An interview with a graduate: Eric Monson, BS '23

Eric Monson's hometown is Wheaton, Illinois. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering in May 2023.

Why did you choose to study at UIUC?

I originally applied to quite a few schools at the end of high school, but in the end got accepted just to two universities: Purdue and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I was leaning towards Purdue with its legacy in aerospace engineering and the fact that it wasn’t in the same state I had spent the previous 18 years. However, that all changed when I came to UIUC for EOH my senior year of high school. There, I spoke with all the engineering students in the various RSOs at UIUC and I immediately felt a connection. I spent about two hours checking out the cool exhibits hosted by the Illinois Space Society and talking to their amazing presenters.

As a matter of fact, one of the first people I talked to at EOH is now one of my roommates here at UIUC. It was this personal connection and friendly attitude that ultimately tipped the scales towards UIUC for me. That being said, there were a ton of other factors: UIUC’s world-class education in majors outside of engineering, the proximity to home, the in-state tuition, friends from high school, and even strong recommendations from both my neighbors back at home.

Why aerospace engineering?

Honestly, I think my original application to UIUC summarizes my answer to this question best:

“What once were my inspirations as a child watching Star Wars and Apollo 13 have now become my aspirations, as I further pursue my keen interest in space and rocketry. My ultimate career goal is to find a place among the bright minds working at NASA, SpaceX, Blue Origin, or another cutting-edge space organization currently racing for Mars. In such an innovative and collaborative environment, my vision is to participate in this remarkable renaissance of aerospace engineering for the benefit of society as a whole.”

While that might seem a bit clique, I honestly have always been heavily inspired by all things space. I grew up an avid enjoyer of universes like Star Trek, Star Wars, and Battlestar Galactica. So in high school, when I found out that I could pursue these interests as a legitimate profession, I was immediately sold. Now, in college, I have found that those original motivations continue to hold true. The only difference is that now my inspiration comes from all the amazing technology being developed in the real aerospace world (although the love of Star Wars still remains).

 What course/professor/other helped you choose your specialty?

Professor Panerai’s AE312: Compressible Flow class served as a great introduction to the world of flow dynamics. However, in all honesty, what really cemented my interest in propulsion was my involvement in the Illinois Space Society’s solid propulsion project and later my work with Relativity Space. I held the Simulations & Optimization Chief Engineer position for a year on this project and ultimately secured an internship with Relativity Space. The internship was based out of Stennis Space Center and had me testing/building rocket engines nearly every day of the summer. “Hot Metal, Blue Fire” as they liked to say at Stennis soon became quite intoxicating and leaving me wanting more.

What projects have you worked on that helped you gain technical expertise?

My work with ISS Solid Propulsion helped point me in the right professional direction. However, even before this project, an important project that helped me grow as a young engineer was ISS’s Micro-G project. I was part of both the 2019-2020 and the 2020-2021 teams. The project taught me a number of skills quite quickly: technical writing, the design-manufacture-test-repeat process, teamwork skills just to name a few. Most important, the project helped me gain skills I could not obtain in the classroom.

Describe something from your years at Illinois that you are particularly proud of.

While it may not be the biggest achievement, one moment that stands out comes from my experience working on Micro-G. During 2020-2021, the project was expectedly impacted with the onset of the pandemic. As a result, the prototyping and manufacturing necessary for the project became quite difficult. Nevertheless, our team managed to develop a design, manufacture a prototype, and send it off to NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston for testing. What really made the experience memorable, however, was a small comment the diver made while interacting with our prototype: “I can tell you guys have a great design here. I appreciate you guys sending the prototype even if the final tool isn’t finished.” That little acknowledgment of all the work we had put into the project really made me proud, especially hearing it from a NASA Astronaut.

Did you have any internships or study abroad experiences? 

I was fortunate enough to have had several internship experiences during my four years of school:

• Market Researcher with LACE Engineering in Sao Paulo, Brazil
• Production Engineering Intern with Collins Aerospace out of Fairfield, California
• Stennis Test Site Intern with Relativity Space out of Stennis Space Center, Mississippi

The first two experiences stand out due to the way I obtained the offers. With LACE Engineering, I was originally planning on traveling abroad to Brazil with the aerospace department. However, due to the COVID pandemic, the trip was canceled. Nevertheless, CampusB, the organization we were going to travel with, reached out with an internship offer. It ended up being a fantastic experience where I learned quite a bit about the engineering field and Brazilian culture.

My position with Collins was a direct result of the Spring Career fair. That year, it was late March and I found myself with no summer position, so I figured I would attend the spring career fair despite having prepared very little for the event. I ended up getting into a zoom breakout room with one of the Collins Aerospace recruiters, but was told: “You sound great Eric, but unfortunately we have already booked all of our interview appointments for this event.” Without really thinking, I immediately asked the recruiter if we could just have an interview right there on the spot—36 hours later, I had a job with Collins working on energetics and solid propulsion development.

What extracurricular experience stands out as memorable for you?

One of my favorite extracurricular memories is sitting on stage at the Krannert Center for Performing Arts getting ready to perform in a band concert. One cool thing about going to UIUC is that I had access to world-class music opportunities despite not being a music major. I participated in the University and Hindsley Symphonic Bands for the majority of my semesters here at UIUC which really let me continue my passion for music despite studying engineering.

What will you be doing after graduation?

I will be working as a Propulsion Test Engineer with Blue Origin at their Van Horn, Texas test/launch site. More specifically, I will be working on BE-3 and BE-4 engines, supporting test campaigns, operating engine tests, and developing test stand architecture. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have this amazing opportunity and cannot thank UIUC, ISS, Relativity, and everyone who supported me enough for all the help these past four years.

How did you decide what to do after graduation?

Honestly, Prop Test at Blue Origin has been a dream job of mine since high school, so when the offer was extended, I did not have to be asked twice to accept it.

Where will you be located and what will you be doing?

I will be located in Van Horn, Texas which is a small town of about 2,000 people four hours south of Albuquerque and six hours west of Austin- yes, west. The Van Horn site is Blue Origin’s main propulsion test and development site and is also where they launch their New Shepard rockets. I will be a Propulsion Test Engineer, so I will be responsible for each BE-3 or BE-4 engine from the moment they come off the truck at Van Horn to the moment they go back on the truck. I will probably be spending my days doing a mix of indoor test operations surrounded by monitors and outdoor work on the test stand itself surrounded by pressure transducers, thermocouples, and pipes. It’s quite honestly my dream job and I cannot wait to start!

Do you have other career goals?

I do plan to eventually attend graduate school in propulsion design/combustion. The end goal is to work as a propulsion engineer designing the next generation rocket engines. However, during my time with Relativity as a member of the testing team, I found that the best design engineers to work with were those that had backgrounds in testing. I decided to pursue Prop Test before later transitioning into design to gain that physical understanding of the engines that I would be designing.

What’s on your bucket list of must-dos for the next 5 years?

Oh boy, that is a tough question. I think travel to the far-east (China, Japan, Korea, etc.) is definitely one of them. I have been lucky enough to have been to Europe/Eurasia, but never to that part of the world. I would also like to convert my old 2003 VW from front-wheel drive to all-wheel drive, but I honestly have no idea where to start with that project. There’re probably a hundred other things I could include on the bucket list, but those are two that immediately come to mind.

What advice would you like to share with AE undergrads?

Take advantage of the amazing opportunities around you, regardless of if they are “good for the resume” or just fun things to do. On the other hand, understand that you are attending a massive university with more opportunities than one can possibly take advantage of in four years. Find the things that you enjoy and go from there. Attend the career fair, talk to alumni, and make friends – when people say networking is important, they aren’t lying.

As for AE specifically, be prepared for the 300 level courses junior year – that’s when the difficulty steps up. Class does a great job of teaching you the theory behind much of the engineering in the aerospace industry, but research and participating in an RSO give you that valuable hands-on experience. Don’t wait until your senior year to get involved.