Dr. Dec’s area of expertise is reentry vehicle technologies, in particular, thermal protection system design and analysis, aerothermodynamics, and spacecraft thermal control.

Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Dr. Dec. previously worked on reentry and hypersoning systems at Atlanta's Terminal Velocity Aerospace (TVA), a subsidiary of SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. Dr. Dec was a senior thermal analyst at NASA Langley Research Center in the Structural and Thermal Systems branch. Dr. Dec has made substantial contributions on programs such as the hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator (HIAD) flexible TPS; the crew exploration vehicle thermal protection system advanced development project; the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) autonomous aerobraking project; the Mars reconnaissance orbiter (MRO) aerobraking; the Mars odyssey aerobraking, and the Mars sample return Earth entry vehicle. Dr. Dec has been called upon to serve as a subject matter expert in the areas of thermal protection system design and spacecraft thermal control on numerous review boards. Dec has authored numerous journal articles and conference papers related to thermal protection systems and advanced thermal analysis methods. He also served as a member of the AIAA Thermophysics Technical committee for four years.