Tasks
● Lead a 50-person team to design and build a 100 lb hybrid rocket to reach 30,000 ft
● Recruit, onboard, and train new members
● Coordinate design and integration, including cross-functional collaboration
● Organize and delegate meetings, goals, and project timelines
● Cultivate and communicate with industry partners
● Directly contribute to design and manufacturing where necessary
Actions
● Developed a dual-track design strategy: encouraging bold, innovative systems while developing low-risk backups to ensure reliability
● Created onboarding paths that gave new members real projects and the ability to contribute while still learning
● Wrote weekly progress updates to the team, including highlighting team members for their achievements
● Interviewed former members to gather feedback and drive improvements
● Led full-rocket integration
● Led static fires and recovery tests
● Coordinated logistics and shipping of the rocket from NYC to the launch site in Mojave, CA
● Designed the onboard electronics to power our main engine valve
Results
● Columbia University's first successful student designed and manufactured rocket launch and recovery
● Doubled team size by focusing on retention and increasing women's participation — from 20% to 50% of the team
● Improved engine performance by 10x from the previous year
● Raised $15,000 from industry sponsors
● FAR-OUT 2024 Rocket Competition Best Presentation Award for our innovative pneumatic run valve
● FAR-OUT 2024 Rocket Competition Payload Award for our onboard hypergravity eye cell experiment
Notable
● Built a team that, one year later, became the first U.S. student-led group to launch a liquid-oxygen hybrid rocket
