Valerie Wiesner, Ph.D.

Dr. Valerie Wiesner is a Senior Research Materials Engineer in the Advanced Materials and Processing Branch at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) in Hampton, Virginia. She recently served as Acting Assistant Branch Head for the Crew Systems and Aviation Operations Branch at LaRC in 2022. Her research focuses on developing and understanding degradation of ceramic coatings and composites for extreme environment applications ranging from reusable hypersonic vehicles to lunar and planetary exploration and surface operations, as well as on ceramic processing and additive manufacturing.

Prior to joining LaRC in 2019, she began her NASA career as a Research Materials Engineer in the Ceramic and Polymer Composites Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2014 after completing a Pathways Internship as a Ph.D. student. She served as lead investigator for evaluating damage of environmental barrier coatings designed to protect ceramic matrix composite components caused by particulates, such as sand and volcanic ash, when ingested by aircraft engines.