About the team
I am a graduate student at the University of Arizona. I am working towards my MS in Aerospace Engineering with a focus on Control Systems and Dynamics. Last year, I graduated from the Honors section of the Engineering College with my BS in Aerospace Engineering and a minor in Mechanical Engineering. I graduated with my BS in Aerospace Engineering in May 2022, and I will be graduating with my MS in Aerospace Engineering in May 2023.
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The most influential clubs that I have been involved in are the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), ASTEROID, 3D4E, Global Ambassadors at the University of Arizona. I am also currently in SEDS where we are building a scientific payload to gather radiation data, pollution information, and capture video as it ascends via weather balloon.
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Hometown
I went to high school in Jenks, Oklahoma. I lived in Tulsa, and I still visit my family when I am not attending the University of Arizona.
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Education
I currently attend the University of Arizona as a graduate student studying Aerospace Engineering with a specialization in Control Systems and Dynamics. I will graduate with my MS in May 2023. I graduated from the University of Arizona and the W. A. Franke Honor's college with my BS in Aerospace Engineering in May 2022.
Before college, I took 10 AP classes at Jenks High School, so I could gauge my interest in several fields. I was in two introductory engineering classes, and I knew that I wanted to become an engineer; I just didn't know what kind of engineer that I wanted to be. While touring colleges, I spoke with many engineering students. After speaking to students in an SAE F1 club, I decided to pick aerospace engineering because I wanted to design race cars. After attending university, I decided I wanted to work in space.
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Work
While attending the University of Arizona, I have worked hard and been lucky enough to be selected for three internships. My first internship was at ASTEROIDS at the University of Arizona. I was a student researcher, and I got to work on some cool projects. I led a group of 14 students who designed a conceptual lunar base. I have more information about that on its page under the Projects page / section.
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Another internship was at Meggitt Securaplane in Oro Valley, Arizona. I worked as a part-time intern during the 2021 spring semester and as a full-time intern during the 2021 summer. I was unable to continue my internship during the 2021 fall semester because I was researching for a professor, I had begun the Accelerated Master's Program at the university, and I was taking 7 upper-level engineering courses, so I hardly had time to sleep.
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While working there, I was able to lead, work alone, and follow other engineers on many projects. My work included designing components in SolidWorks and either 3D printing them or machining them at the company. I also completed many Engineering Change Orders (ECO's) for old and current products.
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My most recent internship was at PAR Systems in Shoreview, Minnesota. I worked as a full-time intern for the summer of 2022. My job involved designing and simulating robotic systems that automated the building process of several aircraft components. I used software to create robotic work cells to analyze and predict production parameters of a proposal. My designs ranged from one day to multi-month endeavors and included small fixtures to be 3D printed or complicated parts in large assemblies that needed to be machined and assembled.
Research and projects
While at the University of Arizona, I have been able to do research for multiple professors. The first professor that I researched for was Dr. Thanga. He offered me a position at the ASTEROIDS Center. It was the first time the ASTEROIDS program hired students, so I was a part of the class that helped develop the program. While training as a researcher, I worked on a conceptual lunar base and a conceptual satellite mission. They are spoken about more in depth on their respective pages. After completing training, I worked on a method of wireless power transfer that involved using sunlight to charge a laser and then reflecting it down lunar tunnels.
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Towards the end of my research for Dr. Thanga, I reached out to Dr. Tenorio in the Mining Engineering department. One of my friends in the department had told me that Dr. Tenorio was interested in lunar mining, and I thought that sounded interesting. I had researched with him from the Spring 2021 semester until the Spring 2022 semester. We developed concepts to use NASA RASSORs to dig into the lunar regolith and transport ice content to a processing plant.