Dr. Warden had an early interest in aerospace and earned B.S. and M.S. degrees focused on mechanical, electrical and systems engineering from Purdue University before taking a detour to the energy sector. His career at Exxon took him to offshore California engineering assignments and to the North Slope of Alaska, where he was involved in drilling and production assignments to bring the Prudhoe Bay field on production, research projects on the Arctic icepack, and as part of the technical team to draft the Prudhoe Bay Unit Agreement among some 20 oil company owners and the government and regulatory agencies.
After seven years, David left Exxon to pursue a legal career, graduating from the University of Virginia Law School, advancing to partner in the global law firm of Baker Botts LLP, and later starting his own law firm. David’s legal endeavors focused on business and technical litigation, he is certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and licensed before the Patent & Trademark Office and the U.S. Supreme Court.
David later revived his interest in aerospace by working in various commercial space startups, becoming an instrument-rated pilot, and by earning his PhD in mechanical engineering from Rice University, with research focused on spacecraft radiation shielding in cis-lunar space. His commercial space endeavors have included both technical and economic analysis of refurbishing the Russian Almaz spacecraft for flight, due diligence on purchasing and financing the Sea Launch rocket company, and in formulating business plans for utilization of the variable specific impulse magnetoplasma rocket engine (VASIMR). More recently, Dr. Warden has performed technical due diligence on a variety of commercial fusion reactor companies and has become active in the Fusion Industry Association. He has taught at Rice University for 18 years, in both the engineering and economic schools.
Dr. Warden is a published author in peer-reviewed journals regarding spacecraft radiation shielding, and one non-technical book: “Miracle in Motion: Leading a Purposeful Life.”