Ever since I was a child, entranced in the space-faring adventure stories of science fiction novels such as the Red Mars Trilogy, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Hyperion, I knew that I wanted to push the humanity of our real world into this next stage of human development and civilization.
I came to A&M dead-set on wanting to be an astronaut. Even though, as I grew up, I oscillated between different types of engineering disciplines, like mechanical, electrical, and even architectural, I knew myself well enough by the time I applied to know I wanted to do aerospace engineering. And another reason I came to A&M, besides the full-ride, was the strength and quality of the Aerospace Engineering Major.
In my freshman year, I joined several organizations related to aerospace engineering on campus. I first joined both the local and national chapter of AIAA, becoming so involved in the former that I actually became an officer in my second semester. Unfortunately, due to unfortunate circumstances, I had to step down from that role near the end of the semester.
I also applied, interviewed for, and got into the AggieSat 6 project through the Aggie Satellite Laboratory (1 of only 4 freshman!). Funnily enough, despite my nervousness coming into the interview, that was all eased when my interviewer called me “the most intelligent person he’s ever met”. And I guess he liked me so much that he took me under his wing as a member of the system engineering subsystem of the project (which is set to launch in 2024). In that position, I was able to help create and edit mission-critical documentation, become the mediator between several other subsystems due to focusing on breadth rather than depth, and learn MATLAB to create projects like this:
However, due to evolving interests in other projects, I regretfully resigned from that position at the beginning of my sophomore year.
In the start of my second semester, in the spring of 2021, I personally reached out to and met with the principal investigator of the NASA mission OSIRIS-REx, Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona. He was impressed with my passion and interest in space resources, as well as my ability to learn new skills adeptly, so much that not only did he invite to work on a project to simulate the principal planetary body of OSIRIS-REx, an asteroid called Bennu, in high-fidelity virtual reality, he even sent me a free copy of a board game he created 🥳! Over the next several months, I was able to communicate with him and a NASA Goddard visualization specialist named Kel Elkins to develop this vision in a totally new software to me, Unreal Engine, which included amazing shots like this:
While my skills in this new software, plus many frustrations in Blender, prevented from realizing this vision entirely, this really was my first taste of an important project in the wider field Aerospace Engineering that I actually was able to contribute to.
Furthermore, I was able to take an honors research class with astronaut Gregory Chamitoff called SpaceCraft, which revolved around creating a fully virtual solar system! While I was tasked with designing a robot that could function with user input, I chose to bring in my interests of space resources to design a virtual asteroid-mining robot that could actually alter its terrain. While working closely with my team lead, a PHD student who now works at CACI, I was able to develop this idea out and put it into a paper, which you can find here. Not only was I able to bring in my concurrent research of the asteroid Bennu as the site of my virtual robot’s mission, I was able to successfully implement real-time terrain alteration. As well, I was able to implement a grappling hook mechanism, due to any real mission requiring some way to dock on a low-g body such as an asteroid.
As I continue, I hope to implement my prior knowledge and research into interplanetary technology along with my newfound interest in computing to develop the software used for autonomous space robotics. I hope to one day follow them up to space!
Then, sophomore year was spent learning more about aerospace as I officially joined the major at Texas A&M. Though I didn’t do any cool projects that year, I appreciated really being able to get into the meat of the subject for the first time in my life.
However, I did complete my first aerospace engineering internship ever at Bell Textron in Fort Worth, Texas. Though I wasn’t super excited at first, I ended up having an amazing time and getting some incredibly valuable work done for the Bell 525 and 429 helicopters. They liked me so much that they ended up flying me to Wichita to Cessna on their dime! You can check out final slide detailing some of my accomplishments here.
The following semester, Fall 2023, I started my undergraduate honors research with Dr. Moble Benedict. A renowned vertical flight expert, I joined arguably his most important project working with the Navy to automate ship landing. As the only undergraduate on the research team, I have a vital role in updating and implementing the reinforcement-learning-based controls that govern the flight of both a simulated and real-life drone landing on a model landing pad. As this research is the subject of both my UG Honors Thesis and my MS Thesis, I am working diligently and have accomplished far more than even I thought possible.
At the same time, I am also the project manager for my Senior Capstone team composed of 20 students. I am leading the team to build a novel Fuel-Based UAV that can go 100 miles. We have made incredible progress so far and have gotten the highest grade on every single assignment so far. We ended up winning first place and $1000 for this project at the Texas A&M Engineering Project Showcase.
I started my Masters in Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M on July 3, 2024 and my research is in Artificial Learning Techniques for Landing Aircraft on Ships. I had my first presentation at a conference on the subject in DC on July 30, 2024.
Long-Term Plans
- Go to space (not necessarily as an astronaut)
- Start a space-related company
- Help settle Mars
School Experiences
- AggieSat Laboratory
- AIAA
- Research with Dr. Gregory Chamitoff of Texas A&M
- Personal project with Dr. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona
- Classes include aerodynamics, aerothermodynamics, mechanics of materials, partial differential equations, linear algebra, multivariate physics, and proper speaking and ethics for professional engineers
- Research with Dr Moble Benedict of Texas A&M
Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities
Soft Skills
- Collaboration
- Persistence
- Diligence
- Expressing complex ideas understandably
- Deriving solutions to problems from minimal data + assumptions
Hard Skills
- The engineering method of solving problems (Summary, Givens, Unknowns, Assumptions, Solution)
- Analyzing wings and airfoils from subsonic to supersonic speeds
- Developing and analyzing legitimate wings from airfoils
- Solving thermodynamics problems of practical importance (efficiency, Brayton cycles, etc.)
- Analyzing the mechanics and materials of materials used in aerospace design both theoretically and in a lab setting
Software & Projects
- Solidworks: Created a wing from scratch, including airfoil, ribs, spars, etc.
- Python: Programmed the standard atmospheric table
- Abaqus: Analyzed the stress distribution on an axially loaded bar due to a point force
- XFLR5: Analyzed phenomenon of several configurations of airfoils and wings
Papers & Projects
- Performed semester-long research with astronaut Gregory Chamitoff and wrote this paper on a virtual asteroid-mining robot for honors credit (only 5% of students received honors credit)
- Worked on a personal project with NASA principal investigator Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona to develop a VR simulation of the asteroid Bennu
- AERO 201: Semester-long project using Solidworks to design an entire wing from scratch & XFLR5 to analyze the airfoils involved
- AERO 214: Used Abaqus to analyze the stress distribution on an axially loaded bar due to a point force
Awards & Recognition
- Crag and Galen Brown Foundation Scholarship: Awarded to less than 0.01% of each A&M class, covers full cost of attendance and encourages connections with best and brightest of A&M current and former student populace
Leadership Roles
- AggieSat Laboratory (2021-2022): Systems Engineering and lab mediator
- AIAA (2021-2022): Freshman Liaison