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Robots could one day crawl on the moon. These undergrads are laying the groundwork

Jeff Zehnder — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 20:00:40 +0000

Robots could one day crawl on the moon. These undergrads are laying the groundwork Jeff Zehnder Thu, 07/03/2025 - 14:00

The future of moon exploration may be rolling around a non-descript office on the CU Boulder campus.

Here, a robot about as wide as a large pizza scoots forward on three wheels. It uses an arm with a claw at one end to pick up a plastic block from the floor, then set it back down.

To be sure, this windowless office, complete with gray carpeting, is nothing like the moon. And the robot, nicknamed “Armstrong,” wouldn’t last a minute on its frigid surface.

But the scene represents a new vision for space exploration—one in which fleets of robots working in tandem with people crawl across the lunar landscape, building scientific observatories or even human habitats.

Xavier O’Keefe operates the robot from a room down the hall. He wears virtual reality goggles that allow him to see through a camera mounted on top of Armstrong.

“It’s impressively immersive,” said O’Keefe, who earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering sciences from CU Boulder this spring. “The first couple of times I used the VR, the robot was sitting in the corner, and it was really weird to see myself using it.”

He’s part of a team of current and former undergraduate students tackling a tricky question: How can humans on Earth get the training they need to operate robots on the hazardous terrain of the lunar surface? On the moon, gravity is only about one-sixth as strong as it is on our planet. The landscape is pockmarked with craters, some cast in permanent darkness.

In a new study, O’Keefe and fellow CU Boulder alumni Katy McCutchan and Alexis Muniz report that “digital twins,” or hyper-realistic virtual reality environments, could provide a useful proxy for the moon—giving people a chance to get the hang of driving robots without risking damage to multi-million-dollar equipment.

The study is funded by NASA and the Colorado company Lunar Outpost. It is part of a larger research effort led by Jack Burns, astrophysics professor emeritus in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences (APS) and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA).

The Armstrong robot, top, and its digital twin, bottom. (Credit: Network for Exploration and Space Science)

“There was a lot of room to make mistakes with Armstrong since it wasn’t a million-dollar piece of hardware going to space,” said McCutchan, who earned her master’s degree in aerospace engineering sciences from CU Boulder in 2025. “It was a good sandbox to mess around in.”

Digital twin

For Burns, a co-author of the study, Armstrong and its VR digital twin represent a big leap forward, despite the robot’s humble appearance. Burns is part of a team that has received a grant from NASA to design a futuristic scientific observatory on the moon called FarView—which would be made up of a web of 100,000 antennas stretching over roughly 77 square miles of the lunar surface. Daniel Szafir of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill was also a co-author of the new study.

“Unlike the Apollo program where human astronauts did all the heavy lifting on the moon, NASA’s 21st century Artemis Program will combine astronauts and robotic rovers working in tandem,” Burns said. “Our efforts at CU Boulder are intended to make lunar robots more efficient and recoverable from errors, so precious astronaut time on the lunar surface will be better utilized.”

The space group’s first hurdle: Creating a digital twin for Armstrong to roam around in. To do that, the researchers began by creating a digital replica of their office in a video game engine called Unity—right down to the beige walls and drab carpet.

“We had to get the digital twin as close to real thing as possible,” said O’Keefe, who’s now a master’s student in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at CU Boulder. “For example, we timed how fast the robot moved over one yard. Then we did the same test in the virtual environment and got the robot’s speed to be the same.”

Next, the team ran an experiment. In 2023 and 2024, they recruited 24 human participants to operate Armstrong while sitting in a room down the hall. Donning VR goggles, the subjects took the robot through a simple task: They picked up and adjusted a plastic block that represented one of the antennas in FarView.

Half of the participants, however, got a head start. They first practiced the same task in the digital version of the office.

Humans who got the chance to operate Armstrong’s digital twin before driving the real thing completed the task roughly 28% faster than participants who only got the chance to operate the physical robot. They also reported that they felt less stress during the task.

“That’s what is really exciting about this—you’re able to simulate everything in the environment, from the shadows to the texture of the dirt, and then train operators on conditions that are as close to real as possible,” O’Keefe said. “That way, once you get to the moon, you have a higher chance of success.”

CU Boulder researchers are working with the company Lunar Outpost to develop a digital twin of a rover on the surface of the moon. (Credit: Nico Goda/CU Boulder)

Real-world experience

McCutchan, who also joined the project as an undergrad, added that the study gave her and her fellow students a grounding in how research works in the real world.

For example, when the researchers began the experiment, they discovered that the human subjects kept making the same mistake. When they went to pick up the fake antennas with Armstrong, they often flipped the blocks over by accident. The group hadn’t anticipated that.

“Whenever you get people involved, they do things in ways you wouldn’t expect them to,” said McCutchan, who recently started work as a mechanical solutions test engineer at BAE Systems, an aerospace company.

Today, Burns’ team is moving onto a new goal: They’re recreating the much more complex environment of the lunar surface. The researchers are working with the Colorado-based company Lunar Outpost to build a digital twin of a rover on the moon in the same game engine. The hardest part, O’Keefe said, is getting the lunar dust just right.

“The rover will kick up dust with its wheels as it drives, and that could possibly block sensors or cameras,” O’Keefe said. “But it’s really hard to know exactly how dust moves on the moon because you can’t just go outside and measure it.”

For now, he is happy being a part of the future of lunar exploration, albeit from the safety of campus.

“It’s awesome to be part of this, even if it is a small part of getting people on the moon.”

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Three PhD students earn top National Science Foundation fellowship

Jeff Zehnder — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 19:52:39 +0000

Three PhD students earn top National Science Foundation fellowship Jeff Zehnder Mon, 06/16/2025 - 13:52

Jeff Zehnder

Three aerospace graduate students have earned prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program awards.

Annalise Cabra, Thomas Clark, and Asa O'Neal are 2025 recipients of the NSF GRFP awards, which recognize and support outstanding grad students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields who are pursuing research-based master’s or doctoral degree.

Awardees receive a $37,000 annual stipend and cost of education allowance for the next three years as well as professional development opportunities.

Find out about their research below:

Annalise Cabra

Advisors: Jim Nabity and Xu Wang
Labs: Bioastronautics Laboratory and the Institute for Modeling Plasmas, Atmospheres, and Cosmic Dust (IMPACT)

Undergraduate Major: Physics, 91��Ƭ��AV

My research will focus on the handling of lunar dust to support space exploration, specifically methods for dust mitigation and/or in-situ resource utilization. The dust on the lunar surface gets electrically charged from the solar wind and will mobilize or be lofted, causing it to adhere to various materials like spacesuits or spacecrafts with instruments, solar panels, etc. This then becomes a hazard when trying to carry out space exploration. I will focus on strategies to mitigate this.

I am also interested in in-situ resource utilization and the extraction of local resources on the moon. These steps are crucial for making long-duration space missions more sustainable and affordable by minimizing the need to transport materials from Earth. I will focus on advancing methods for extracting volatiles from the lunar regolith like oxygen to produce materials like propellant or habitats.

Thomas Clark

Advisor: Dan Scheeres
Lab: Celestial and Spaceflight Mechanics Lab

Undergraduate Major: Physics, California Institute of Technology

I am using machine learning and artificial intelligence to expand our capabilities for autonomous mission design near the moon. In cislunar space, the space surrounding the moon, many complex trajectories are available to mission designers including periodic orbits, quasi-periodic orbits, and invariant manifolds. However, these are difficult to compute, and we currently have no easy method to search these trajectories efficiently. I am developing databases using deep neural networks which allow us to search over continuous families of precomputed trajectories for use in mission design and eventually to enable autonomous motion planning in cislunar space.

Asa O'Neal

Advisor: Iain Boyd
Lab: Nonequilibrium Gas & Plasma Dynamics Laboratory

Undergraduate Major: Mechanical Engineering & Physics, University of Kentucky

My research will focus on modeling air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) systems for spacecraft operating in very low Earth orbit (VLEO). This research will support the development of sustainable, long-duration VLEO missions by enabling in-situ propellant collection and reducing reliance on onboard fuel.

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PhD student earns prestigious 2025 Draper Fellowship

Jeff Zehnder — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 16:18:43 +0000

PhD student earns prestigious 2025 Draper Fellowship Jeff Zehnder Thu, 06/12/2025 - 10:18

Jeff Zehnder

Nicole Rote has earned a major fellowship from Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Draper Laboratories.

Rote, a PhD student in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the 91��Ƭ��AV, has been named a 2025 Draper Scholar.

Scholars in the program receive funding support and are paired with a member of the Draper's technical staff while they conduct research in fields of mutual interest.

Rote's work will focus on modeling and predicting pilot spatial disorientation.

"I initially became interested in spatial disorientation research while working with pilots as a flight test engineer. Spatial disorientation has severe consequences, and improved prediction can enable life-saving countermeasures," Rote said.

Rote earned her bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Purdue University. After graduating, she worked at Boeing Research & Technology in Loads and Dynamics analysis and testing, supporting efforts from F/A-18 flight testing to spacecraft vibration and shock testing.

She started her PhD at CU Boulder in 2023.

This is not Rote's first major fellowship. She is also a recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program award.

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Student-designed astronaut balance system wins aerospace competition

Jeff Zehnder — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 17:43:58 +0000

Student-designed astronaut balance system wins aerospace competition Jeff Zehnder Mon, 06/09/2025 - 11:43

Jeff Zehnder

A team of 13 engineering seniors earned first place in a national aeronautics student paper competition for their capstone design project.

Team ASTRA (Astronaut Stability Training Response Apparatus) spent nine months analyzing, designing, and building a proof-of-concept reactive balance board training system to assist astronauts in maintaining their sense of position and movement while in space to improve recovery time when they return to Earth.

“It’s about being able to tell where you are in relation to your own body,” said Sweta Alla, the team’s project manager. “That’s knowing when to step, when to catch yourself. It tends to go away in microgravity. Our goal is to enhance that on Earth to help improve it in space.”

The team won the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Region V student paper competition, an annual event that brings together student design teams from 10 states and six Canadian provinces to showcase their capstone projects.

It was an exciting recognition that followed two semesters of effort.

“We did a lot of theoretical work, building out CAD models, cost benefit analyses, risk matrices, how the design would look and how we can build it to function,” Alla said. “The first few weeks were just sitting with the idea and design.”

The project design and build process included all of the ups and downs that are part of any engineering undertaking.

“We had a lot of setbacks and hurdles we had to get through, which strengthened our understanding of how engineering really works,” said Chloe Zentner, the team’s CFO. “A major issue was getting our motors. It was supposed to be two weeks for shipping, but it ended up being almost two months. That set a lot of our testing plans and timelines back.”

To complete the project, the team combined off-the-shelf and custom electronic components, requiring them to work in four unique programming languages: C#, C++, Python, and Dragon Ruby.

“We had to get all of the components to talk to each other, and the motors were supposed to come with software that was basically plug and play. They did not,” said Alia Feltes-DeYapp, systems engineering lead.

Their ultimate design was a structure a person could stand inside that actively monitors their center of balance and, based on movement, provides countervailing forces to approximate the experience of gravity on Earth. The project also incorporates an easy-to-understand gaming interface.

“It really was an amazing experience to get to do something for the entire year,” Feltes-DeYapp said. “We used our hands and built something from start to finish.”

As first place finishers at AIAA Region V, the team is qualified to compete in the upcoming AIAA International SciTech Forum and Exposition, slated for Jan. 2026

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Flickr Album: 2025 Smead Aerospace Graduation Ceremony

Jeff Zehnder — Fri, 09 May 2025 20:04:10 +0000

Flickr Album: 2025 Smead Aerospace Graduation Ceremony Jeff Zehnder Fri, 05/09/2025 - 14:04

The Smead Aerospace Class of 2025 celebrated completion of the degrees during a graduation ceremony May 8 at the CU Events Center.

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Flickr Album: 2025 Graduate Reception and PhD Recognition Ceremony

Jeff Zehnder — Fri, 09 May 2025 20:01:43 +0000

Flickr Album: 2025 Graduate Reception and PhD Recognition Ceremony Jeff Zehnder Fri, 05/09/2025 - 14:01

Smead Aerospace students, friends, and family celebrated graduation May 8 with a special reception at the Aerospace Building.

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Aerospace 2025 Graduation Awards

Jeff Zehnder — Fri, 09 May 2025 18:15:01 +0000

Aerospace 2025 Graduation Awards Jeff Zehnder Fri, 05/09/2025 - 12:15

Jeff Zehnder

Flickr Album: 2025 Senior Design Awards Ceremony

Congratulations to the Smead Aerospace Class of 2025! As part of our graduation week ceremonies, we are recognizing outstanding students and teams at the undergraduate and graduate level for special achievements.

Most Outstanding Senior and Chancellor's Recognition Award (4.0 GPA)

Madison Lin

CU Engineering Award for Academic Engagement

Ivy Hill

CU Engineering Award for Perseverance

Teegan Loretta Oatley

Graduate Award for Teaching

Alyxis Ellington

Graduate Award for Professional Service

Taylor Lonner

Graduate Award for Research

Julian Hammerl

Senior Design Team Awards

Outstanding Team: LEONIDS
- Adrian Bryant, Quinten Krikava, Nicole Rogers, Polly Fitton, Tyler Renken, Murilo Tibana, Savar Rodine, Mark Turner, Andrew Vo, Shane Billingsley, Sam Allen, Daniel Mascarenas, Victoria Madden
Outstanding Professionalism: BLERP
- Sophia Orlandella, Ben Martin, Rahul Sampangiramiah, Jacob Greco, Regan Craig, Alex Putnam, Ian Holm, Zach Malcomson, Ben DeBlasio, Jordan Richardson, Alexander Keller, Nikolas Welch
Outstanding Communication: WAFFLE
- Matt Leidli, Bryce Pfuetze, Nathan Whittenburg, Ariana Bower, Vivian Young, Mikayla Cervantes, David McGraw, Summer McCluskey, Jordan Mosher, Nicholas Vialpando, Zachary McGuinn, Zachary Selleck, Zach Mund, Chris Franklin
Outstanding Creativity: TOMATOSOUPS
- Oliver Jaeckli, Paige Catena, John Dallin, Eli Greene, Berenger Hickey, Abbitt Holland, Madison Lin, Connor McEniry, Aadi Pore, Logan Skulley, Will Steinfort, Philip Szeremeta, Tiannie Zhao
Outstanding Modeling / Simulation: HAWK
- Sean Laufenberg, Matt Turner, Nathan Malyszek, Jackson Clark, Akram Alribi, Fahad Alawadhi, Nicole Crouse, Alex Kistamma, Bo Iacobbo, Chase Malanowski, Saikiran Chandramouli, Sebastian Escobar
Outstanding Prototype: OMEGA
- Nikhita Sathiyan, Drew Barbec, Milo Casey, Trevor Castano,Logan Deison, Ethan Domagala, Felix Evrard, Gabe Law, Jacob Lei, Eric Meyer, Teegan Oatley, Anthony Tucciarone, Nick Young

Senior Design Individual Awards

Outstanding Program Manager

Sophia Orlandella
Matthew Ramos

Outstanding Systems Engineer

Abbey Hicks
Polly Fitton

Outstanding CFO

Jacob Greco

Technical Leadership: Software

Winnie Regan
John Dallin

Technical Leadership: Electrical

Connor Larson
Liza Graybill

Technical Leadership: Mechanical / Manufacturing

Dana Gutierrez
Jordan Mosher

Technical Leadership: Systems and Testing

Alexandra Putman
Skyler Puckett

Outstanding Contributor Award

Kyle Goodall
Darius Mirhosseini
Kasey Connors
Teo Schollmaier
Adrian Northcutt
Peter Johnson
Anvie Gowrishankar
Taylor Bata
Sandra Sarinana

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Graduating senior and Academic Engagement Award honoree

Jeff Zehnder — Wed, 07 May 2025 20:18:31 +0000

Graduating senior and Academic Engagement Award honoree Jeff Zehnder Wed, 05/07/2025 - 14:18

Ivy Hill is a graduating senior in aerospace engineering sciences and a 2025 recipient of a Academic Engagement Award from the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Below, Hill reflects on her time at CU Boulder and her next steps as an engineering professional.

What are your post-graduation plans?

After graduating I will be working for an aerospace startup called Constanellis, where I will be working as a satellite software developer.

What is your favorite memory from your time at CU Boulder?

My favorite memory from Boulder will be my friends. I have met many amazing people here who have loved and supported me through difficult times.

What accomplishment are you most proud of, either academically or personally?

I am proud of myself for making it through everything. Over the last four years I have been taking numerous classes, completing endless homeworks, begging for essay extensions, working continuous jobs. I have gone through personal struggles, health struggles, social struggles, family struggles. I have gone through the moments where everything seems pointless, and now I get to see moments where everything comes together. Not only have I persisted through these last four years, but I have meaningfully improved my life in spite of it. Anyone and everyone who makes it through it all deserves to congratulate and honor themselves.

When did you feel like you hit your stride or feel like you were “officially” an engineer.

I knew I hit my stride as an engineer when I found myself enjoying my work. I was working on a piece of software and debugging for hours; I found the whole process meditative, relaxing, and fulfilling. Like solving a puzzle. That was the moment I knew I was doing the right thing for my degree.

What is your biggest piece of advice for incoming engineering students?

My biggest piece of advice is to choose happiness. Some choices are scary, and we feel like we can push them off to a later time or ignore them. And while it is never too late to make a choice, the best time is now. If you make a choice believing it will improve your life, you will find regret impossible.

What experiences or qualities do you think led to you receiving this award?

I am a helpful person who is great at showing my thought process. I am great at helping fellow students work through problems, and through my assistance to others I have built a strong reputation.

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CUriosity: A 50-year-old Soviet spacecraft will soon crash to Earth. Why, and where will it land?

Jeff Zehnder — Wed, 07 May 2025 19:03:37 +0000

CUriosity: A 50-year-old Soviet spacecraft will soon crash to Earth. Why, and where will it land? Jeff Zehnder Wed, 05/07/2025 - 13:03

Later this week, a piece of Cold War space history is expected to return to Earth—although where it will land remains unclear.

Scientists estimate that Kosmos 482, a Soviet spacecraft that launched from Earth in 1972 with plans to land on Venus, will reenter Earth’s atmosphere sometime this weekend. The spacecraft, which was fortified to withstand the extreme conditions at the surface of Venus, will likely reach Earth’s surface intact.

Don’t panic: The odds that this relic will land in a populated area are very low, said Marcin Pilinski, a research scientist at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the 91��Ƭ��AV.

The Kosmos 482 Venus lander. (Credit: NASA)

“It’s an infinitesimally small number,” Pilinski said. “It will very likely land in the ocean.”

He’s keeping a close eye. Pilinski is part of a team of scientists that has tracked Kosmos 482 as it orbited Earth. They include Shaylah Mutschler, director of the space weather division for the company Space Environment Technologies, and Charles Constant, a doctoral student at University College London.

The researchers say that the case of Kosmos 482 shows why it’s so important for scientists to get a handle on the space environment around Earth—understanding how spacecraft orbit the planet, interact with its wispy upper atmosphere and, in some cases, fall back down.

It’s a story five decades in the making: Kosmos 482 set out for Venus in March 1972, but, due to an unknown error with its rockets, never made it far. Today, it orbits the planet in what scientists call an “eccentric” orbit, similar in shape to a stretched-out rubber band. Because of Cold War secrecy, the researchers aren’t sure how big the spacecraft is. But estimates suggest it’s more than meter (almost 3.5 feet) wide and weighs about 495 kilograms (1,090 pounds).

“It was supposed to escape the sphere of influence of Earth,” said Mutschler, who earned her doctorate in aerospace engineering sciences from CU Boulder in 2022. “It didn’t quite do enough to get out.”

Previously in CUriosity

CUriosity: Why, and how, do ants walk in a perfect line?

Or read more CUriosity stories here

And it’s been slowing down ever since. Mutschler explained that, as Kosmos 482 orbited Earth, it sliced through the upper parts of the atmosphere, experiencing drag much like an airplane flying against the wind. Scientists like her even track tiny changes in the way the spacecraft moves past Earth to improve their simulations, or models, of the conditions in that region of space.

But predicting where the spacecraft will crash is more difficult. In part, that’s because this environment, known as low-Earth orbit, can change a lot. During events called solar storms, for example, the sun releases intense bursts of energy that can cause our planet’s atmosphere to inflate like a balloon. Weather near Earth’s surface can also send disturbances upwards, creating waves and ripples in low-Earth orbit. Pilinski is part of a group at CU Boulder called the Space Weather Technology Research and Education Center (SWx TREC). The center seeks to study the weather in space to better protect satellites in orbit around Earth.

“People who monitor asteroids to see if they will potentially impact Earth actually have an easier job,” Pilinski said. “Those objects would enter at a really steep angle. They’re not skimming part of the atmosphere for days or weeks like this spacecraft.”

Constant noted that understanding space weather is critical as companies across the globe launch more satellites into orbit.

“One collision could spell disaster for everyone else,” he said. “You’d get this cloud of debris flying around, causing other potential collisions—what we call a ‘Kessler event.’”

As for Kosmos 482, Mutschler said the researchers may be able to narrow down their estimates of where the spacecraft will crash about a day ahead of time.

“91��Ƭ��AV a day out, we should know with a reasonable amount of certainty whether there’s going to be a solar storm affecting Earth,” Mutschler said, “or if the atmospheric conditions are going to continue to be quiet.”

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Engineering double major and student leader of the year

Jeff Zehnder — Tue, 06 May 2025 15:34:27 +0000

Engineering double major and student leader of the year Jeff Zehnder Tue, 05/06/2025 - 09:34

Jeff Zehnder

Aaditya Pore is an engineering senior double majoring in aerospace and computer science. He is an extremely active student, serving as senior class president, competing in the Daniels Fund National Ethics Case Competition and earning the 2025 Boettcher Student Leader of the Year award.

As he prepares to graduate, he reflects on his time at CU Boulder and how he juggles all of his classes and extracurricular activities:

What does it mean to you to be recognized as Boettcher Student Leader of the Year?

Gaining this recognition is such an amazing culminating achievement for my time at CU. Majoring in engineering, leadership isn’t always directed as a focus, and there’s not as much representation of engineers in campus wide leadership. Having had the chance to not participate in shared governance at CU but also make a meaningful contribution to bettering campus has been an opportunity I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Most importantly, being able to have gained support from my community, inside and outside of the College of Engineering, has enabled me to reach this point. I see this accomplishment as a tribute to those who contributed so much to me during my journey – advisors, professors, mentors, friends, and family.

You are a double major in aerospace and computer science and are the Senior Class Council President. When do you sleep?

Whether it was being involved in CU Student Government as the Legislative Council President, the President’s Leadership Class as their Professional Development Coordinator, CU Milana as a member of the dance team, or the Senior Class Council as President, my involvements have indubitably been the most important part of my time in Boulder.

I’ve found that when you value something, you can find time to prioritize it, regardless of how busy your schedule gets. Of course, this comes with sacrifices. There were many days where I stay up far too late to do homework, missing out on fun memories with friends or adequate sleep to prepare myself for the next day. But, those were all costs I was willing to take, and steps towards the balance I desired in my life.

My goal with an optimal balance was always one of playing roughly just as hard as I worked. Sleep wasn’t always on that priority list, and often got overlooked. Thought, I look back at my time over the last four years and feel content: with the memories I made, the impact I had, and the great experiences I’ll remember moving forward.

What drew you to engineering as opposed to another field of study?

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to work on rocket ships. Something about the mystery of the night sky always drew my interest. When I was in kindergarten, we had an assignment to make a poster about ourselves – our family, our hobbies, etc. There was a section about what we wanted to be when we grew up, and I still remember writing ‘NASA Scientist’ in the box.

Thankfully, through the Pathways program at NASA, that dream has come true, and it is in large part because of the Aero program at CU. The quality and ranking of Smead Aerospace brought me here from Kansas, and wanting to be at the forefront of integrating software and hardware development led me to take on CS as well.

I’ve dabbled in other programs in my time at CU: Political Science, Leadership Studies, and more; but engineering has always felt like home. Being able to solve the complex problems we do in the manner we’re enabled to is an experience that’s hard to get anywhere else, and I’m forever grateful for my decision to follow this path.

As class president, you will be speaking at commencement. Few students have the opportunity to address the entire student body. What do you hope to share?

I hope my speech is a source of motivation for those that come after me. In today’s political climate, effective leadership is more important than ever. Not just in a political space, necessarily, but even in our day-to-day: in our workplaces, our communities, even our homes.

Being a leader isn’t just about making large scale change and solving world peace; rather, being a good leader can just mean being the person that puts a smile on everyone’s face every day; being a source of support for a community; or, just doing the right thing whenever you can.

I aspire for my success and words to show other students on campus that anyone can be a leader, and in the face of the division and polarization that we see in our society today, it is imperative that we all – regardless of background - step up and play a role in leading our community to prosperity. Moreover, coming from an engineering background, I hope it serves as a sign to those who may also be in STEM but aspire to do more on the leadership front. We are all equally equipped to be change makers, it’s just a matter of acting on that potential.

Anyone can make an impact on the world, and the skills that engineering gives you makes that an easier feat to accomplish."

When did you feel like you hit your stride or felt like you were "officially" an engineer.

Two moments stand out to me. The first was actually before I even came to CU. I graduated in 2020, right when COVID started to shut down our communities. A friend and I quickly acted to try and see how we could help our local area, even if we were just high school kids. We quickly made a nonprofit that 3D printed personal protective equipment for healthcare facilities that needed them, and quickly patched a gap in supply chains that would otherwise cripple their services.

Over about two and a half years, we produced and delivered over 8,000 units of PPE to hospitals nationwide, from California to New York. In that moment, even though I hadn’t even started an engineering degree yet, I learned that anyone can make an impact on the world, and the skills that engineering gives you makes that an easier feat to accomplish. It validated that engineering was the right path for me, and I’ve been on it ever since.

The second would be when I started working at NASA. I’ve done two rotations there now, and each and every one has been one of the most professionally motivating experiences I’ve ever had. Being able to see the knowledge I’ve gained from my classes being put to work to pushing society’s frontier in space has been eye opening, and I can’t wait to continue to grow on my journey in my further work.

A project I worked on during my first internship at NASA is going to the ISS soon, and I’m so excited to see what accomplishments come next.

What accomplishment are you most proud of, either academically or personally?

By far my most proud accomplishment so far has been helping three other students, two from CU, get into the NASA Pathways program. I’m a firm believer that our legacy is defined not by what we accomplish, but rather, by what we helps others achieve.

My mom always instilled in me the value of giving back to your community, even when it may feel inconvenient, and I’m glad to have acted to have acted on that advice.

My greatest memories at CU will not be tied to things I did, but those that I worked with, made smile, helped succeed, and built long lasting relationships with.

I look forward to continuing to help facilitate the growth of those that come after me in any way possible as I progress through my professional and personal journey. I implore others to try it out, as well. Mentorship is an unbelievably rewarding journey, for yourself, and for those that you help.

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