AEROS Scholars

Ron Berlin

Ron Berlin is a rising junior pursuing the air track in the Aerospace Honors Program. At the beginning of his sophomore year, Ron joined the Autonomous Micro Air Vehicle (AMAV) Team. He helped design and took on a co-lead role in the manufacturing process of their fixed wing tail-sitter drone for this year’s VFS DBF Competition. This summer, Ron is studying the aerodynamics and acoustics of the Davinci Rotor in hover compared to a more traditional rotor under Dr. Baeder. Outside of work, he enjoys going fishing and hanging out with his friends.

Jack Bishop

Jack Bishop is a rising sophomore in Aerospace with a minor in Robotics and Autonomous Systems. Dr. Bowden and the Aerospace Department generously sponsored his research this summer as part of Dr. Bowden’s Balloon Payload Program, which he also participated in during his freshman year. The focus of his research this summer is to develop a system to produce spectroscopic maps of the sky on high altitude balloons above most of the Earth’s atmosphere. He will also continue his work on projects from the previous two semesters, such as developing a helium venting system for NASA’s Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project, and part-time on the NSF Air Deployed Arctic Buoy.

Peter Capozzoli (2023 Anderson Scholar)

Peter Capozzoli is a rising senior studying aerospace engineering on the space track. He is a member of the Honors Humanities program as well as the Aerospace Honors program. He is also a member of the University of Maryland track team. This summer, Peter will be working with Dr. Anubhav Datta as a part of his Mars Helicopter research group.

Matthew Chou 

Matthew Chou is a rising sophomore in Aerospace Engineering, native to Rockville, Maryland. In his freshman year, he worked on the Introduction to the Aerospace Profession's ducted quadcopter project with Dr. Inderjit Chopra. This summer, he will be continuing upon this path with the design, manufacturing, and analysis of shrouded rotor systems on micro unmanned aerial vehicles (mUAVs) with Jeffrey Vedrin, another rising sophomore. The developments found will increase an understanding in low Reynold number flight and the feasibility of 3-D manufacturing various rotor and shroud designs. These systems will have applications to a variety of fields taking advantage of drone's maneuverability in more enclosed environments: medical supply distribution, military use, package delivery, search and rescue, etc.Outside of drones, Matthew has an interest in space exploration. As a member of the Terrapin Rocket team, he will be traveling to compete in the Spaceport America Cup in Southern New Mexico, representing the air brake subteam.

Emma Farren

Emma Farren is a rising senior in aerospace engineering on the air track and a midshipman in the Naval ROTC unit on campus. This summer she worked in the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center under the guidance of Dr. Chopra on a solar powered helicopter, Solar Gamera, focusing on improving the efficiency of the current solar panels. She researched new solar cell technology as well as tested various wiring options for the quadcopter under different failure scenarios. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, hiking, and reading.

Adin Goldberg

Adin Goldberg is a rising senior in Aerospace engineering on the space track and is working in the High Speed Aerodynamics and Propulsion Laboratory under Dr. Stuart Laurence. He is working on the multi-phase flow MURI project, which aims to track and analyze the motion of liquid droplets within a supersonic flow field using laser diagnostic techniques. Outside of research, he is a member of the Clark School’s engineering honors program, the treasurer of the Terrapin Rocket Team, senior liaison for the UMD AIAA student branch, and the incoming president of the Aerospace Honors Society Sigma Gamma Tau.

Alexander Grecco 

Alexander Grecco is a rising junior in aerospace engineering with an interest in the space track. After undergrad he is interested in moving onto graduate school. This summer he worked with Dr. Jarred Young in the Space Power and Propulsion lab. He worked on analyzing the sputter yielding of a thin layer of MgF2 solar panel coating when exposed to the plume of an ion thruster at different angles and energies, using krypton as the propellant. In his spare time he enjoys playing video games and going to the gym.

Grace Johnson 

Grace Johnson is a rising junior studying aerospace engineering at UMD, planning to pursue the space track. This summer, she worked in the CORE Lab with Dr. Wereley and his team on developing and testing tubular honeycomb structures with buckling initiators for energy absorption. Specifically, her goal was to analyze the effects that the location of buckling initiators had on a structure’s energy absorption and crushing efficiency. Grace also works as a Clark School Ambassador, and outside of engineering, she enjoys crocheting, playing tennis, and watching movies.

Ari Julius

Ari Julius is a rising junior Aerospace Engineering major intending to follow the space track. This summer he is working in the SPPL(Space Power and Propulsion Lab) under the guidance of Dr. Young. More specifically, he will be working on the effects of an ion thruster engine and certain materials commonly used on satellites. Ion plume has the ability to deteriorate protective layers on solar panels on crafts, decreasing their performance. Outside of academics, Ari is a founding father of AEPi here at Maryland and is very involved in intramural sports. In his free time, Ari enjoys playing chess, cooking, and playing a variety of sports with friends.

Jonathan Miller

Jonathan Miller is a rising sophomore aerospace engineering major and wants to continue on the air track. During his freshman year, he worked with Dr. Chopra on the aerial screw project which he is continuing over the summer. The main goal for this stage of the the project involves rapid prototyping and testing of different Da Vinci-style multirotor screw concepts. Outside of his studies, you can find him on the Maryland Men’s Ultimate team, on a soccer field, building his car, or flying his RC aircraft.

Jeyadave Nuntha Kumar

Jeyadave Nuntha Kumar is a rising junior in the Aerospace Engineering air track as a member of the Aerospace Honors program. This summer, he is conducting research at the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel under the mentorship of Dr. Jewel Barlow. This research focuses on understanding boundary layer behavior in the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel diffuser and developing vortex generator designs and configurations to limit boundary layer separation and improve diffuser performance. Besides research, Jeyadave is an ASTS tutor and a member of the Terrapin Rocket Team, and spends his free time playing classical piano.

Karthik Raman

Karthik Raman is a rising senior studying Aerospace Engineering pursuing the air track. He is involved with the TerpRockets team and will be the chief engineer of the 2024 Design/Build/Fly team. He worked with Dr. Anya Jones this summer in the Separated and Transient Aerodynamics Laboratory, where his research revolved around studying the characteristics of vortex breakdown. Specifically, he analyzed and conducted experiments on how vortex breakdown changes when heat is added to or removed from the system. In his spare time, he enjoys playing the guitar, video games, and competitive badminton.

Tony Regli

Tony Regli is a rising sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering.. This summer, he is working with Dr. Derek Paley and post-doc student Wei-Kuo Yen on schooling aquatic robots, specifically focusing on robot guidance using monocular computer vision to find the location of a leading robot in relation to a follower robot. Additionally, Tony is a member of the UMD Balloon Payload Program, where he's helping prepare for the team's upcoming trips to Texas and Ohio to launch balloons during the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses. In his free time, he enjoys playing classical guitar, juggling,and spending time with his 3 cats.

Kaitlyn Reidy 

Kaitlyn Reidy is a rising junior in the Aerospace program with plans to follow the space track. She is also a member of the Clark Opportunity Transfer Scholars program. This summer, Kaitlyn is working with Dr. Michael Otte in the Motion and Teaming Laboratory on the topic of stigmergic behaviors in kilobots. The goal is to test various ways stigmergy occurs in nature using the kilobots and analyze any patterns or abilities that could be useful to implement at a larger scale.

Sneha Sunilkumar 

Sneha Sunilkumar is a rising senior and MD Space Grant Scholar majoring in aerospace engineering and computer science at UMD. This summer she is working with Professor Otte on studying the behavior of kilobots in a swarm to determine how the number of kilobots in the swarm and the number of obstacles in their environment affect the swarm’s behavior.

Akemi Takeuchi

Akemi Takeuchi is a rising sophomore majoring in Aerospace Engineering with plans to pursue the space track and minors in Planetary Science and Robotics. This summer, she is working with Dr. Bowden as a part of the Balloon Payload Program (BPP) to prepare for the upcoming October 2023 and April 2024 Solar Eclipses. Her independent research payload aims to stabilize along two axes using a reaction wheel which will enable motion-sensitive experiments to collect viable data on balloon flights. Outside of academics, she enjoys skiing and playing the violin and piano.

Jeffrey Vedrin 

Jeffrey Vedrin, originally from Silver Spring Maryland, is a rising sophomore at the UMD Clark School majoring in Aerospace Engineering. Throughout the school year he commenced, along with his research partner Matthew Chow, an investigation into the efficiencies of shrouded rotors. Under the supervision of Dr. Chopra in the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center he intends to explore more micro UAV (MUAV) shrouds and rotors this coming summer. The benefits of these technologies can be seen in every facet of low Reynold number drones from hovered flight maneuverability to power and current draw. Furthermore, his interests include automotive engineering which he pursues through Terps Racing EV. He has helped develop the power train and battery management systems that make the car run and drive as quickly as possible.

Howard Zheng (2023 Sikorsky Scholar)

Howard Zheng is a rising senior majoring in aerospace engineering on the air track and a member of the Aerospace Honors program. He has worked with Dr. Chopra the past year at the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center on the research project, Aeromechanics Measurements, Validations and Innovations for High-Speed Advanced Compound Rotorcraft. The past year yielded results for thrust compounded configurations. This summer, he will conduct wind tunnel testing of lift compounded configurations at the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel to validate computer models.

Victoria Adeniji

Victoria Adeniji is a 2nd year at Anne Arundel Community College studying Mechatronics Technology. She is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honors society and also the Students Ambassadors Team for AACC. She plans to transfer to University of Maryland to complete her Bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering. This summer, she worked with Dr. Norman Wereley’s team in researching the Buckling of Large Diameter FAMs. Her research focuses on how much pushing force a FAM(Fluidic Artificial Muscle) could generate through the buckling behavior.

Emmett Aler

Emmett Aler is a rising Aerospace Engineering senior on the space track. He is a member of the AIAA community and an Engineering Orientation Advisor. This summer, Emmett worked with Dr. Flatau and graduate student, Ryan Pillai, on the Resonant Pulse Combustion for Active Flow Control project. Emmett's main focus this summer has been to develop and validate a model for the heat transfer process of a pulse combustion unit to fuel and oxidizer valves. Outside of his work and studies, he plays soccer for the university's club team and at the semi-professional level.

Kruti Bhingradiya

Kruti Bhingradiya is an international student, a rising junior in aerospace engineering pursuing a minor in Robotics and Autonomous Systems. Since her freshman year, she is an active undergraduate researcher in Dr Paley's Collective Dynamics and Controls Lab conducting studies testing viability of additively manufactured soft robotics actuators for extreme environments. She is also actively involved in Dr Bowden's Near Space Balloon Payload Program conducting operations and engineering payloads focusing on communication systems. As an AEROS scholar this summer, she is researching at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as part of JPL Visiting Student Research Program (JVSRP), developing and testing robotic micro-swimmers to continue space exploration of extraterrestrial Ocean worlds especially Enceladus, Europa and Titan. These micro-robots(swimmers) will help in active sampling of ocean water which is beyond reach of SESAME (Scientific Exploration Subsurface Access Mechanism for Europa) class drilling robots thereby helping scientists characterize alien ocean's composition and habitability."

Colby Cotoia (2022 Sikorsky Scholar)

Colby Cotoia is a rising sophomore in the Aerospace Program with interest in the air track. During his freshman year Colby worked in the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center under Dr. Inderjit Chopra for his ENAE100 project to build a small rotorcraft with co-rotating rotors. This summer, Colby continues to study co-rotating rotorcraft under Dr. Chopra to analyze benefits in energy efficiency through experimentation with this configuration of rotorcraft. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball at the Eppley Recreation Center with his friends.

Bruce Luther Djoko

Bruce Luther Djoko is a rising junior studying Mechanical Engineering as an undergraduate with an interest in Aerospace track. He is also a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honors society that got accepted in the Clark Opportunity Transfer program. This summer, Bruce worked with Dr. James D. Baeder in the manufacturing building laboratory on the topic of Quantum Computing. The goal is to learn and implement solving a system of linear equations on a quantum computer. The long-term goal here would be to be able to use the quantum computer to solve problems in computational fluid dynamics.

Adina Fleisher

Adina Fleisher is a rising Senior on the air track. She is a member of University Honors as well as the Aerospace Honors program. Last summer, Adina participated in AEROS and focused on the reverse flow region of helicopter blades. This summer, Adina is continuing her research in the Separated and Transient Aerodynamics Laboratory under Dr. Anya Jones. Her research is focused on the development and characterization of turbulent flow in a low speed wind tunnel. The wind tunnel will then be used to analyze the characteristics of different airfoils in turbulent flow. In her free time, she enjoys knitting, reading, and walking with her dogs.

Casey Fuller (2022 Hinman Scholar)

Casey Fuller is a rising senior in the Aerospace Engineering Honors Program pursuing the space track. This summer, Casey worked in Dr. Hartzell's Planetary Surfaces and Spacecraft Laboratory. His research involves investigating rubble-pile meteoroid compaction upon entry into Earth's atmosphere and how this compaction affects the meteoroid's breakup altitude. He is testing this experimentally, simulating the meteoroids' entry via flour in a vacuum chamber that is rapidly brought back to atmospheric pressure. Casey is also a member of Tau Beta Pi, the multidisciplinary engineering honors society, and a manager/player of the University of Maryland's Club Ultimate Frisbee team. He enjoys the outdoors, listening to music, reading, and playing with his dog.
 

Ao Huang (2022 Hinman Scholar)

Ao Huang is a rising senior aerospace student pursuing air track at the University of Maryland. This summer, Ao will work with Dr. Anya Jones in the wind tunnel lab. The goal is to generate turbulence of at least 20% intensity in the test section or a 20% change in velocity across a shear flow. If the project goes well, it will free up the laboratory from the space constraints of the wind tunnel and allow students to study turbulence with larger intensities. Besides doing research, Ao likes playing ping-pong, swimming, and watching movies.

Eric Kim

Eric Kim is a rising Junior in the Aerospace Engineering Honors program in addition to pursuing a robotics minor. He is working under Dr. Norman Wereley for the summer to help develop the use of fluidic artificial muscles in a burrowing robot to explore a planet’s surface for ice and other resources. Specifically, he will be testing the strength of these muscles under heavy torque, which could be from the use of an auger on the front of the robot. Eric is also one of the Excavation leads in the student team UMD Loop and is responsible for the design and manufacturing of the cutterhead, soil conditioning, and soil removal systems.

Lars Knudsen

Lars Knudsen is a rising junior studying aerospace engineering and plans to pursue the space track. He is the current president of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space at the University of Maryland (SEDS@UMD), a project-based club working on 3 different space related projects. Lars is a member of the Gemstone Honors Program and is research 3D- printing HIV drug cocktails along with the rest of the members of TEAM PILLS. Some of Lars’ hobbies on campus include rock climbing at the wall, hammocking outside and growing bonsai trees. In the AEROS program Lars is involved with Helicon Thruster Testing in the Space Power and Propulsion Lab under Dr. Sedwick.

JJ Kuznetsov

JJ Kuznetsov is a rising Sophomore studying Math and Aerospace Engineering, with plans to pursue the space track. This summer he is working with Dr. Bowden on several nearspace ballooning projects. His personal payload, T.U.F.F. DOS, uses tension measurements to learn about in-flight dynamics like drag, oscillations, and stream-winds. This research has helped JJ build knowledge in electronics design, atmospheric science, and data analysis. He is a proud member of UMD’s Balloon Payload Program and loves its community. Outside of research, JJ enjoys playing videogames and writing one-act plays.

Jerry Liu

Jerry Liu is a rising senior majoring in aerospace engineering with minors in Global Engineering Leadership and Project Management. He is also in the Aerospace Honors Program pursuing air track. This summer, he is conducting independent research on finding the scaling laws for pulsejet engines. Additionally, he works under Dr. Cadou as an undergraduate research assistant. The research designs a pressurized test rig for solid oxide fuel cells with the goal of stimulating fuel cells’ performance in gas turbines. This is a part of the REEACH project that aims to reduce aviation carbon footprint by developing a hybrid gas turbine/fuel cell system that could be used on a large aircraft like Boeing 737. Outside of academics, he enjoys playing ultimate frisbee, hiking, and photography. He is also an FAA certified Private Pilot and Advanced Ground Instructor who enjoys taking families and friends on trips on small airplanes.

Luca Petrescu

Luca Petrescu is a rising junior minoring in math and pushing the space track. This summer, he worked with Professor Paley and the Collective Dynamics and Control Laboratory to simulate magnetic field disturbances on satellites in orbit and design feedback control laws for attitude stabilization. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, ping pong, cooking and experimenting with MATLAB.

Jwoyal Ranjit (2022 Anderson Scholar)

Jwoyal Ranjit is a rising senior Aerospace Engineering major with a minor in Spanish Language. He is a member of Cohort 2 of the A. James Clark Scholars Program as well as the NAE Grand Challenges Scholars Program. Jwoyal works with Dr. Jarred Young in the Space Power & Propulsion Laboratory investigating the erosion effects of ion thruster plume impingement on anti-reflective solar cell coatings. Outside of academics, Jwoyal enjoys playing saxophone in the University Band and singing tenor in the Gamer Symphony Orchestra choir.

Gabrielle Schumacher (2022 Hinman Scholar)

Gabrielle Schumacher is a rising junior studying aerospace engineering at the University of Maryland. This summer Gabrielle was selected to work in the Composites Research Laboratory (CORE) alongside Dr. Wereley’s team. Her research focuses on syntactic foams which are created using hollow glass microspheres and an epoxy resin system. This research is intended to create the most energy absorbent foam which could be used for protective purposes in the event of a collision or crash.

George Tang

George Tang is a rising senior aerospace engineering major on the space track with minors in both Leadership Studies and Music and Culture. George works with Dr. Jarred A. Young in the Space Power and Propulsion Lab (SPPL), researching the sputter yields for typical electric propulsion (EP) ranges on common spacecraft materials. This research also would minimize and (hopefully for one day in the future) eliminate the danger and extra hazards for ion plume impingement from the Electric Propulsion (EP) systems, including excessive heating and loss of solar panel efficiency. George also serves as the treasurer for SEDS@UMD, as well as a member of the liquid rocket team for the club. He is an alumnus of the VIRTUS living learning community and the administrative team leader of a lunar rover landing mission team for the NASA L’SPACE Mission Concept Academy (MCA) last summer. Outside of academics, he serves as a mentor in the Women in Engineering (WIE) program assisting new students in VIRTUS, a grader for the compressible aerodynamics course (ENAE 311), a ClarkLEADER, a facilitator for the Terrapin Leadership Institute (TLI) at the Stamp Student Union, and a clarinet player in the Maryland Pep Band. He has just studied abroad in Iceland and hopes to study abroad again in the future.

Radu Teodorescu (2022 Sikorsky Scholar)

Radu Teodorescu is a rising senior in the Aerospace engineering air track with a minor in robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) and a member of the Clark School of Engineering Honors program. This summer he worked in the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center under the guidance of Dr. Chopra to conduct wind tunnel tests in the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel which measured forces and moments on a UAV airframe, propeller and shrouded rotor in various flight regimes. The data collected supported UAV research by the US Army Research Lab and John's Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.

Tom West

Tom West, a rising senior during Summer 22, pursues a B.S. in aerospace engineering with a minor in physics. He holds membership in UMD’s AIAA student chapter and the Terrapin Rocket Team. Tom’s academic interests revolve around space, whether directly through a much-loved space flight dynamics course (ENAE404) or peripherally through a similarly loved physics math course (PHYS373) where he played with all kinds of differential equations, transform methods, and solution types not typically available to the aerospace undergrad.

For AEROS, Tom worked with Kilobots in Dr. Michael Otte’s Motion and Teaming (Mo-T) Laboratory to research swarm algorithms—particularly, algorithms for teaming, task allocation, and motion planning. His algorithm, BinID*, guarantees a globally-unique ID for each robot, regardless of swarm size, through randomized binary branching, e.g., grouping by digital coin flips, to assign consecutive bits to a variable-length name extended down to the single-child node, i.e., the individual Kilobot. Swarm algorithms will be vital to collective coherence in aerospace applications, such as formation flying in orbit or distributed resource detection and utilization on the ground—conversely, they might one day clean your house and re-terrorize your cat. (See NASA’s Starling or HelioSwarm missions for a sample of the future of swarms.) When Tom sits down to dinner each night, he pops on YouTube and watches informational videos by content creators like Anton Petrov, Marcus House, Stuff Made Here, Mathologer, and Practical Engineering. Tom’s curiosity and persistence continue to push him further and farther, hopefully leading him boldly closer to where no one has gone before.

Luana Rojas Zurita

Luana Rojas Zurita is an aerospace engineering major and a rising sophomore at Montgomery College. She plans to transfer to UMCP next year with her associates degree in aerospace. In her free time she is a swim instructor, and also loves to watch movies and go thrift shopping. She received Montgomery College’s Excellence in Physics Award this spring semester and is the vice president of Latino Student Union at Montgomery College.

This summer, she worked with Dr. Derek Paley, Dr. Mumu Xu, and teamed up with other STEM students to complete a project for the Army Research Laboratory. They were assigned to make a vessel for a robot to withstand a 30 meter, or more, drop. She utilized her knowledge in physics to make the vessel reach a terminal velocity to improve landings, and she also had the opportunity to learn more about CAD and help the team with CAD-ing the vessel.

Howard Zheng (2022 Sikorsky Scholar)

Howard Zheng is a rising junior majoring in aerospace engineering with plans to pursue the air track. He is a member of the Aerospace Engineering Honors Program and involved with the TerpRockets team. His focus on the TerpRockets team was on aerostructures, but moving forward he aims to pursue other areas of high-powered rocketry. Zheng worked with Dr. Chopra and one of his graduate students at the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center on Aeromechanics Measurements, Validations and Innovations for High-Speed Advanced Compound Rotorcraft. The goal of their project was to conduct wind tunnel testing on various helicopter configurations to validate computational models.

Elizabeth Arhavbarien

Elizabeth Arhavbarien is a sophomore studying mechanical engineering. She is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honors society and is heavily involved in Terps Racing Formula Team, where she works on the powertrain subsystem.

This summer, she worked with Dr. Jones in the Separated and Transient Aerodynamics Laboratory to research flow separation and the aerodynamic performance of 3D rotor blades in reverse flow. She will helped design helicopter blades with twists and blades that transition from one geometry to another. This body of research is paramount in the development of high-speed helicopters capable of serving as flying ambulances and carrying giant water containers to fight large fires.

Catherine Catrambone

Catherine Catrambone is a rising junior in the Aerospace Engineering program, and is planning to embark on the air track. Catherine is minoring in Global Engineering Leadership, and is also a member of the Aerospace Engineering Honors Program. In her free time, Catherine enjoys running, swimming, and painting. She is also a member of the Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity, where she holds a position as the Director of Pledge Education. This summer, Catherine worked with Dr. Anubhav Datta as a part of his Mars helicopter research group. She focused on investigating the Martian atmosphere as well as building helicopter blades that will be tested and analyzed using computational fluid dynamics.

Nicholas Delafuente

Nicholas Delafuente is a rising junior studying Aerospace Engineering with an interest in the space track. This summer, he worked closely with Dr. Christoph Brehm to run simulations in computational fluid dynamics regarding wall modeled Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes. This research helped build skills with multiple coding languages as well as an understanding of higher-level applications of the supercomputing field. Nicholas is a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and belongs to many clubs at UMD. When not researching, he enjoys cooking, playing sports, and traveling as much as he can.

Sanya Doda

Sanya Doda is a rising senior in Aerospace Honors Program pursuing space track. She has been a part of University of Maryland’s Balloon Payload Program since the fall of 2019 and has been involved with different payloads such as MARS, a payload that can release the payload underneath it and LIVE which can stream video at a lower cost. Last summer she worked on a payload called WAUR which could extend and retract the payload line in flight. This summer she continued to work with Dr. Bowden’s Balloon Payload Program to develop a payload that can directly communicate with the ground.

Adina Fleisher

Adina Fleisher is a rising junior planning to pursue the air track. She is a member of University Honors as well as the Aerospace Honors program. This summer, Adina worked in the Separated and Transient Aerodynamics Laboratory under Dr. Anya Jones. Her research focused on the reverse flow region present in high-speed helicopters. By testing multiple airfoils that she helped design and 3-D print, Adina analyzed what airfoil shapes are most effective in the reverse flow region, as well as which shapes are most effective overall. This research could improve helicopter performance in difficult conditions, allowing for helicopters to hover in fast and unsteady winds.

Andrew Giorgi

Andrew Giorgi is a rising senior studying aerospace engineering and pursuing the air track. This summer, Andrew will be working with Dr. Paley’s “ReZoom” team, with the goal of creating an autonomous scooter that can park and move on its own without a rider. Andrew worked in the Collective Dynamics and Control Laboratory on the hardware team during the program. Specifically, he is working to make a two wheeled scooter able balance by itself without a rider and move from one location to another using motor controllers.

Bradley Harris

Bradley Harris is a rising senior pursuing the air track. This summer, he worked under Dr. Christopher Cadou designing a testing apparatus for solid oxide fuel cells as part of the REEACH project. The goal of the research is to figure out how to put the fuel cells into a gas turbine to create extremely efficient fuel to energy conversion for hybrid-electric aircraft. He’s in the University Honors program in the Honors College along with being a Presidential Merit Scholarship recipient. Outside of his work and studies, he enjoys sports, guitar, books, and long walks on the beach.

Rahul Jain

Rahul Jain is a rising senior majoring in aerospace engineering and minoring in Astronomy. He is an alum of University Honors and the Writers’ House creative writing program. His research is with the Planetary Surfaces and Spacecraft Laboratory under Dr. Christine Hartzell, where he is simulating the evolution of asteroid bodies. This summer, he also interned at the Emerging Technologies Institute, a new department of the NDIA focused on modernizing the U.S. government’s national security. Rahul is the creative director of UMD’s all-improvised performance group, Erasable Inc. He is also a contributing member of various diversity initiatives on campus. Rahul would love to do more stand-up next semester, but he also enjoys sitting down.

Miles Jones

Miles Jones is a rising junior in the aerospace engineering program and a student in the Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES) Honors Program. In his freshman year, he worked for Dr. Andrew Becnel for his ENAE100 project to build a portable wind tunnel for testing and demonstrations. This summer he worked with Dr. Michael Otte in the Motion and Teaming Lab to analyze interactions between kilobot swarm behaviors. It focuses on how swarm behaviors may affect one another when operating in the same environment and how performance changes with swarms of varying proportions. Miles is also an alto saxophone in the Mighty Sound of Maryland Marching Band at UMD.

Colby Merrill

Colby Merrill is a rising senior and is pursuing the space track in aerospace engineering as well as a minor in LGBTQ+ studies. Last summer, Colby served as an intern at Axcelis Technologies where they created and implemented a novel efficiency-tracking model with the goal of increasing productivity. Last semester, Colby worked under Dr. Christine Hartzell in the Planetary Surfaces and Spacecraft Lab. Their research is focused on remediating the effects of regolith while astronauts are on lunar missions. This summer, the AEROS program allowed them to continue with this research. Colby is also a member of the University of Maryland chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

Jwoyal Ranjit

Jwoyal Ranjit is a rising junior Aerospace Engineering major with a minor in Spanish Language. He is a member of Cohort 2 of the A. James Clark Scholars Program as well as the NAE Grand Challenges Scholars Program. Jwoyal works with Dr. Jarred A. Young in the Space Power & Propulsion Laboratory investigating the erosion effects of ion thruster plume impingement on anti-reflective solar cell coatings.

Outside of academics, Jwoyal works on a payload investigating triboelectric charging of regolith for the SEDS@UMD CubeSat Team, and also enjoys playing saxophone in the University Band.

Andrew Sahm

Andrew Sahm is a rising senior pursuing the space track. This summer, Andrew researched vortex phase matching of bio-inspired robotic fish with Dr. Derek Paley. When he is not working on his own personal robotic projects, you can find him hiking, climbing, and kayaking.

Gabrielle Schumacher

Gabrielle Schumacher is a rising sophomore studying aerospace engineering at the University of Maryland. This summer Gabrielle worked with Dr. Norman Wereley’s team in researching the development of advanced energy absorbent synthetic foams. The research is intended to create "crashworthy" foam which could be used for protective purposes such as armor. Gabrielle’s main focus this summer has been to help produce and test different types of samples to determine their effectiveness when crushed.

Dior Seck

Dior Seck is a rising sophomore majoring in Electrical Engineering and hoping to minor in Computer Science. She worked with Dr. Paley and Lena Dabney on the RoboRaven project. During her freshman year she was in the Mock Trial Program as an attorney and a witness. She received a best witness award during the Mock Trial Terp Cup. She plans on joining more clubs, like the Robotics club and other engineering clubs. Dior is also a member of the International Studies division of the College Park Scholars Program. In her free time, Dior manages her baking business, which she started during quarantine. She also loves biking, reading, and listening to true crime podcasts.

Matthew Stasiukevicius

Matthew Stasiukevicius is a rising senior on the aerospace engineering space track and a part of the aerospace honors program. He worked with Dr. Raymond Sedwick in the Space Power and Propulsion Lab on the Direct-Drive Centrifugal Confinement Fusion Propulsion project. This summer, Matthew is modelling electromagnetic field geometries and analyzing the effects of plasma in the system using Comsol Multiphysics software.

Logan Swaisgood

Logan Swaisgood is a rising senior studying Aerospace Engineering in the Aerospace Honors program. He currently works with Dr. Anubhav Datta in the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center on Mars Helicopter Performance and Optimization. In a continuation of his Honors Research Project, he is studying the aerodynamic characteristics of rotorcraft blades in a vacuum chamber and using the data gathered to design a Mars Helicopter that can carry out a multitude of science missions. He is a member of the Gemstone Honors College and works with team Autocycle to construct and test a self-stabilizing, self-driving bicycle. Logan is also a member of UMD Loop and has assisted with the design and construction of the powertrain system for a Hyperloop racing pod and the excavation cutterhead of a tunnel-boring machine for the Not A Boring Competition.

Ayush Varaiya

Ayush Varaiya is a rising Aerospace Engineering junior on the air track with a minor in Robotics and autonomous Systems (RAS). He is a member of the AIAA community and a ClarkLEADER to help assist new students in the engineering school. He also worked with a couple of classmates on a research project in Terps in Space where he tested different fluids mixed with bacteria and tested to see how differently the bacteria grew in space compared to Earth. As an AEROS Scholar, in the summer of 2021, he worked with Dr. Normal Wereley and several graduate students in the Maryland Robotics Center. His research focused on the study of a robotic pipeworm and helped further develop a system to take into space to investigate deeper into the core of planets. Ayush worked with other researchers on the efficiency of the robot and helped develop technologies for burrowing mobility.

Alexis (Soumiya) D. Williams

Alexis (Soumiya) D. Williams is a rising senior studying aerospace engineering. She is the current President of the Out in STEM (OSTEM) chapter at UMD and is a member of the Women in Engineering (WIE) advisory board at UMD. For half of her freshman year and her entire sophomore year, she conducted research under Dr. Flatau on improving the effectiveness of a magneto-elastic torque sensor. Last summer, her research under Dr. Flatau focused on creating COMSOL models to determine some of the material properties of PLA doped with iron particles which will be used to detect strain. When she is not conducting research or studying for exams, she enjoys writing science fiction. This summer, her research under Dr. Flatau will build on last summer's research by designing a 3-D printable strain sensor based on the composite modeled last summer.

Eva Alexandrova

Eva Alexandrova is a rising aerospace engineering junior with a minor in Global Engineering Leadership. She works for Dr. Chopra’s and Dr. Nagaraj in Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center on Gamera-S Solar Helicopter research project. This summer in the online environment, she worked on searching for the best solar tile and comparing their efficiencies. The data and knowledge that she gets from this research will further help me to apply it to Gamera-S project to achieve our objectives and test the solar cells that we are going to be using. Alexandrova is a member of Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics society as well as a member of the UMD Varsity Tennis Team. Jared Allanigue 2020 AEROS Recipient Jared Allanigue is a rising sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Astronomy. In the fall semester, he worked as an undergraduate student researcher for an ENAE100 project with Dr. David Akin at the Neutral Buoyancy Research Facility, researching AprilTags applications for satellite servicing robots. He is also involved with the Composites sub team in Terps Racing, the Manufacturing sub team in Terp Rockets, and Dr. Paley’s Autonomous Micro-Air Vehicle (AMAV) Team. Outside of academics, he enjoys playing Smash with friends and rolling in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This summer Jared will work virtually with Dr. Michael Otte on kilobot programming and observing emergent behaviors that arise when opposing kilobots are added to a swarm.

Jared Allanigue

Jared Allanigue is a rising sophomore with a minor in Astronomy. In the fall semester, he worked as an undergraduate student researcher for an ENAE100 project with Dr. David Akin at the Neutral Buoyancy Research Facility, researching AprilTags applications for satellite servicing robots. He is also involved with the Composites subteam in Terps Racing, the Manufacturing subteam in Terp Rockets, and Dr. Paley’s Autonomous Micro-Air Vehicle (AMAV) Team. Outside of academics, he enjoys playing Smash with friends and rolling in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This summer Jared will work virtually with Dr. Michael Otte on kilobot programming and observing emergent behaviors that arise when opposing kilobots are added to a swarm.

Dakota Brakob

Dakota Brakob is a rising senior in the Aerospace Honors program pursuing the air track, as well as a minor in Physics. Last summer, Dakota was a Systems Engineering intern at the FAA. Last semester, Dakota worked for Dr. Inderjit Chopra of the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center (AGRC) researching fixed pitch straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine (SB-VAWT) design and plans to finish this project once labs reopen. This summer, Dakota continued researching for Dr. Chopra, conducting design parametric studies of cyclic pitch SB-VAWTs under AEROS. Next year, Dakota plans to take Dr. Baeder’s Aircraft Design section and use this knowledge in the Collegiate Wind Competition designing a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT).

Sanya Doda

Sanya Doda is a rising junior planning to pursue the space track. She is currently a member of UMD’s Research Institute for Scholars in Education (RISE) program and working on developing an organization focusing on how aerospace engineers could use their skills to serve the society. During the semester, she worked under Dr. Mary Bowden in her Balloon Payload Program to build payloads like MARS which could release the payload below it in flight and LIVE, a payload whose overall goal is to create a low-cost reliable video streaming mechanism. This summer she continues to work for Dr. Mary Bowden to see how a robotic arm would function under unstable conditions such as a balloon flight.

Kyle Guilday

Kyle Guilday is a rising junior studying aerospace engineering and global engineering leadership. This summer he worked with Dr. David Akin in the Space Systems Laboratory. His research focuses on studying autonomous control strategies for robotics using Robot Operating System and Sensor Integration. Madelaine Lebetkin 2020 AEROS Recipient Madelaine Lebetkin is a rising sophomore studying aerospace engineering with a minor in professional writing. She works under Dr. Mary Bowden in the Balloon Payload Program, researching effective designs for a payload with a deployable solar panel called the Solar Launched Automatic Power System (SLAPS). She is the current secretary of UMD’s chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, as well as an Honors Ambassador, representing University Honors. Madelaine has worked in the Neutral Buoyancy Research Facility in an effort to construct a functioning crew seat for different levels of gravity. Madelaine is a member of Flexus, the women in engineering living and learning community as well as a flute player in university band. She has studied abroad in Munich and London, and hopes to study abroad again in the future.

Madelaine Lebetkin

Madelaine Lebetkin is a rising sophomore with a minor in Professional Writing. She works under Dr. Mary Bowden in the Balloon Payload Program, researching effective designs for a payload with a deployable solar panel called the Solar Launched Automatic Power System (SLAPS). She is the current secretary of UMD’s chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, as well as an Honors Ambassador, representing University Honors. Madelaine has worked in the Neutral Buoyancy Research Facility in an effort to construct a functioning crew seat for different levels of gravity. Madelaine is a member of Flexus, the women in engineering living and learning community, as well as a flute player in University Band. She has studied abroad in Munich and London, and hopes to study abroad again in the future.

Liam McCue

Liam McCue is a rising sophomore studying aerospace engineering. He serves as an undergraduate liaison for AIAA and is a member of University Honors. Liam's research this summer focused on building an autonomous electric scooter with Dr. Paley as a part of the RESUME (Research in Electric Scooter Urban Mobility) team working in the Collective Dynamics and Control Laboratory. By hacking an electric scooter, Liam hopes to have remote control to serve as the basis for the autonomous platform. He mainly focused on sensor fusion and integration to control the scooter.

Azeza Odharo

Azeza Odharo is a rising senior studying the aeronautical track. Azeza transferred into the University of Maryland last fall from Montgomery College. He was one of the undergraduate students selected to work with the seniors on the 2020 “Design/Build/Fly” capstone project. This summer, Azeza will be working with Dr. Christopher Cadou to model a counter flow heat exchanger in a numerical propulsion system simulation (NPSS) software used for 'standard' turbine engine simulation. Heat exchangers play a big role when it comes to compact and efficient methods for converting liquid hydrocarbon fuels into electric power for hybrid-electric propulsion. Azeza is looking forward to this research because of the learning experience that comes with it, and his high interest in aircraft propulsion systems.

Tyler Parks

Tyler Parks is a rising junior in the aerospace engineering program. He served four years in the U.S. Air Force as an Air Weapons Controller, where he controlled aircraft for Air-to-Air Combat and Close Air Support. While deployed, Tyler controlled over 1,600 missions throughout more than 250K square miles of Afghanistan airspace. He was recently selected for the NASA Pathways Program and will begin working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in the fall. This summer, Tyler worked for Dr. Flatau, using Computational Fluid Dynamics to analyze how active flow control devices can reduce pressure drag due to flow separation. He will also be working on a project with the Army Research Lab at Aberdeen Proving Grounds to model the effects of sand ingestion in gas turbine engines. Hridoy Rozario 2020 AEROS Recipient Hridoy Rozario is a rising senior in the aerospace engineering space track program. Last semester, he worked with a Ph.D. student on implementing a reinforcement machine-learning algorithm on a simulation. This summer, Hridoy will work on a simulation of a swarm of robots called the Kilobots with Dr. Michael Otte. He will research emergent behaviors of swarm and program the Kilobots to balance a beam. The program will then be tested in the simulation to test simulator accuracy and explore swarm intelligence and its application.

Hridoy Rozario

Hridoy Rozario is a rising senior in the space track program. Last semester, he worked with a Ph.D. student on implementing a reinforcement machine learning algorithm on a simulation. This summer, Hridoy will work on a simulation of a swarm of robots called the Kilobots with Dr. Michael Otte. He will research emergent behaviors of swarm and program the Kilobots to balance a beam. The program will then be tested in the simulation to test simulator accuracy and explore swarm intelligence and its application.

Edward Tocco

Edward Tocco is a rising senior aerospace engineering student. He is a member of the Terrapin Rockets club, where he worked on the Integration sub team designing a GUI for monitoring rocket flight parameters. He currently works in the Space Propulsion and Power Lab (SPPL) on the helicon thruster project. This summer, Edward worked with Dr. Sedwick at SPPL on designing and modeling a new thruster, focusing on the possible advantages of implementing a solid nozzle and its impacts on the ionization fraction.

Alexis D. Williams

Alexis D. Williams is a rising junior studying aerospace engineering. She is the current Vice President of the Out in STEM (OSTEM) chapter at UMD and is a member of the Women in Engineering (WIE) advisory board at UMD. For half of her freshman year and her entire sophomore year, she conducted research under Dr. Flatau on improving the effectiveness of a magneto-elastic torque sensor. When she is not conducting research or studying for exams, she enjoys writing science fiction. This summer, her research under Dr. Flatau will focus on the design and characterization of 3-D printed magnetic sensors. She will be creating COMSOL models to determine if 3-D printed objects made from PLA doped with magnetic particles can be used to detect strain.