AeroCorps is a department sponsored, student-run organization designed to address the needs of aerospace students by improving their academic and co-curricular experiences, as well as the needs of the department when engaging with prospective students.
AEROCorp includes four committees that are aligned with addressing department needs. They include Academic Success, Outreach and Recruitment, Mentoring, and Community Building.
Interested students can join any committee and the role serves as a perfect opportunity for leadership within the department.
Contact email: umdaerocorps@gmail.com
Michael Mallamaci
Community Building Chair
Michael is a freshman aerospace engineering student interested in pursuing the space track. He is the AeroCorps Internal Community Building Co-Chair where he oversees cross committee collaboration and team building within AeroCorps. Outside of classes he is a member of Terrapin Rockets where he works on creating a payload for their competition rocket. He is also a member of SEDS where he works on their SatFab team designing a high-altitude balloon payload to test satellite components. In his free time, Michael enjoys working out, playing sports and watching movies with friends.
Zuzanna Szylow
Mentoring Committee Chair
Zuzanna is a freshman aerospace engineering student interested in pursuing the air track and minoring in math. She is the AeroCorps External Mentoring Committee Co-Chair, where she is overseeing the establishment of a mentoring committee within the aerospace engineering department at UMD. She is also a part of Engineers Without Borders, where she works on a team that is designing new latrines to eventually build at a school in Nakifuma, Uganda. Besides these, she is a part of UMD club field hockey. Outside of school in her free time, Zuzanna enjoys snowboarding, hiking, working out, and baking.
Alexander Leyzerzon
Academic Success Committee Chair
Alex is a freshman Aerospace Engineering major who will be pursuing the air track. He also is on the path to get a minor in Computer Science. He is the AeroCorps Academic Success Committee Co-Chair, where he is responsible for providing academic support and resources to other Aerospace students, which is currently being done by developing the Academic Match tutoring service and organizing study and review sessions. Beyond classes and AeroCorps, Alex is also part of the Terps Racing IC team, where he works with other students to design and create a racecar. When he has free time, Alex enjoys biking, exercising, playing poker, watching soccer, and taking naps.
Arul Ramachandran
Mentoring Committee Chair
Arul is a freshman Aerospace Engineering Student interested in the space track. He is the AeroCorps Internal Mentoring Co-Chair and is currently working on a mentoring program servicing the needs of current UMD undergraduate and graduate students within the Aerospace department. Beyond academics and AeroCorps, Arul enjoys playing the violin, video games, and reading.
Dmitri Kontchaev
Academic Success Committee Chair
Dmitri is a sophomore Aerospace Engineering major pursuing a double degree in Computer Science. He is the AeroCorps Academic Success Committee Co-Chair and is responsible for helping students in the Aerospace department succeed academically by means of the Academic Match tutoring service as well as organizing study events. Dmitri is also a part of the Environment, Technology, and Economy Scholar’s program at the University of Maryland. In his free time, Dmitri enjoys cooking, listening to music, and hiking.
Nazifa Mahmud
Outreach and Recruitment Committee Co-Chair
Nazifa is a sophomore Aerospace Engineering major interested in the space track. She is one of the Outreach and Recruitment committee co-chairs for AeroCorps. Some of her responsibilities include, recruiting volunteers for student engagement, holding open houses,
hosting tours for Engineering labs, and managing the social media accounts for AeroCorps. She also participated in designing the AeroCorps logo. Outside of Academics she enjoys henna art, listening to music, and baking.
Dominic Manzella
Outreach and Recruitment Committee Co-Chair
Dominic is a sophomore Aerospace Engineering major headed for space track. He is one of the Outreach and Recruitment committee co-chairs for AeroCorps, where he works on recruiting volunteers, hosts tours of the different labs run by the Clark School, and helps manage the AeroCorps social media accounts. Outside of AeroCorps, he is a peer mentor for the Science, Discovery, and the Universe Scholars program and the social director for the Gamer Symphony Orchestra. In his free time, Dominic enjoys playing saxophone, rock climbing, and playing videogames.
Leonello Castro Cillis
Community Building Committee Chair
Leonello is a Freshman Aerospace Engineering major whose current focus is on pursuing the Space Track. He is one of the new recruits in AeroCorps as the External Community Building Committee Chair. His main responsibilities are to plan events for Aerospace Engineering majors, such as study sessions for students in Academic Match Programs. He is also a part of the Gemstone Living Learning Program in the Honors College, a 4-year research oriented program, where he is currently drafting a research proposal for a project on which he intends to work once approved. During his free time, he plays and watches soccer, goes on hikes, and runs long distances.