Why did you choose to study at UIUC?

Of all the aerospace schools I was accepted to, UIUC always stood out to me as a good place to do interdisciplinary work. This was motivated by the strong reputation of the aero department as well as others such as electrical and computer engineering. Additionally, the idea of living in a college town was exciting to me. When I visited campus in February 2020, I really enjoyed the environment. I grew up in California, so I had never experienced living in a cold part of the country. I was surprised when I didn’t seem to mind it at all.

What helped you choose your specialty?

I first became interested in guidance, navigation, and control through Illinois Space Society’s Spaceshot project.  I designed and implemented algorithms and physical actuator systems to control a large rocket’s drag profile to guide it to a desired altitude. What interested me about this work was how interdisciplinary it was. In addition to control theory, it also required that I learn more about numerical methods, vehicle trajectory simulation, and aerodynamics. To help with this project, I took AE 353 Aerospace Control Systems taught by Professor Bretl a semester earlier than I normally would have. The course’s emphasis on solving problems with a combination of theory, simulation and computational methods made the coursework challenging yet thought provoking and enjoyable.

By the end of the semester, in part because of this course, I decided that I wanted to specialize in GNC. I also took AE 402 Orbital Mechanics taught by Professor Woollands to further my knowledge in astrodynamics which helped me decide to focus on GNC for spacecraft. Both Professors Bretl and Woollands helped me apply what I learned in their classes to my work in RSOs and personal projects to help further my interest in the field, which I greatly appreciated.

What projects have you worked on that standout? 

Illinois Space Society’s Spaceshot project is one that I have been involved with throughout my undergraduate career. I joined the team in my freshman year while taking classes remotely. In my sophomore year, I joined the GNC group and the following year I had the opportunity to lead them. Through this team, I not only learned a great deal technically about spacecraft navigation, I also learned how to lead, teach, and mentor effectively. This experience not only shaped my passion for GNC, but it also sparked a passion for teaching.participating in social or cultural events has taught me the importance of effective time management.

Describe something you are particularly proud of. 

At the start of my junior year, the GNC group I was responsible for leading consisted of one returning member aside from myself; everyone else was new. Through a commitment to mentorship and creating an atmosphere in which anyone could learn and ask questions, we were able to all work on projects far beyond what we learned in our classes. By the end of the year, we had 15 actively contributing members working on rocket vehicle simulations, navigation, and control systems. I am most proud of how the team developed that year and the passion that everyone on that team developed in our field.

Did you have any internships? 

I worked at Corvid Technologies in North Carolina after my sophomore year as a Guidance, Navigation, and Control intern. It was amazing—as just a sophomore—for my first internship to be in the field that I want to focus in. My work there consisted of improving inertial measurement units using classical control techniques. I also wrote software for GPS receivers that would allow for ground testing of the navigation system being developed.

I worked at Northrop Grumman Space Systems in Dulles, Virginia after my junior year, again as a Guidance, Navigation, and Control intern. My project was to develop navigation algorithms that would allow satellites to track several other satellites during rendezvous and proximity operations. While I was there, I also got to watch the launch of a resupply mission to the International Space Station from the Wallops Flight Facility.

What extracurricular experience stands out as memorable?

During the 2021-22 school year, Illinois Space Society’s Spaceshot project had two rockets fail: once during a test and another at the Spaceport America Cup in New Mexico. I was one of about 100 people who worked to ensure our success during our test flights the following year. There were several late nights and countless hours poured into the rocket that we built. Our hard work paid off though with two successful test flights and a successful final flight at SA Cup 2023 and placing 2^nd in our category. The entire experience working on this team, through the highs and lows, and finally being able to celebrate two years of work are things I’ll never forget.

You’ll be interning at NASA Johnson Space Center, then starting grad school in the fall. How did you decide what to do after graduation? 

My internship in the spring will be working on terrain relative navigation for lunar and interplanetary descent and landing. Interplanetary exploration is one of the reasons I became interested in aerospace engineering, and terrain relative navigation is one of the fundamental problems in spacecraft GNC. I also plan on focusing on guidance and navigation for spacecraft in graduate school, so the opportunity to work on this project is one that I couldn’t pass up.

I chose to continue to grad school because after taking some upper division undergrad and one graduate course in control systems, I realized how much more I had to learn to be able to effectively contribute to novel work in GNC.

Do you have other career goals?

My greatest career goal is to work on exploration missions that not only expand our presence on Mars and contribute to our understanding of the universe but also those that will inspire the next generations of engineers.

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

I had the opportunity to go stargazing in the New Mexico desert this past summer. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any astrophotography gear with me, so I was taking long exposure pictures on my iPhone. Sometime soon, I want to visit another dark sky preserve to again enjoy the night sky and do some better astrophotography, hopefully with better equipment.

Probably not in the next 5 years, but I do want to get my private pilot license when I have the time to commit to studying and practicing for that.