Taking paint to new heights: SC State alumna combines scientific passion with space innovation

Kaliah Jackson graduated from SC State in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry.

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When Kaliah Jackson, a senior chemist and program manager at HII’s Advanced Materials Coatings Lab in Illinois, graduated from South Carolina State University with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, she never imagined her career would take her to new heights — impacting space exploration.

From a young age, Jackson showed a deep curiosity for science and an interest in understanding how parts fit and function together. Her experiments weren’t always welcome, however — she was once banned from her grandmother’s house for a week after “mixing a bunch of chemicals” in the toilet, resulting in “kind of a fume explosion.”

“I’ve always been drawn to understanding the components of things and how they work together,” she said. “There are so many aspects of science that people are unaware of. It can be challenging because of the complexities, funding, resources and ethical considerations, but at the same time rewarding because of discoveries and innovations, the impact on society and collaborative efforts.”

As a child, Jackson aspired to become a pediatrician, but as she grew older, her fascination shifted to forensic science, envisioning a future as a forensic toxicologist and crime scene investigator.

“Forensics is still my favorite field of science,” she said. “I think that it is so fascinating to be able to solve problems and find answers solely using science.”

Life took a different turn, however. Rather than attending graduate school full-time, Jackson accepted a position in 2012 as an associate chemist with Alion Science & Technology, a legacy HII company, where she tested paint coatings in the Advanced Materials and Coatings Laboratory – a lab with a 60-year history of manufacturing protective thermal coatings for spacecraft. She obtained her master’s in business administration in 2020 and became the production lead. In 2021, Jackson was promoted to the AMCL program manager with oversight for the entire lab, now part of HII’s Mission Technologies division.

The AMCL recently expanded production capabilities and moved from Chicago to Willowbrook, Illinois. Jackson and a team of chemists produce the coatings that help reduce the external temperature of spacecraft and limit UV radiation absorption, which allows instruments to operate more effectively.

Where traditional paint is made for aesthetic purposes, the AMCL paint is made to strict NASA specifications and environmental factors to include orbital patterns, temperature, and radiation levels.

The coatings are applied to both public and private-sector space vessels and have been used on NASA’s Apollo, Gemini and Mars Orbiter missions, among others. The AMCL team is in the process of expanding outside of the aerospace industry into other markets, both domestic and international.

Jackson believes business expansion is partly influenced by aspiring innovators and advises young people to “be flexible and willing to pivot.”

“When people think of STEM, all they think of is being a scientist,” she said. “There are so many areas of STEM that you may not know exist. I had no idea there was an area like coatings until I was thrown into it. Be open to different opportunities. All it takes is getting a foot in the door, and the opportunities are endless.”

The U.S. Air Force and Department of Defense place a high priority on space as a critical domain for national security and military operations, and Jackson and her team are up to the challenge.

“I look forward to the future of the AMCL,” she said. “As the boundaries of space exploration continue to be pushed, advanced coatings technology becomes not just a protective layer, but a critical enabler- shielding spacecraft from extreme environments, enhancing performance and ensuring longevity of missions beyond Earth. I am honored to be a part of it.”

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