It's An AE Tradition. We Had To Ask. Whether it's a B.S, an M.S., or a Ph.D., the students graduating this week have some incredible potential ahead of them. We asked a few of them to take a minute to give us a peek at what their next adventure will be.
Camilo Duarte, BSAE '19
After you graduate, what is your next adventure?
I will be doing an internship at Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technical Center in Palo Alto, mostly focusing on space telescopes. Then I'll be returning to Tech to join Professor Theodorou's lab.
What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?
I'm definitely excited about grad school. It's a chance to really dig into subjects that are interesting to me. At the end of your undergraduate program, you already know what you are most interested in, but you are responsible for doing other things that you don't necessarily like. The only thing you want to do is go to the lab. Everyone in the lab I am joining - the Autonomous Control and Decision Systems Lab - they enjoy what they are doing and I already feel comfortable working with them.
Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?
I came to Georgia Tech as a transfer student from Montgomery College in Maryland, so I took a little longer to finish because I came in as a junior, but I also did several internships - three with NASA and two with Lockheed Martin. I did the internships because I was really interested in what each one had to teach me, but it also helped that they paid me.
My first research project - working with [research engineer] Russell Peak - focused on systems engineering for the Europa Clipper. This was a turning point for me because it got me my first job at NASA -- NASA Huntsville -- in the fall of 2016. At Huntsville, I worked on a smallsat - the Near Earth Astroid Scout. This is where I realized I really liked controls. It's both mathematical and practical, the perfect middle ground between working on software and hardware.
In the spring of 2017, I did research with Dr. Walker, where we worked on Lockheed Martin's arc-jet, a very small electric propulsion jet engine. I had contacted Dr. Walker about doing research before, but I didn't get the position. I treally liked what he was doing, so I decided to go back, and, this time, having worked at NASA Marshall, I think he saw something different in me. The thing about getting a position in Dr. Walker's lab is: you have to show that you are very motivated and interested in the topic. Once he sees that, he's all in.
That semester, I had to learn about engines, about testing procedures, so I met with the Lockheed Martin folks. There were a lot of long shifts and sleepless nights that semester, but I learned a lot.
I was surprised that summer when Lockheed Martin called me to do an internship in controls in Palo Alto. I didn't have a lot of experience in controls, but I just clicked with my boss. The interview was supposed to be an hour, but we talked for much longer. In interviews, you must show that, while you might not have all the skills, you have the motivation and the ability to communicate.
Throughout my time at Tech, I always threw my resume in for jobs that might become available at NASA. In the fall of 2017, NASA Langley called. They were offering a job working on a robotic manipulator for an in-space assembly. It's funny because when they called I had to tell them that I needed to focus on my [formal] education. I mean, I had graduated from high school [in Colombia] in 2011, and I had to learn English for two years before even starting college... I still had so much more to do before I'd graduate from Tech. I felt a little pressured. But I recommended another guy -- I'd worked with him at NASA Marshall -- and he got the job.
That fall, I worked with Prof. Glenn Lightsey on the Micro Nimbus project, mostly working on software. In the spring of 2018, I needed a little money and I needed more experience in autonomous systems, so I went to NASA Langley. I saw it as a good opportunity to build the appropriate skillset in a more challenging area of aerospace engineering. I worked on replicating the dynamic behavior of a rocket during launch. That summer I realized I needed to learn more about machine learning, so, when I came back, I contacted Dr. Theodorou, to see if I could work with him.
It was a great choice. He's the kind of professor who really cares about everyone learning all of the concepts. At his lab meetings, we'd go over technical papers on machine learning and discuss them for three-and-a-half hours. This past semester, I've been working with him on finding an algorithm that will allow us to determine mathematical models for dynamical systems.
How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
At Georgia Tech, you have so many research projects going on. And the professors are passionate. The fact that I was able to jump between different research projects to decide what was right for me, this was powerful. The hardest part was that I could only do one project per semester. But even that forced me to think more critically.
What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?
Take the time to figure out what you like because, sure, you can just come to school and do the traditional four years and get a job, but there is so much more possible. I have a full-time job offer in the field, which is great to know, but I am not taking it right now. I know there is much more for me to learn. That kind of pushed me to go to grad school. I want to know more.
Hisham K. Ali, PhDAE '19
After you graduate, what is your next adventure?
I will be staying in Atlanta as a post-doc, doing work centered around my doctoral dissertation in mageneto hydronamics (MHD). I'll be looking at ways to use re-entry plasma - the plasma that's created when a vehicle re-enters the Earth's atmosphere - to generate electrical energy and control the vehicle. That project - funded by NASA Langley - goes until November.
What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?
The thing I'm most looking forward to is being able to pursue in-depth research that can have significant impact on human space flight and exploration. I came from a structural-aeronautics background, and I always wanted to get more involved in space. It is my dream, if called upon, to help send humans to Mars. My goal is to be one of the people who has the skills needed to do that, so my plan, from here, is to work for a lab - Sandia, NASA Langley and JPL are all interesting - where I can work independently on my research, but, also to learn more so I can bring that knowledge back to the academy. I think there's a lot of synergy between hypersonics and plasma physics that could, eventually, be beneficial for travel to the outer planets - like Neptune and Jupiter - as well as the inner planets.
Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?
Georgia Tech has been an amazing place to pursue research. It's been the highlight of my master's and doctoral studies over the last six years.
I came to the AE School with an NSTRF (NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship) that sent me to a NASA facility to intern every year. That started at NASA Marshall, where I did research on fundamental plasma physics. Using that information, I was the first author on a technical memorandum that was published in 2015. Then I went to NASA Langley where the work I did on systems analysis showed me how my work could not only benefit my research, but could also impact future NASA missions as well. There, again, I was the first author on a paper. I spent two summers interning at JPL (NASA Jet Propulsion Lab) where I was able to create a supersonic plasma wind tunnel. At the conclusion of the fellowship, the success of that wind tunnel was such that NASA arranged to have an equipment loan, so it could come back here to Tech.
How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
My work at Tech gave me a chance to bring my research to life, to make a mindful contribution to the field. That's always been my goal. At Tech, that's supported with great researchers, like Prof. Walker, and by world-class facilities, like the High Power Electric Propulsion Lab. Without the vacuum chamber in that lab, I would not have been able to do anything. But it was there, available to me.
The research I did through Tech got me involved in the complete circle of engineering -- from idea, to design, to concept study, to building, and, finally, to testing. A few weeks ago, I was able to show that you can extract electric energy from high-speed plasma flow.
I also got a chance to travel to Europe, twice, to present my work. I will be going again this summer. What I've noticed, when I travel, is that Georgia Tech is always really well represented at these professional meetings. We are a part of the larger conversation. That's exciting for me.
What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?
I have a younger sister who is really quite bright, so I'll have to try not to be too overbearing here.
I'd have to say - and I think it's been said - use the word 'impossible' very carefully, and realize that creation and invention require a lot of failure and determination - more of both of these qualities than anything else. If you believe you can do something, do the groundwork to make it happen on your own. Maybe it's because I was self-funded [through NSTRF] but I learned how to pitch an idea that I thought was worthwhile.
Don't be afraid to write an email to someone who might be able to help you out. Early on, in grad school, I ran into someone at a workshop and told him about my ideas for research. He was very established in the field, much higher up than I was, but he was intrigued by what I said and helped me to make it happen.
So what I took from this was to not be afraid if you have a good idea. The initiative needs to come from you. Georgia Tech will support that, but it won't necessarily be a cake walk, especially if your idea diverges from what your lab is doing. What I did [at Tech] was different from what I originally thought I was going to do. I came here to do in-situ research utilization -- ISRU -- with 3D printing. What I ended up doing was, well, maybe ISRU but in an entirely different area -- extracting electrical energy.
You will need to work hard - nothing is ever as simple as it seems at first, but that might be the very reason that you'll appreciate what you learn. There's something to be said for tenacity.
Molly Riebling, BSAE '19
After you graduate, what is your next adventure?
The third week in July, I will start my job as engineer in the Redstone Arsenal of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Huntsville.
What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?
I'm really looking forward to being able to work on a project for a longer period of time. When I interned there, I was restricted to smaller project for a shorter period of time. Now I will be able to dive into longer projects. And I have a couple of friends who are already working there.
Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?
For the first three years I was at Tech, I worked on the Design Build Fly competitions. This helped me to learn how to approach a project with actual deadlines. With homework, you have to turn it in by a certain time, but that doesn't mean it's completed. With a Design-Build-Fly deadline, if you have not completed your work by the deadline, you will be throwing everyone else's work off. That was new for me, but a great distinction to make. When I was a freshman, I might have thought 'Oh, I'm tired now. I'll go to sleep' but, now, I know that sometimes you have to stay up, to complete the work even if you are tired so that the efforts of others will also succeed.
Freshman year, I applied for a SMART Scholarship, which pays for your education, pays you a stipend, and connects you with a DoD lab. When I learned that I had gotten it, I had already been in talks with the Prox-1 [cubesat] project that Dr. Spencer was working on, so I spent that summer working on circuit-board testing for Prox-1. In the fall, I kept working on the structures team. In the spring, I started working on the final verification of the ADCS [attitude determination control subsystem] for Prox-1. After they shipped Prox-1 off to New Mexico [for an eventual launch], I started a SMART internship in Huntsville. I worked on an antenna that was intended to communicate with a satellite, Kestrel Eye, that they were about to launch. The antenna we built was called WALT - Warfighter Assisting LEO Tracker. It was supposed to be set up on the roof, so there I'd be, on the roof of the building on a hot summer day, dressed in business casual, working on a computer.
Junior year I worked in Dr. Holzinger's lab on Omnissa, another cubesat. I worked on the thermal control subsystem, and, as the only undergrad in the lab at that point, I did general support.
In the summer, I went back to Huntsville where WALT was now 'talking' to Kestrel and downloading images. That summer I worked on thermal vacuum chambers as well as a smallsat testbed for REST -- reliable expandable satellite testbed.
When I returned to Tech last fall, I started working mostly in the Aero Maker Space as a mentor, teaching other students how to use the laser cutter, the 3D printer,and the wood room
How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
Internships gave me practice for what the real world would offer, eventually. I was able to use that practice to pursue projects that furthered my own education. I also got a lot out of working in Aero Maker Space as a mentor. As the Space has grown, it's become a place where I've met many of my best friends. And it's an exciting place because people come there to see what they can do with the equipment.
What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?
I would probably have to say: don't stress so much. Ask for help when you need it. Sleep more. A lot of what you worry about will eventually fall into place. All stress does is make you feel uncertain.
For DBF, I knew I had to keep a deadline, so I had to be able to evaluate the amount of time I would need to do a good job. Then plan to put in the time. With a test, you are going to be a lot better off if you don't stay up all night to study.
Matthew Chicky, MSAE '19
After you graduate, what is your next adventure?
Well, on Wednesday, May 1, I take my last final - Rocket Propulsion. The next day I get married (fiancee Ray Munden). On Friday, I graduate with my master's degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech. And on Saturday I will go on my honeymoon to Cancun.
(pause)
When I get back, we'll be moving to Utah where we'll have a few weeks to hike around and enjoy nature before I start my job as a performance analyst in the internal ballistics group of Northrop Grumman
What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?
We're really excited to move to Utah. I love the outdoors -- camping and hiking - and some of the best national parks are fortunately out there. A big factor influencing my decision was my boss at Northrop Grumman - I worked for him last summer and he really recognized the effort I put into my education at Tech and my passion for the subject itself. The group I'll be working with [at Northrop Grumman] is also wonderful. Great people. Beyond that, I met my boss's boss, his boss, and a couple others besides...everyone I met was really impressive, so I don't think there will be any surprises.
Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?
I think the AE School gave me more in this area than any other grad student. I'm not speaking about research - I was never a paid GRA - but I did have the chance to work as a teaching assistant (TA) downstairs in the AE Machine Shop for three semesters. And they were the happiest three semesters of my life. Stressful, yes, but the chance to work with three professionals - Greg Rogerson, Red Russell, and Scott Moseley, was exactly what made the difference for me.
I also got the chance to work with another grad student [Casey Wilson] to organize Georgia Tech's first team submission for the Spaceport America Cup. We'd both been on SAC teams at our schools as undergraduates, and we both wanted to work with undergrads here so they could have the same experience. I wanted to communicate the importance of understanding what machines contribute. It's a nuanced field where engineers can only gain an appreciation for that relationship by doing it. Engineers design an assembly with a certain tolerance level in mind, but until they see first hand how it all gets machined, they will go under the assumption that it's easy to build. It's not.
With the SAC team, we had loads of students come into the AE Machine Shop and learn how things are done. When they encountered a problem, they solved it by working with Greg, or Scott. And that's how they learned. Everyone who worked on the SAC came back again and again.
How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
My experience at Tech has been so perfect. So many things have fallen into place in just a year-and-a-half.
I was looking to learn more about rocket propulsion systems when I got here. The ultimate goal was to gain the skills and knowledge that would help me get a job in rocket propulsion. That's exactly what I'm about to do, but the way I got here is all about Tech.
I had applied for the same job in Utah [at Orbital ATK, now Northrop Grumman] when I graduated with my undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering. I didn't get it -- they hire summer interns well before the end of the school year -- but I wanted it so much that I drove out to Utah for the summer anyway. I love the outdoors, so I figured I'd enjoy the summer out there before grad school at Tech. When I came to Tech, I went to the AE Fall Career Fair and talked with an engineer who was visiting from the Utah office. I showed him photos of my work in the machine shop and talked to him a bunch. That got me a summer internship. And the summer internship got me the job. The guy I talked to at that career fair will be sitting two cubicles down from me at work.
You don't pass along everything you know in one lifetime, but what I learned at the Machine Shop at Tech solidified the respect I have for my [late] grandfather, Phil Patterson who was a machinest. The fact that I was able to bring his tools to the AE Machine Shop to work on my grad school projects meant a lot to me. I might be studying to become an engineer, but the scale I had in my pocket was my grandfather's. Every time I used it, it gave me a chance to think about my grandfather. My ambition, now, is to be an engineer during the week, a machinest on the weekend.
What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?
Follow your gut with regard to research programs and assistantships. I did a non-thesis master's degree, so I had a little more freedom to cut my own path. I had a computer and a desk in a professor's lab, but I found myself in the AE Machine Shop almost all the time. It's where I needed to be. I even spent my free time there. And I really wanted to use my skills to help form a team for the SAC competition, so I worked closely with the undergrads who needed to be taught skills in the machine shop. All of this because I determined what I truly wanted and then kept my eye on it.
Katherine E. Gross, BSAE '19
After you graduate, what is your next adventure?
I will be moving to Everett, Washington the week after graduation to take a job as a flight controls engineer at Boeing.
What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?
I won't be worrying about homework and tests anymore. I can just enjoy working, exploring Seattle, and spending time with my cats.
I'll probably be working on the 737 Max, so I know that my job will touch on a very relevant topic. For me, it's exciting because I can see it from an engineering standpoint, but also from the standpoint of being a pilot and a passenger. I've got an investment in all three. The hype doesn't get to me. I see it all as a worthy challenge.
Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?
I did research with three different research faculty on three different subjects: aircraft landing, ground traffic modeling, and quad copter design & assembly. All of them were interesting, but I was more interested in getting real-world experience, which is what I got from the five semesters I spent on internships.
My first internship was as a systems engineer at MOOG, in Buffalo, New York. I was setting up an iron bird lab, and doing overnight certification testing for Embraer. The lab was open 24/7 so I was on for 13 shifts, off for one.
After that, I did two internships with GE - one in Ohio and the other in Kansas. In the first one I was doing casting technology engineering for the turbine blade manufacturing unit. In Kansas, I worked as a propulsion engineer, checking engines that came in either for inspection or because they had a bird strike or another problem. We were diagnosing engine problems, and following up with suggestions for fixes.
My last internship - for Garmin in Kansas - was as an aviation flight and test engineer.
How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
Georgia Tech has introduced me to some very interesting fields within the discipline of aerospace engineering. From the internships to the research, and the classes, I got the chance to try them out, to see which ones I really liked. The hands-on experience I got from Yellow Jackets Flying Club and from my internships reminded me of my home airport [in Ohio], where [as a pilot] I was always tinkering on planes because I loved flying.
What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?
Try as many things as you can. College offers you the ability to test many different fields and careers in a short period of time. At Tech, you will meet up with great peers and mentors -- in classes, in clubs, wherever. And they may not be formal mentors, but they can get you through the tough parts. What you get out of a mentor is what ask for. In my case, I had a tendency to bite off more than I could chew -- or I thought so at the time - and my mentors kind of talked me off the ledge.
Nicholas P. Breen, PhDAE '19
After you graduate, what is your next adventure?
I will be continuing work that I've been doing in graduate school as a research engineer II in GTRI's Aerospace Transportation & Advanced Systems Lab in the Aerospace Acoustics Technology Division in Smyrna. The main focus will be jet acoustics, but I'll be doing different things - data analysis, setting up sensor tests to measure air speed.
What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?
The reason I wanted to continue working at GTRI is that I didn't want a desk job only. I wanted hands-on experience, acquiring the data that I will end up analyzing at a desk. At GTRI I've been able to do a lot of both, and that's made this transition pretty seamless.
Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?
Co-ops can give you a lot of experience, depending on who the sponsor is and who you are working with. The great thing about Tech is that there are a lot of projects going on. I did five or six co-op terms as a student at Tech, but I first got involved in research when I was in high school, where the magnet school I attended -- Kennesaw Mountain High School - sent me on an internship at GTRI my senior year. I built a fiberglass wing and what I now know, looking back, were some very simple lift-and-drag versus angle of attack tests. Even in high school that internship showed me the value of co-opping. I knew co-ops would give me the real-life experience that a lot of jobs would demand. As an undergrad, I also found that co-ops gave me a breath of fresh air, a semester when I'd learn a lot by doing work in the lab. I wouldn't have to worry about tests or grades.That was a great break.
My sophomore year I worked with an AE research engineer, testing aero optics by shooting light through a wind tunnel. I ran some small-scale tests, collected data, and set up a trip to a larger wind tunnel at NASA Ames. I also honed my MatLab skills and learned SolidWorks and LabView software. I helped to rebuild the anechoic chamber and learned how to use power tools and to put a pipe together.
Dr. Ahuja got me really involved in undergrad research, It started off with me learning how to use the beanformer -- an instrument that has an array of mics that are used to detect the location of a noise. We upgraded it from 24 to 48 mics which really helped to see how it worked. It helped me to find a dissertation topic ["Comparison Between Beamforming and Nearfield Contours for Source Location in Subsonic and Supersonic Jets of Various Geometries"].
How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
For me, the classes were definitely necessary, because you have to develop a solid foundation, but most of what I use today was learned while I was in the lab. I learn best by example, by hands-on experience. Even in class, when we did examples on the board, I did better. And I got that opportunity at Tech, which made all the difference. Now, that said, the rigor of Tech prepares you to tackle the issues you'll face in industry. It disciplines your mind to think the right way. And you learn how to work with other engineers on group projects, which is really important.
What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?
Georgia Tech is a relatively small, walkable campus. The best way to take advantage of it is to go out and meet people, talk to them about what they are doing, get their world view. You'll never have the same opportunity to meet people outside your circle, your industry. I had a co-op friend I met at Boeing, and a couple of others -- one from ChemE and another from nuclear engineering-- and we talked about everything we did, our work, our struggles, everything.
The other thing I cannot stress enough is: co-ops. There's nothing more valuable than real-world experience.
Olatunde Sanni, MSAE '19
After you graduate, what is your next adventure?
Originally, I came to Tech to get my master's degree and go back to industry, but since I've been here, I've seen there's so much more I want to learn. I want to become an expert. So I will be continuing in the aerospace engineering Ph.D. program. This summer I will be taking two classes, but I will also be working with Professor [Brian] German and Professor [Eric ] Feron on an UAV design optimization project. I will be using open-source tools to develop models and algorithms for UAVs.
I will also be working with the Hines Family Foundation and the Georgia Space Grant Consortium on a STEM outreach project for elementary school students. We'll be using X-In-A-Box hardware and software and setting it up at the Atlanta International High School. Community outreach for STEM is important for someone like me, who grew up in Baltimore. I had the support of my community to get me here. With this project, I will be able to give back to grade school kids here - kids who may have a lot of questions about how it all works.
What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?
I am excited about being able to focus on research - particularly in testing the models and algorithms in hardware-in-the-loop simulations. All of the theory I've learned in my courses is powerful, but I lean more toward being an experimentalist, so I am looking forward to applying that theory. My end goal is to be a chief technologist at a company that supports flying taxis or UAVs. I want to be involved in developing the algorithms that make it all work.
Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?
As an undergraduate [at the University of Maryland] I did air speed measurements at the National Institute of Standards and Technology's [NIST] Fire Research Lab. I was there for more than a year, and I co-authored a paper. That was my first time doing research, and I'm still in touch with my boss today. The experience confirmed that I wanted to do experimental research. My interest was in hands-on learning.
Next, I was at NASA Ames in California, where I investigated the remaining useful life of power electronics, modeling when they were likely to fail. I was paired with a Ph.D. candidate at Ames, and what he impressed on me was, if you want to make the most out of grad school, go somewhere with the resources and the commitment to do big things. I saw that at Ames. I saw that my dreams could happen.
After that, I worked full-time as a RF applications engineer at National Instruments, in Austin, Texas. I helped set up tests for measuring different RF chips. What I realized from this was that it's great to support a project, but I wanted to be there at the beginning of a project, to define the next solution. That's when I decided it was time for me to go back to school where I could learn to lead.
At Tech, I've been involved in the Decision Control Lab, working on a UAV design optimization project that will be the basis for my dissertation.
How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
There are so many influential people and experts who come here to serve as guest lecturers. It is a great way to network, to find out what's going on in the field. Tech also provides so many resources that have helped me to learn on my own - from the library, where I can learn using Lynda.com to my lab, where I can learn from the research I am doing with others. If I'm interested in anything, Tech gives me the resources I need to pursue it. And that includes just popping into a faculty's office to discuss something that was brought up in class or in the lab.
What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?
I think the most important thing is to have a goal in mind when you start school here, and to then realize that so many things can take you away from it. You should remember that goal, every day, so that you can pursue it.
At the beginning of the semester, this is important because you will see so many classes and you might want to take all of them. But at the end of the semester, this will give you a lot of work.
Learn time management skills. Figure out a plan to succeed and follow it. Don't think you'll just handle things as they come, because you will want to do your best at everything and you will find that very difficult.
Andrew T. Cox, MSAE '19
After you graduate, what is your next adventure?
This summer I'm going to take off and do some traveling. I've been interning or doing research every summer since I started college six years ago, so I figure now's the best time to take a break. In the fall, I will take a job as a consultant for McKinsey in their Product Development & Procurement Fellowship program. That's an executive leadership program where I'll rotate into different business units over the next 18 months.
What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?
The challenge is exciting for me. You have to put a lot of effort and concentration into working as a consultant, and you never know what you'll be tackling next. The company consults on everything from consumer products to satellites. The great thing is I flourish when I am challenged. I love plunging into a big problem, putting out the fires, and finding the processes that will make things work smoothly.
Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?
I came to Georgia Tech - and I chose the Aerospace Systems Design Lab - because I wanted to get introduced to different parts of the discipline, including the industry. The research opportunities I got were exactly what I wanted. I started out on a team that was doing hybrid propulsion staging for space travel. Another project had me doing hybrid electric architecture for airplanes. There were two NASA-funded projects - one looking at systems-level modeling for aircraft to see how different technology packages affect their performance. The other had us doing nextgen aircraft modeling for NASA.
How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
I fell in love with aerospace engineering when I saw my first rocket launch [at Cape Canaveral] as a kid. I thought I wanted to be a rocket scientist, because that's what I saw that day, a rocket. I didn't realize that aerospace engineering was so broad, with so many applications, until I got into graduate school. I am very appreciative of the school for giving me the opportunities to see where I wanted to go, where I'd fit. Because I was able to do so much systems-level engineering, I began to appreciate higher levels of systems thinking, a skill that is key to what I'll be doing at McKinsey.
I didn't get super involved in clubs or activities while I was here with the exception of SGA. And it's kind of funny how that happened: the first fall of my graduate program, I decided I didn't want to watch the football game on Saturday--- I didn't want to see the triple option strategy on the field -- so I went over to the Georgia Tech gym to play a game of pick-up basketball. When I got there, it ws closed because of the big game. That made me angry. And after talking about it with a friend, we both decided to run for seats in the SGA so we could do something about it. (laughs) We won, but I don't think I ever changed the closure rule. I did have an impact on other matters, like getting money put aside for mental health. Eventually, too, I was elected president of the SGA, a post that I just recently left.
What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?
I guess I'd tell anyone coming to Tech: don't be afraid to explore beyond where you originally thought you'd study. A lot of people come to graduate school married to an idea, and as that idea gains momentum, they stop thinking about other options. Momentum is great but it also makes it difficult for you to change your path. As engineers, we often think the best way to get from point A to point B is the quickest path. But if you take a winding path -- one like I did, with research projects in different areas -- you might find more things that help you see more clearly where you want to end up. So I'd say 'take a moment to question, to deviate a little. You might find exactly what you are looking for.
Collin B. Whittaker, BSAE '19
After you graduate, what is your next adventure?
I'm pursuing a Ph.D. in electric propulsion and plasma physics at the University of Michigan
What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?
I'm really excited about learning more and getting more research opportunities. Plasma physics is very interesting, but, at least as an undergraduate, it's hard to get into it fully. Increased specialization in a doctoral program will allow me to deepen my understanding.
Also, I'll be going somewhere new, (Michigan) but it's only two hours from my [family's] home in Indiana.
Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?
When I was a sophomore I got into the AE Honors Program, which required me to indicate an interest in a research area and an advisor. As a part of that process, I went through the entire faculty and did a surface dive into their research interests. Dr. Walker's lab was my number 1 choice, and I've never turned back. I only wish I'd started earlier.
So the first thing Professor Walker did was to tell me when the first lab meeting was. I just showed up, not knowing what to expect. He asked me some questions - mainly, did I consider myself more of a theoretician or an experimentalist? I didn't really know but I said theory because I'd excelled in school.
My answer would be different now. I've been involved in experimental research - mainly using the vacuum chamber in which we do testing and support control systems. As I've become more experimental in my approach, I've moved into different directions - learning to use a scanning electron microscope so I could examine how micro cracks in the material of the walls in the Hall effect thrusters affect their erosion.
I also had work on my own project - an invention that I own with Prof. Walker and Prof. Clarke.
How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
I've known since I was in middle school that I wanted to go to grad school because the jobs available for B.S. were not really as interesting. Georgia Tech has given me such a high concentration of talent that that goal was put within reach. Regardless of what I ended up doing here, I knew it would be exciting, substantial. So, in an alternate universe, if Collin Whittaker is not a propulsion guy, but instead in the controls group? Well, there's still excellent controls research here.
What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?
My largest regret is not having hit it harder, earlier. If you had to plot my stress over time, I wish I'd chugged up on core classes earlier -- getting the stuff I don't want to do for the rest of my life out of the way earlier. Then I would have had more time for the fun, challenging, AE classes.
The other piece of advice I'd give is: don't wait for opportunities to be presented to you. Be your own advocate. Don't be afraid to approach a professor and ask if there's a place in the lab for you. If you are willing to work, there's probably a place in the lab where you'll be useful, but you'll have to ask.