What is your next adventure?
Just a few weeks after graduation, I will join Georgia Tech as a research engineer in the Space Systems Design Lab. I’ll be working full-time with my current research advisor Dr. John Christian to develop new algorithms for optical space navigation. But, before I start, I’m going to France with my family for a graduation trip. 

What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?
I’m staying here because I love what I’m doing so much and a great opportunity opened up. I’m excited to be working on a new open-source software package called, Software for Optical Navigation and Instrument Calibration (SONIC), which once released as an open-sourced package, will help teams that want to include optical navigation in their space missions. We’ll be providing that service to the research community. Also, we’re working with Johnson Space Center to develop a device called Optical Deep-space Instrument for Navigation (ODIN), which will be able to perform spacecraft state estimation based on the images it takes. 

Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?
In the summer of 2020, I interned remotely with NASA Ames working on fluid dynamics. The following year I interned at MIT’s Lincoln Lab working on rapid prototyping development structures where I helped design a deployable antenna type and tested optical mounts. 

I started working with optical navigation in the fall of 2022 with Dr. John Christian. The next year I had the wonderful opportunity to intern with NASA Goddard where I got to work with navigation engineers. It was really eye opening to see what they were actively working on. 

I am very lucky in the way that I got to try multiple things in the field with my internships before  landing on what I've actually found my true interest and love for, which is optical navigation and image processing for spacecraft navigation specifically.

How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
Coming from Ellijay, Georgia you can imagine the culture shock coming to Atlanta. Right off the bat, you’re introduced to the intensity and the rigor that the educational experience at Tech puts you through. It sets you up to be able to solve hard problems, and that’s something  you come to appreciate about the AE school once those hard problems become reality. 

I’m very appreciative of all the mentors I’ve had along the way. Whether it was the faculty and staff or my own peers, the community was there to help me and give me the resources that I needed to succeed But they’re certainly not going to spoon feed you. Instead, they help you develop your own skillsets and knowledge that will serve you for years to come.

Beyond the culture, there are a lot of opportunities available to you early on in your journey at Tech. For me, it was learning about undergraduate research opportunities with Prof. Glenn Lightsey.  My research there allowed me to do the BS/MS program and get a glimpse at research early on. I was able to work on the small satellite program and got to work with a team of undergraduates both in design and fabrication. In the end you get  to watch your team’s creation launch from the international space station, which is really exciting. There are so many opportunities like this and they’re becoming more available to more universities, but Georgia Tech is spearheading them. I’m not sure I would have gotten the experience I did anywhere else. I really couldn’t have asked for a better set of mentors coming through Tech. 

What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?
For undergraduate students, looking to get into research specifically, be sure to focus on your studies. Spend time studying, and make time to gain a deep understanding of the material, rather than just trying to make a grade. 

But even more importantly, find the subject matter that really gets you excited. Whatever that may be, dive into it and learn as much as you can. Once you start understanding the material up to the point of cutting-edge, state of the art innovation, that is where the research happens. 

Learn as much as you can in the field that interests you. That’s going to involve a lot of reading, but it also involves a lot of talking. Talk to people in the field about their work and be ready to ask questions. I’ve been studying and working with optical navigation for two years, but my mentors such as Dr. Christian have decades of experience. One good conversation with a mentor like this can be worth hours of reading. Leaning on these types of people and mentors will help you establish yourself in research and find a path that works for you.