Team Leads
Project Lead
Troy Hayes
Troy Hayes is a Senior in Mechanical Engineering with an Aerospace Concentration. He joined the team to engage in the aerospace industry and get a better understanding of the NASA design process. After graduation, he plans on attending graduate school for a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering. Aerospace has been a passion for Troy since middle school. In middle school, he was the pilot for a mock space mission to the moon.
Program Manager
Lucie Meeker-Gordon
Lucie Meeker-Gordon is a senior in Mechanical Engineering at CSU with a concentration in aerospace. She wanted to join this team because it is a beneficial experience to learn what is required of an aerospace engineer in the field. After graduation, Lucie will be moving to Cape Canaveral, FL to work on the Space Force Base with United Launch Alliance. Outside of engineering, Lucie routinely plays seven different instruments and is on the CSU Women’s Ice Hockey team.
Safety Officer
Mason Martinez
Mason Martinez is a senior in Mechanical Engineering at CSU with a concentration in aerospace engineering and a minor in mathematics. He wanted to join the rocket team because he has a passion for space exploration and felt that this project would accelerate his future career. Mason is applying to graduate school in hopes of doing research in propulsion. Mason is also the captain of the Colorado State University Hockey team.
Vehicle Team Lead
Riley Duffins
Riley Duffens is a Senior Mechanical Engineering student with a minor in mathematics. He joined the CSU rocket team to further his interest in aerospace and provide an opportunity to utilize his academic knowledge. After graduation, he plans on taking a gap year before attending grad school for a master's program. A fun fact about Riley is that he is into highlining and makes his own kombucha.
Recovery Officer
Sean McGalliard
Sean McGalliard is a senior in Mechanical Engineering at CSU. He joined the CSU rocket team to get experience in aerospace design to get opportunities in industry and design orbital habitats. After graduation, he plans to go right into graduate school for Aerospace Engineering. Sean’s fun fact is that he is capable of bending almost every joint in his upper body backwards.
Payload Team Lead
Julia Schimmels
Jules Schimmels is a senior Mechanical Engineering student with a Concentration in Aerospace Engineering. They joined the USLI senior design team because they have had a passion for aerospace since they were young. They have experience in systems engineering and validation testing with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Opterus Research and Development, which they felt the USLI competition would allow them to expand on these skills and experiences. After graduation, they plan to attend graduate school to get a master's degree in either aerospace or systems engineering. A fun fact about Jules is that they were originally a music education major and played the trumpet before switching to engineering.
Vehicle Team
Aerodynamics Specialist
Andrew LiPuma
Andrew LiPuma is a Senior in Mechanical Engineering with an Aerospace Concentration. He joined the team to further fulfill his passion for aviation and the aerospace industry. Andrew has been flying airplanes since he was 15 years old and has loved all things that fly ever since. After graduation, he plans on flying F-35's for the Air National Guard.
Propulsion Specialist
Nick Bauchat
Nick Bauchat is a senior mechanical engineering student with an aerospace concentration. He joined the team to gain more knowledge and first-hand experience with rockets. After graduation, Nick plans to enter the workforce in aerospace research and development. Nick is also an identical twin with another mechanical engineering student, who is almost as smart and handsome as he is.
Payload Team
Controls Specialist
Parker Sherry
Parker Sherry is a senior completing a bachelor's in mechanical engineering. Although he is not in an aerospace concentration, like many of the other team members, aerospace and space exploration history have always been major interests. Parker plans to work in industry for a few years after graduating before returning to complete a master's degree.
Design Engineer
Brad Golgart
Brad Golgart is a senior completing a bachelor's in mechanical engineering. Brad joined this team as he has had an interest in aerospace all his life and was interested in gaining more experience in the field. After graduating he plans to work in industry. A fun fact about Brad is he enjoys skiing and skied over 40 days last winter.
Team Interns
Vehicle Intern
Noah Mauck
Noah Mauck is a junior in Mechanical Engineering with an Aerospace Concentration. Noah joined the team because he has a passion for rocketry and space. After graduation, he wants to work in the aerospace industry.
Vehicle Intern
Kavin Wijeskara
Kavin Wijesekara is a junior mechanical engineering student with an aerospace concentration. Kavin joined the team because he has been interested in NASA, space, and rocketry ever since he was little and wanted to gain experience in working in such a field. After graduating, Kavin plans to work in the aerospace industry as a propulsion engineer. A fun fact about Kavin is that he once accidentally launched a smaller model rocket during a school event that sailed over his neighbor’s fence. They were not happy.
Payload Intern
Jaxon Ternlund
Jaxon Ternlund; a junior, studying Mechanical Engineering with an Aerospace Concentration. Joined the team to engage in technical challenges in the aerospace field while learning more about rocketry and gaining experience in the NASA design process. After graduation, Jaxon plans on working in the aerospace field as a test engineer.
Payload Intern
Thor Knutson
Thor Knutson is a junior mechanical engineering student with an aerospace concentration. He joined the team to get experience working in aerospace and be part of a challenging project. He plans to work in the aerospace industry after graduation. He was an artilleryman in the Marines with a reputation for pushing the boundaries of artillery by experimenting with firing non-traditional projectiles.
Team Mentors
Faculty Member
Dr. Karen Thorsett-Hill
Faculty Member
Dan Cornet
NAR Mentor
Bob Wood
Bob has been building rockets for 50 years, sized from 1/4 A Estes projects like the Quark to N motors in scratch built designs. He is an active flyer with Northern Colorado Rocketry, has judged for the Spaceport America Cup, and has been to the Kennedy Space Center twice, most recently to watch a night launch of the Falcon-based SRS-27. Bob has a BS degree from UCCS in Applied Mathematics, with an Electrical Engineering bent, was a student at CSU while undertaking graduate study in Probability and Statistics and Stochastic processes, and studied Engineering Management at CU, before really focusing on his career. He has worked in a number of different companies, from mega cap to startup, and has a real passion for innovation, building teams and "making".