Tasks
● Led a 50-person team to design and build a 100 lb hybrid rocket with a scientific payload
● Recruited, onboarded, and trained new members
● Coordinated design and integration, including cross-functional collaboration
● Organized and delegated meetings, goals, and project timelines
● Cultivated and communicated with industry partners
● Contributed directly to design and manufacturing
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
● Coordinated logistics and shipping of the rocket from NYC to the launch site in Mojave, CA
● Managed cross-subsystem integration of the rocket superstructure, mechanisms, sensors, and wiring
● Selected composite and metal materials for the superstructure to maximize strength-to-weight ratio
● Oversaw manufacturing across multiple processes, including CNC machining, 3D printing, and composites layup
● Wrote and ran test procedures including static fires and recovery deployment
● Designed the onboard electronics to power our main engine valve
● Debugged and repaired hardware hands-on in the field to keep our rocket flight-ready at competitions
Results
● Columbia University's first successful student designed and manufactured rocket launch and recovery
● Improved engine performance by 10x from the previous year
● Delivered a new, significantly more advanced rocket in a single academic year, a rare cadence for a student team
● Doubled team size by focusing on retention and increasing women's participation — from 20% to 50% of the team
● 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
● One of fewer than 100 student teams worldwide to build liquid or hybrid rockets
● Cultivated a team that, one year later, became the first U.S. student-led group to launch a liquid-oxygen hybrid rocket
