|
TEAM
|
|
Below are a short bio and the office, as appropriate, for each of our members. Our background and specific interests in this field are varied, but we share a commitment to this project and a passion for aerospace and mechanical engineering.
|
|
PRESIDENT | Will Runge
|
|
Will Runge was the original founding member of the Vanderbilt Aerospace Club/USLI. Two years ago, when Vanderbilt first sent a team to compete in the USLI, Will built the rocket that flew us to a third place finish amongst schools with decades of rocket-building experience. Will is a licensed airplane pilot, whose other interests include the outdoors, motorcycles, and computers. He is an instructor for Wilderness Skills (WilSkills), an outdoor survival and experiences course, and also worked with the Vanderbilt Biodiesel Initiative when it was first being formed.
|
|
|
VICE-PRESIDENT | Kyser Miree
|
|
Kyser Miree, a Senior Mechanical Engineer, will join the team for the first time this year in our development of a Rocket Launched UAV. He and Will worked together last summer for Dr. Anilkumar on a microfluidics experiment. Kyser hopes to help the team expand their knowledge of composite materials appropriate to the project at hand. In particular, he has great interest in working with Carbon Fiber, as a fuselage and body material for both the UAV and for the Rocket.
|
|
|
Matt Heller
|
|
Matt Heller is a senior Computer Engineer. He has worked for the Vanderbilt University Advanced Computing Center for Research and Education (ACCRE) for 2 years, working on software development, and as a systems and network administrator. He is the co-owner of his own company for embedded systems development, Rising Edge Development, LLC. He was also the captain of the FIRST Robotics team from 2003-2005. He has a considerable interest in aerospage engineering, and he will be working on developing the software for the ground station for the UAV, and also the flight computer onboard the aircraft. An avid outdoorsman, he met Will through WilSkills, where both are instructors. He also plays on the Vanderbilt Ultimate Frisbee team.
|
|
|
Tyler Lamb
|
|
Tyler Lamb is a senior mechanical engineer, and new member of the aerospace club. He spent last semester abroad in Brisbane, Australia where he developed an interest in fluid mechanics and aerodynamics. Tyler has spent two summers interning with Northtop Grumman's ship building sector, and hopes to attend gradutate school for aerospace and work in Northrop Grumman's space sector there after.
|
|
|
Thomas Bowden
|
|
Thomas Bowden is a senior mechanical engineer, and one of the new members of the aerospace club. Thomas did some computer programming work for Professor Nilanjan Sarkar last semester, and has recently become a fluids and aerodynamics enthusiast. He spent three summers working for The Vanderbilt University Free-Electron Laser Lab where he ran control experiments for vacuum systems and designed various circuits for researchers. He hopes to get a job in the field of aeronautics with an emphasis on design. He will bring a strong technical background to the team and provide good insight into the problems the club has run into in the past.
|
|
|
Thomas Carroll
|
|
Thomas Carroll is also a Senior Mechanical Engineer. This is his first semester working as a member of the aerospace club. This past summer Thomas worked for Dr. Eric Barth at Vanderbilt developing and characterizing a Small-Scale Tesla Turbine for use as an electrical power generator. He has always held a passion for rocketry, as his favorite movie is October Sky, and looks forward to helping take the UAV project to the next level. After graduation he hopes to either pursue a job in the aerospace industry or pursue a Master's degree in mechanical Engineering. Thomas also enjoys sports and the outdoors. He is a kicker for the Vanderbilt varsity football team.
|
|
|
Ben Havrilesko
|
|
Ben Havrilesko is a senior Mechanical Engineer. He has interned with Bose Corporation, and Audobon Engineering Firm. He has an interest in acoustics and vibrations, as well as aeronautical engineering. A new inductee to the team, he will be working with composite materials and hopes to help design the UAV and the rocket. He will also be assisting Will Runge in working on the website.
|
|
|
Matthias "Ty" Barringer
|
|
Ty Barringer is a Junior Mechanical Engineer. He's worked several different interesting internships, and has ample experience working on design project groups. Despite being a year younger than most of the team, he's the most knowledgable in ProEngineer. Right now he's helping to assemble the rocket, and also doing a lot of the different CAD tasks for the team.
|
|
|
Keith Becker
|
|
Keith Becker is a junior in Mechanical Engineering. A new member of the team, he, like will, is a licensed airplane pilot. He recently transferred to Vanderbilt from Purdue and once at Vanderbilt one of the first things he did was contact Will about joining the team. He's working on a number of different mini-projects for the team, including a special vacuum chamber for testing and calibrating the team's barometric altimeters.
|
|
|
Ryan Taylor
|
|
Ryan Taylor is a Sophomore Mechanical Engineer. He recently transferred into Vanderbilt from Purdue. He has a long history as a R/C enthusiast, with lots of experience building and flying remote control airplanes. He is anxious to get invovled with the team and help design and pilot the UAV.
|
|
|
Zach Smith
|
|
Zach Smith is a freshman Mechanical Engineer. He was recruited to the team because of his previous experience with amateur rocketry; his highschool's rocket club competed and performed well in the highschool-version of the USLI, as well as the Team America Rocketry Challenge. He brings ample knowledge of amateur rocketry to the team, and is a quick learner to the skills and knowledge acquired by existing and previous members of the team. He's in charge of designing and building this year's rocket.
|
|
|
Erin McManus
|
|
Erin McManus is a freshman Mechanical Engineering major. She interned in the CORE laboratory in the Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Maryland for the past two summers and has always been interested in flying. She hopes to get involved with the team now and stay involved over the next four years.
|
|
