What is your next adventure?
This summer I will be moving to the DC area to continue my work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on the Lunar Communications Relay and Navigation Systems (LCRNS). LCRNS will provide communication and navigation services for the Artemis program and other cislunar spacecraft. 

What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?
I’m thrilled about the prospect of continuing to address the complex and interesting problems that are associated with lunar constellation design. There’s a great opportunity  to apply my systems engineering, optimization, and flight dynamics skills to help tackle these challenges. We haven’t had a constellation around the moon yet, so there is still much to figure out. I have enjoyed  working on those challenges, and there is a great deal to do before launch. 

Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?
During my undergraduate and graduate studies, I had opportunities to partake in a lot of exciting internships and research projects. I’ve been working on LCRNS as a NASA Pathways Intern since January 2023, where I have helped design and evaluate proposed lunar constellations. 

In Summer 2022, I gained valuable trajectory design and optimization experience through an internship that I did for Jacobs Technology at NASA Johnson Space Center. I developed Artemis III abort trajectories for the Orion spacecraft, which was really the first time that I  learned how to design trajectories. I had the opportunity to learn Copernicus, which is the trajectory design software that they primarily use at Johnson. 

During my undergraduate studies, I interned at NASA Langley (2017, 2018) and NASA Ames (2018) where I was exposed to a great deal of systems engineering work. At Langley, I worked in the Space Mission Analysis Branch to develop a conceptual design for a Mars surface architecture. At Ames, I helped size the spacecraft imagery and communication systems for NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) which launched on April 23, 2024. 

I also worked on various research projects in the Aerospace Systems Design Lab (ASDL) pertaining to satellite constellation design, which is very similar to what I'm doing now, as well as  space habitat sizing.

How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
I gained an incredible wealth of knowledge from my professors and peers here at Georgia Tech, which fostered my growth in this field and set me on a path for success for the years to come.

The intensity and rigor of the program in ASDL left me well-equipped to address complex problems that require creative solutions. Specifically, I learned how to identify pertinent research challenges, convey their importance to stakeholders, and develop cost-effective ways to manage them. This led me to become a more well-rounded engineer. 

What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?
Make an effort to explore new areas of research, even if they’re outside your comfort zone, and to wholeheartedly appreciate every opportunity that comes your way. There are great lessons and skills that can be learned in any situation. 

I always wanted to work for NASA and be a part of human spaceflight, but it wasn’t initially clear to me how I would be a contributor. Ultimately, my internships and education helped me discover that systems engineering was my passion. Internships and research opportunities can lead you to develop specialized skills, which can help set you apart in your field. 

It’s important to push the bounds of what you think you’re capable of and strive to bring yourself to new and exciting places so that you can face  new and exciting challenges.