About Me

Bio

I am originally from Stevens Point, WI where I was born and raised.  I attended high school at Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH). I participated in varsity football as an offensive guard and varsity track and field as a sprinter; I was recognized as a scholar athlete, earned five varsity letters (two football and three track and field) and four academic letters.  I was also a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society and one of many class valedictorians.

I attended college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  At MIT I earned two bachelor’s degrees in Aerospace Engineer with Information Technology and Management Science and also minored in Spanish.  During my undergraduate studies, I participated in research in the MIT Aerospace Software Laboratory under the guidance of Professor I. Kristina Lundqvist.  Working with PhD students, I worked to extend the Xasm toolset to include timing characteristics to make the language amendable to real-time system specifications.  Most of my coursework included courses in automation, numerical simulation and optimization and culminated in my senior design capstone project.  The project spread over three semesters involving the conception, development and construction of a legged and wheeled rover for extreme terrain.  During those three semesters I served as one of the lead systems engineers along with developing crucial parts of the operations software and autonomy algorithms.

While at MIT, I joined Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity.  As a member of Delta Tau Delta, I became extremely active in the MIT Greek system.  Within my chapter, I served as the Pledge Educator and helped to revamp and re-energize the pledge program.  I also served as Risk Manager.  However, my largest contributions came at the institute level when I served on the Interfraternity Council (IFC) Executive Board as the Executive Assistant for one year and then as IFC President the next year.  During my time as IFC President, I helped to improve crumbling relations with external organizations such as the Boston Police and Boston City Council and many MIT faculty and administrators.  Along with several other Greek leaders, I helped to create and pilot a program for MIT fraternities and sororities to help raise alcohol and student drinking prevention and conflict intervention and prevention.  During my tenure as IFC President the reputation and campus presence of the Greek Community was strengthened and the largest number of freshmen in over five years joined the fraternity system.  For my time as IFC President, I received several prestigious awards, including the MIT Steward Award for contributions to student life at MIT, the MIT Fraternity Sorority and Independent Living Groups (FSILG) Senior Legacy Award and an award of achievement from the Delta Tau Delta National Office.

I gained critical career experience through my summer internships.  For two summers in 2004 and 2005, I worked at Anzus, Inc (now a subsidiary of Rockwell Collins) as an apprentice software engineer.  During my two summers I developed and tested newly implemented C++ code from original Matlab code used in Anzus image registration and pattern recognition software.  During the summers of 2006 and 2007, I worked as an engineering intern at Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, VA.  While at Orbital, I developed a tool using Matlab and STK/Connect that would allow for rapid re-planning of a sequence of burns to bring a spacecraft from a geosynchronous transfer orbit to a geostationary orbit.  I also worked on a project that attempted to better model multiple-flexible-body systems within Matlab and Simulink.

I am currently a PhD student in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University.  As a master’s student, I worked as a research assistant in the Systems Department under Professor William Crossley.  My research interests focus on multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) and operations research (OR).  My research and thesis work has revolved around the creation of a tool to optimally allocate aircraft to routes that will maximize revenue for the airlines and minimize emissions and noise.  I am currently being funded through a NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program (GSRP).  After I complete my PhD I am uncertain about the next step in my career, but plan to find an opportunity in academia.

Affiliations

Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity – Initiated with Beta Nu Chapter at MIT

Order of Omega Greek Honor Society – Initiated with MIT Chapter

Sigma Gamma Tau Aerospace Engineering Honor Society – Initiated with Alpha Chapter at Purdue University

Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society – Initiated with Indiana-Alpha Chapter at Purdue University

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) – Student Member

Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) – Student Member

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) – Student Member

Leadership Experience

Aero Assist Graduate Student Organization Treasurer – May 2010 to Present

Sigma Gamma Tau Treasurer – April 2008 to May 2009

MIT Educational Council – August 2007 to Present

MIT Interfraternity Council (IFC) President – November 2005 to December 2006

MIT Interfraternity Council (IFC) Executive Assistant – November 2004 to November 2005

MIT Freshmen Associate Advisor – August 2004 to June 2007

Delta Tau Delta Fraternity Risk Manager – February 2006 to February 2007

Delta Tau Delta Fraternity New Member Educator – February 2004 to February 2006

Awards

2010 NASA GSRP Fellowship Award – NASA Langley Research Center

2010 School of Aeronautics and Astronautics Research Symposium Series Best Abstract

2009 NASA GSRP Fellowship Award – NASA Langley Research Center

2007 MIT Stewart Award – MIT Institute Award for Contributions to Student Life at MIT [Photo]

2007 MIT FSILG Senior Legacy Award – MIT Student Life Office Award for Contributions to Greek Life at MIT

Skills

Computers: LaTeX, BibTeX, Matlab, Simulink, STK, STK Connect, Java, Fortran 90, Ada95, GAMS, limited C++ and Visual Basic, HTML, Mathcad, Microsoft Windows and Office, Max OS X, computer construction and hardware knowledge.

Language: Fluent in Spanish.