People

Maximilian Adang

Mechanical Engineering / Aerospace Engineering | Sophomore

I'm an undergraduate student at Caltech studying Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and have a strong interest in Optical Sciences and Astronomy. I want to design spacecraft for scientific research and exploration of the solar system and beyond. Working with satellites is an amazing opportunity to learn about and develop technology for spacecraft designed with these goals.

Hope Arnett

Mechanical Engineering | Freshman

Although I plan to study mechanical engineering, I am interested in robotics and control systems. I joined CubeSat to gain practical experience in optimizing electronic systems in miniature satellites, and I am excited to contribute to the development of this emerging technology as an undergraduate.

Turner Bumbary

Mechanical Engineering / Astrophysics | Freshman

I am an undergraduate student at Caltech studying mechanical engineering and astrophysics. My interest in CubeSat stems from their ability to accomplish complex missions with a relatively low barrier to entry. I started this team as a means of giving undergraduates the ability to engage in hands-on research and development.

Sean Chang

Mechanical Engineering | Freshman

I am a mechanical engineering student interested in the robotics field. I believe that space exploration will play a huge role in the future, and I'm excited to learn how robots can play a role in this revolutionary field. After graduation, I hope to continue working on robots that can better our society.

Tommy Clark

Physics | Freshman

I am a high energy physics student who is also interested in satellite launch trajectories and astrodynamics. I look forward to preparing the rocket's flight path entry to orbit on launch day.

Shivansh Gupta

Computer Science / Planetary Science | Freshman

I am interested in applying computer science to learn more about the unknown. Although other worlds have always felt unreachable, I joined Caltech's CubeSat club to gain hands-on experience with CubeSats and satellite technology and to gather data that will aid humanity in future space exploration.

Michael Gutierrez

Mechanical Engineering | Freshman

For as long as I can remember, I've loved working with my hands. Nothing excites me more than taking a cool idea and bringing it into reality, even if it sometimes takes a little elbow grease and a lot of WD-40. I joined Cubesat Club to do just that -- what could be cooler than an opportunity to send something you built to space?

Damon Lin

Computer Science | Freshman

I am interested in applied computer science, particularly machine learning and data science. As a member of CubeSat, I look forward to developing software needed for launching a satellite.

Daniel Neamanti

Mechanical Engineering / Planetary Science | Senior

Daniel's interests sit at the cross-section of mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and planetary science. Whether it is autonomous drilling capabilities for missions to the Jovian moons or machine learning augmentations to trajectory planning for harsh and safety-critical environments, Daniel seeks to enable scientific discoveries both in space and on Earth through new technologies at the frontier of robotic autonomy. After graduation, Daniel plans to pursue a Ph.D. in control systems in aerospace engineering.

Saskia van Nieuwstadt

Mechanical Engineering | Junior

Saskia is a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering with a lifelong passion for space. Her interests also include robotics & control systems, and mechanical analysis. After graduating from Caltech, she intends to pursue a Master's in Aerospace Engineering and then work on spacecraft technology in industry.

Andrew Pasco

Mechanical Engineering / Aerospace Engineering | Freshman

My interests span from robotics to aerospace applications, including CubeSats. I would love to get some experience developing technology that will eventually end up in space. I also think this involvement will be a great opportunity to participate in a team setting similar to industry. In the future, I plan to pursue a graduate degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.

Kemal Pulungan

Aerospace Engineering | Freshman

I am an aspiring aerospace engineer, specifically in astronautics. For years I have been interested in spaceflight and I seek to contribute to making space a peaceful place where continued scientific advancement and new economic opportunities can coexist. It is important that we use space in ways that ensure that everyone can benefit from it. I am interested in learning different areas of astronautics, such as orbital mechanics, GNC/ADCS and/or systems, to have a better idea of what area I would like to contribute to.

Saraswati Soedarmadji

Computer Science | Freshman

I am currently an undergraduate student at Caltech majoring in Computer Science. I am always interested in getting involved in projects that allow me to learn more about and eventually apply my knowledge in the areas of intelligent robots and aerospace engineering. This project gives me the rare opportunity to do both and also to meet others who share the same interests and goals.

Brit Wylie

Mechanical Engineering / Aerospace Minor | Senior

I am a senior in mechanical engineering with interests in-space automation, robotics, and propulsion methods. I have previously worked on satellite and space-related projects at JPL, Caltech, and Relativity Space. I am fascinated by the intersection of scientific and engineering pursuits in small satellite development, and I look forward to learning skills which will further my goal of contributing to the future of space exploration.

Vivian Zhang

Computer Science | Freshman

I'm a freshman computer science student and I joined CubeSat out of an interest in satellite technology. I'm excited to work with a team to create something amazing!

Polina Verkhovodova

Mechanical Engineering / Business, Entrepreneurship, and Management | Sophomore

As a mechanical engineering student, I hope to learn how to design and develop technologies that will help humanity. I joined CMOC to gain firsthand experience with such a technology – small satellites. I have learned a lot about the operations of small satellites and the analysis of their data. I look forward to learning more about how small satellites and other technologies can change our world.

Shu Fay Ung

Physics | Junior

My interests span both extremes of the scale - on the one hand, I'm interested in quantum physics, particularly quantum chemistry and quantum computing; on the other, I've been fascinated by space exploration and astrophysics. Within CMOC, I hope to contribute to operations and data analysis efforts. I'm planning to attend graduate school, though I'm still exploring which fields to specialize in.

Ruoyun Zheng

Computer Science | Junior

Ruoyun joined CMOC out of an interest in satellite technology, especially in relation to vision and understanding spatial data. After working on primarily software for satellites at a research lab, she wanted a chance to work on real time systems and receive a practical experience in addition to the theoretical! In the future, she would like to continue pursuing academics and attend graduate school.

Professor Bethany Ehlmann

Geological and Planetary Sciences

Bethany Ehlmann is a professor of planetary science at Caltech and research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Her research focuses on the mineralogy and chemistry of planetary surfaces, remote sensing techniques and instruments, astrobiology, and science policy and outreach. She is PI of the Lunar Trailblazer NASA smallsat mission and a member of the science teams for the Mars Exploration Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity), the CRISM imaging spectrometer on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, and the upcoming Mars 2020 rover. She is also on the Dawn orbiter team exploring the largest asteroid and dwarf planet Ceres, the EMIT space station-based imaging spectrometer to explore dust source regions, and is working to propose mission concepts for Europa, Venus, the Mars moons, asteroids and Earth.

Dr. Andrew Klesh

Andrew Klesh is a JPL Systems Engineer and lecturer in Engineering and Applied Sciences at Caltech. He is Chief Engineer of the MarCO mission.

Professor Emeritus Charles Elachi

Planetary Science and Electrical Engineering

I spent all my career at JPL and Caltech doing research using Spaceborne instruments for Earth and Planetary Exploration. From 2001 to 2016 I was the Director of JPL.

With the major advances in the capabilities of small spacecraft , the Caltech Faculty and students ( with some support from JPL) can develop and operate highly capable missions for space exploration and to demonstrate advanced space technology. The CMOC is an important element for advancing these missions, educate students by actually operating Earth Orbiting and Deep Space missions , and develop/demonstrate new tools to operate spacecraft more effectively using advanced Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence.

Professor José Andrade

Mechanical and Civil Engineering

José E. Andrade is the George W. Housner Professor of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at Caltech. Andrade's research interests lie at the intersection of science and engineering generally, and the exploration and development of infrastructure in the solar system specifically. Prof. Andrade's group studies the properties of regolith in celestial bodies, including Mars and Enceladus, to better understand the interaction with science instruments for in situ exploration. Another theme of Prof. Andrade's work deals with what would it take to build on Mars, as an analogue to transform design and building practices for affordable and sustainable infrastructure on Earth.

The Caltech Mission and Operation Center (CMOC) is synergistic to Prof. Andrade's research and academic interests.

Harsh Bhundiya

Mechanical Engineering / Aerospace | Class of 2020

I am interested in novel aerospace structures that will make the next generation of aircraft lighter and more fuel-efficient. I joined CMOC because I wanted to learn about how spacecraft are operated once they are launched, and how their data is received back on Earth. So far, I have learned that it is an involved process and that timing is everything! After Caltech, I plan on pursuing a masters in Aerospace Engineering.

Timothy Chen

Mechanical Engineering | Class of 2020

My research interests include robotics, remote sensing, and the miniaturization of satellites. Since joining CMOC, I have become more familiar with the subsystems and communications onboard CuteSats - knowledge I can apply to future research ideas. After graduation, I intend to pursue a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering in order to further small-satellite research.

Harel Dor

Applied Physics / Computer Science | Class of 2020

I joined CMOC because I'm passionate about all things space and I recognized this as a unique and rare opportunity to get firsthand experience in spacecraft operations while in college. In the future, I'd love to find myself working for NASA on similar projects.

Lewis Jones

Mechanical Engineering / Economics | Class of 2020

Lewis is a senior studying mechanical engineering and economics. He founded PARSEC, Caltech's rocketry organization that is working towards building a cryogenic bipropellant rocket to get to 45,000ft for a competition. Lewis is also a Matthew Isakowitz fellow, and is passionate about industrializing space and the Moon with entrepreneurship and new ideas. He is working on his first startup right now and plans to continue past graduation.

Ray Sun

Electrical Engineering | Class of 2020

Ray is interested in embedded systems, autonomy, control systems, and aerospace, with a focus on mission-critical robotics systems. He joined CMOC in order to pursue his passion for space, working with spacecraft in flight. To him, CMOC is a unique opportunity to be part of both the scientific and engineering efforts behind space missions. He intends to pursue a graduate degree in electrical engineering or robotics in the hope of contributing to advancements in the robotics industry.