Richard L. “Hawk” Altstatt received an MS in Nuclear Engineering, specializing in Plasma Physics (fire) and Material Science (burning stuff) from NCSU and an MS in Engineering Science and Mechanics, specializing in Thermal Mechanics (fire again) and Instrumentation (sticking stuff in fire) from UTSI. Work performed and published for NASA included: investigation of the STS-107 tragedy, modeling of the radiation shielding for the International Space Station, meteor observations for International Leonid Meteor Shower Campaigns, modeling the Van Allen belts and the solar wind, test design for a solar sail, radiation testing of electronics parts for the DART spacecraft, and environment modeling for both Jupiter and the Moon. He has spent the last few years working for various parts of Missile Defense providing survivability engineering which includes radiation modeling for weapon systems and Chemical, Biological, Radioactive Nuclides, and Explosives (CBRNE) verification on ground-based elements. Civilian contract work includes selling neutrons, modeling radiation, and electronics testing in radiation environments. He is a storyteller, an Eagle Claw sensei, an excellent swordsman, and one of the world’s great experts on catching stuff on fire.