0134.08°
Optimal Control · Entry Dynamics
Reusable vehicle crossrange
An LGR collocation solution for maximizing crossrange during constrained reusable launch vehicle entry.
Project briefing ↘Aerospace engineering · University of Florida
Engineering for the
edge of possibility.
I'm an aerospace engineering master's student focused on launch vehicles, trajectory optimization, aerodynamics, and computational analysis.
SCROLL TO EXPLORE
01 — Profile
Turning complex physics into
clear engineering decisions.
I work across the boundary of analysis and design—using computation to understand trade spaces, test assumptions, and make aerospace systems perform.
M.S.Aerospace Engineering
University of Florida
University of Florida
02 — Selected work
Built from first principles.
Focused studies spanning vehicle design, atmospheric flight, numerical methods, and probabilistic modeling.
02−75%
Finite Elements · Verification
Thermal & structural FEA
A mesh, symmetry, dimensionality, and element-order study across heat conduction and structural loading.
Project briefing ↘03MARS
Mission Design · Systems Engineering
Cosmic Coven Mars mission
A complete robotic Mars architecture spanning transfer design, aerobraking, orbital science, EDL, and spacecraft structures.
Project briefing ↘04−17%
Experimental Aerodynamics · XFOIL
Leading-edge icing wind tunnel
A clean-versus-rime-ice study of lift, drag, and stall on a 3D-printed NACA 65(2)-415 airfoil.
Project briefing ↘05R² .926
V&V · Uncertainty Quantification
Bayesian model verification
A data-driven comparison of drag models with Bayesian calibration and posterior predictive validation.
Project briefing ↘Also in the archive
Two-stage rocket design · Kriging analysis
Case study 01 — Mission design
Cosmic Coven:
a complete Mars mission architecture.
As a primary technical contributor, I developed the interplanetary transfer, Mars aerobraking and orbital strategy, and critical spacecraft structures for a multi-vehicle robotic survey mission.
Team systems design · University of FloridaMy technical focusTrajectory · Aerobraking · Structures
Transfer5.9 km/s
minimum modeled ΔV
Transit≈250 days
Earth-to-Mars transfer
Aerobraking180 days
to polar science orbit
Fatigue life10,508
cycles vs. 400 required
01
Interplanetary transfer
Built a MATLAB departure-arrival trade space and porkchop plot for the 2028–2029 window, identifying an approximately 250-day minimum-energy transfer.
02
Aerobraking & orbit
Defined the highly elliptical capture and 180-day aerobraking campaign leading to a 400 km polar science orbit with greater than 75% surface coverage.
03
Spacecraft structures
Sized the solar-array boom for peak atmospheric drag, then evaluated bending, shear, fatigue life, and fracture tolerance across the aerobraking campaign.
Case study 02 — Optimal control
Maximizing crossrange through atmospheric entry.
I transcribed a nonlinear reusable-launch-vehicle entry problem with single-mesh Legendre-Gauss-Radau collocation, then solved the resulting constrained nonlinear program in MATLAB.
Outcome34.0811°
terminal crossrange
Validation−0.243%
relative to GPOPS-II
Model247
decision variables
- Six-state nonlinear entry dynamics
- Free final time with terminal constraints
- Independent RK4 re-integration
- Physical bounds to avoid local minima
Case study 03 — Finite elements
Testing when a simpler model is still the right model.
I compared full, symmetry-reduced, 2D, and 3D finite-element models for steady-state conduction and structural compression, isolating the effects of mesh density, element order, and boundary conditions.
Reduction75%
via quarter symmetry
Thermal58.33°C
converged exterior peak
Structural35.33 MPa
quarter-model peak stress
- Thermal and linear-elastic studies
- Coarse-to-fine mesh convergence
- Linear vs. quadratic tetrahedra
- Plane-stress validity assessment
Case study 04 — Experimental aerodynamics
Measuring how leading-edge ice changes stall.
I helped design, fabricate, and test a 3D-printed NACA 65(2)-415 airfoil, comparing the clean configuration with simulated rime ice in a calibrated wind-tunnel experiment and against an XFOIL baseline.
Max lift−17%
0.968 clean to 0.803 iced
Max drag+16%
0.474 clean to 0.551 iced
Stall2° earlier
12° clean to 10° iced
- Reynolds number ≈198,000
- Calibrated lift and drag measurements
- 0°–16° angle-of-attack sweep
- Monte Carlo and RSS uncertainty analysis
Case study 05 — V&V and uncertainty
Calibrating a drag model—and testing whether it predicts.
I used experimental paper-helicopter drop data to select a physics model, quantify aleatory and epistemic uncertainty, calibrate its drag coefficient, and test out-of-sample predictive performance.
Model fitR² 0.926
linear drag model
Calibration50,000
posterior samples
Prediction0.0049
3-clip area metric
- Linear vs. quadratic drag selection
- Bayesian parameter calibration
- 95% posterior predictive P-boxes
- ECDF discrepancy area metrics
03 — Resume
Engineering depth,
grounded in computation.
Education
M.S. Aerospace Engineering
University of Florida · Expected December 2026
3.95 / 4.00 GPACertificates in Scientific Computing and Control SystemsFoundation
B.S. Aerospace Engineering
University of Florida · 2025
Computer Science minorNational Merit Scholar · Dean's ListTechnical toolkit
Code
Python · MATLAB · C++
Analysis
Abaqus · SolidWorks · LabVIEW
Focus
FEA · Optimal control · V&V / UQ
04 — Capabilities
01Flight dynamics—
02Aerodynamics—
03Optimization—
04Finite element analysis—
05Uncertainty quantification—
06Scientific computing—