Meet The Team

René is a senior in Aerospace Engineering and the Project Manager of The Aerospike Project. He has a strong interest in spaceflight and propulsion engineering. Inspired by the concept of single-stage-to-orbit intercontinental ballistic missiles, René proposed the project his junior year to develop aerospike nozzles optimized for solid propellant. He has since organized and led the team through the entire engineering process and has supported members and subsystems when needed. While overseeing design, manufacturing, and testing, he has also met with industry leaders seeking advice and sponsorship. He has assumed responsibility for the team and it’s efforts.  

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Colby Garthwaite is a mechanical engineer who currently serves as the simulations team lead of the Aerospike senior design group. Colby is passionate about applying engineering principles and cutting-edge technology to real-world problems, such as the Aerospike nozzle. As the simulations team lead, Colby is responsible for managing and overseeing the team's efforts in developing and executing simulations for the Aerospike senior design group. Colby's expertise in simulations has allowed him to contribute significantly to the team's success, and he is proud to have played a crucial role in the group's accomplishments.

Boulama is an aerospace engineering major with an emphasis on materials and propulsion. He is the material lead in the aerospike team. His role involves combining material science and mechanics of material methodologies to determine the appropriate materials that have both heat resistance and strength for the rocket. He also wrote the code to convert electric signals from a pressure transducer into pressure readings. Additionally, he wrote the first code to model the aerospike nozzle using compressible flow's methods of characteristics.

Faisal was responsible for ensuring safety measures, developing test procedures, and acting as the primary interface between teams. Additionally, Faisal utilized 3-D printing technology to create multiple prototypes for the nozzle design, facilitating the testing of various iterations and helping to optimize the final design.

Philip Kennedy is a graduating senior in the aerospace engineering program. As the Project Systems Engineer, Philip has been responsible for developing and managing the technical requirements for the system and subsystems, interfacing between subsystems, managing and addressing technical issues, supporting subsystems by providing technical expertise and guidance, and developing and maintaining technical documentation on top of developing the cowl and aerospike design code. His interests include playing video games with friends, reading, and outdoor activities such as ATVing and hiking.

Joshua Porter is a graduating Aerospace Engineer who has taken the roll of Analysis/Test lead. He has been responsible for performing various forms of cross analyzation to determine the proper instrumentation required to obtain the measurements necessary for data analysis. His duties also include performing hand calculations for theoretical values of coefficient of thrust and performing an analysis for the entire base bleed system from the gas flow to the tooling required to construct it. He has also developed lists of procedures to ensure that all team members would be able to set up for the test fire properly and safely.

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Omkar has been responsible for the manufacturing of the nozzles, specifically the two designs: one full and one truncated. He has successfully outsourced the designs to Protolabs, a CNC manufacturing company, and ensured that the spikes are made of Stainless Steel 17-4 ph, a high-quality material. 

He has also been responsible for developing the tbar, a critical component that holds the spikes to the housing, ensuring that the tbar has a diamond airfoil design that does not interfere with the flow. 

Amari Alli is a fourth-year Aerospace Engineering student working in Design and Simulations. Amari has always been interested in anything rocket related and over the course of the project has gained valuable experience in propellant information and simulations and was responsible for the propellant choice and running simulations for the solid propellant motor.

William Mahony is currently a fourth year Aerospace Engineer working as one of the Design and Manufacturing Team Leads. Will is responsible for the integration of our Computer Aided Drafting Models from our initial designs and information gathered through our simulation team. He also oversees the manufacturing processes whether the parts are made in house or through outsource manufacturers.

Kelli Price is a graduating Aerospace Engineer who is the Treasurer and on the design team. She has been responsible for the funds the team was given from the Department of Engineering and donations from outside sources. She has made every purchase for the team throughout the project with detailed Excel sheets that explain everything related to the budget. She also has worked on the design team, helping create computer-aided design models such as the spike bar, casing motor, and closure parts. Kelli also updated and created the team's main schedule sheet to ensure everything was on track for test firing.

Abhinav specializes in simulations and design of the liquid combustion chambers for our Aerospike rocket. With a strong background in aerospace, he is passionate about space exploration and hopes to help design and test new technologies that will enable humans to explore the cosmos more effectively. Outside of his work, he enjoys fixing things and tinkering with technology. Abhinav is committed to using his skills and expertise to make a positive impact on the world, and he is always looking for new ways to apply his knowledge to help others.

Founder/CEO AirWave Networks.