Dale Thomas currently serves as a Professor and Eminent Scholar of Systems Engineering in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). He teaches system engineering students in the art and science of systems architecture and design, systems integration, test, and verification, and systems management. His active research projects include Nuclear Thermal Propulsion, Space Launch System Core Stage Engines, Small Satellites, and Space Systems Model Based Engineering. Dale also serves as director of the Alabama Space Grant Consortium and as deputy director of the UAH Propulsion Research Center.