Kok Lam Lai, Ph.D.
About Kok Lam Lai, Ph.D.
Kok Lam Lai, Ph.D., is a Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer at Blue Origin, specializing in optical navigation for the Moon Lander.
Current Role at Blue Origin
Kok Lam Lai, Ph.D., has been working as a Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Engineer - Moon Lander, Optical Navigation at Blue Origin since 2020. He is currently based in the Greater Seattle Area. In this role, he specializes in optical navigation and has developed a cislunar attitude estimator using a multiplicative extended Kalman filter (EKF) with a star tracker and inertial measurement unit (IMU) for the NASA Artemis Human Landing System program.
Previous Experience at Shell
Kok Lam Lai has extensive experience working at Shell in various engineering roles. From 2019 to 2020, he served as the Deepwater Managed Pressure Drilling Global Implementation specialist in Houston, Texas. Prior to that, he was a Wellsite Operations Engineer for the Vito Drilling & Completion project in the Gulf of Mexico from 2018 to 2019. He also worked as a Staff Well Engineer for Drilling Optimization from 2014 to 2018, a Drilling Automation & Remote Technology Engineer in Chengdu, China from 2013 to 2014, and held multiple other roles focused on drilling automation, modeling, and instrumentation between 2008 and 2013.
Educational Background
Kok Lam Lai holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo, which he achieved from 1999 to 2006. Additionally, he has obtained a MicroMaster in Data Science and Machine Learning from MITx on edX (2019-2020). He has also participated in Shell's Drilling Engineering program, earning certifications in "Round I" and "Round II" from 2014 to 2018.
Specializations and Expertise
Kok Lam Lai specializes in position and velocity estimation using optical images of planetary bodies. He has performed trade studies using linear covariance analysis techniques for optical navigation systems and is experienced in developing advanced estimators for space navigation. His expertise extends to drilling optimization, remote technology, and various aspects of drilling automation in the oil and gas industry.
Projects and Contributions
Kok Lam Lai's notable projects include developing a cislunar attitude estimator for NASA's Artemis Human Landing System program and performing trade studies for optical navigation systems. His contributions in the field of Guidance, Navigation, and Control engineering have been instrumental in advancing space navigation technologies.