Dustin Hickey

I am a Research Physicist at the US Naval Research Laboratory in where I do research related to the upper atmosphere of Earth (thermosphere and ionosphere). I completed my PhD in 2018 at Boston University. My PhD is in Astronomy and I was in the Center for Space physics at Boston University. I graduated from Colby College in Maine with a BA in Physics. I was in SPS at Colby and I am a Sigma Pi Sigma Alumni. I am a lead volunteer at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum here in DC. During graduate school, I spent a year working in a 7th grade science classroom in Quincy, MA as a co-teacher two days a week. I have been a teaching assistant for various physics and astronomy classes where I have taught labs and discussion sections. I have done various outreach projects at Boston University and other places, including helping with the public open night at the BU observatory. I have participated in the Adopt-a-Physicist program. In addition to astronomy and physics I enjoy reading, hiking, and biking.

SPS Alumni Information

SPS Chapter: Colby College

Dustin Hickey is available for student engagement in the following categories: mentoring, in-person speaker, virtual speaker. Send a request using this form .

Alum Location: Washington, D.C., Washington DC
Education Level: PhD
Disciplines: other

Job Sector: military
Recent position: Research Physicist, US Naval Research Laboratory
Job Description: I am a Research Physicist at the US Naval Research Laboratory. My research is in space physics. I study the region where Earth’s atmosphere and space interact, 200 to 1000 km above the surface of the Earth. This is where many satellites and the international space station are in orbit. In particular, I use a variety of ground-based and satellite instruments to measure temperature and density perturbations in this region.