, Washington, July 14-17, 2019.

Area(s) of Research

Additive manufacturing, 3d printer hardware development, 3d printer material development, 3d printed material characterization, design for additive manufacturing