News

Astronaut professor launching into retirement

Jeff Zehnder — Fri, 02 May 2025 18:00:39 +0000

Astronaut professor launching into retirement Jeff Zehnder Fri, 05/02/2025 - 12:00

Jeff Zehnder

Voss at Sierra Nevada with students and a Dream Chaser mockup.

From training as an Army Ranger and flight test engineer, to life as an astronaut in the microgravity of space, to educating the next generation of aerospace engineers, Jim Voss (MAero鈥�74; HonPhD鈥�00) has a list of career achievements a mile long.

Now he is taking on a new challenge: retirement.

A scholar-in-residence in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, Voss has served as a faculty member at 51吃瓜网 since 2009.

He has also taught at Auburn University and West Point and worked in the commercial space sector as Vice President for Space Exploration Systems at Sierra Nevada Corporation and its predecessor, SpaceDev.

What led you to pursue engineering as a career?

My older brother was in engineering at Auburn at the time and I didn鈥檛 know what I wanted to major in. He said to pick engineering because it鈥檚 very broad, and I could move from that discipline to almost anything else easily.

I found the math parts very difficult. I really questioned whether engineering was the right thing and thought about switching over to physical education. I was wrestling for Auburn and thought I would like coaching that. But I stuck with it and finished with my Aerospace Engineering degree.

When did you decide to apply to the astronaut program?

I鈥檝e always liked space and I like reading science fiction. Growing up we didn鈥檛 have a human spaceflight program yet, so even the idea of going to space was science fiction, but it always sounded really interesting.

In 1978, when I was stationed in Germany, there was a little tiny article in the Army Times that NASA was creating a new vehicle and would need engineers and scientists to be astronauts and you didn鈥檛 have to have perfect vision. When I read that I thought they鈥檇 created the program just for me.

I applied, but didn鈥檛 get selected because I wasn鈥檛 qualified at that point.

I applied (to the astronaut program) five times over nine years. Each time I was improving and had done things that made my application stronger."

How long did it take before you were accepted?

I applied five times over nine years.

Each time I was improving and had done things that made my application stronger.

Getting declined feels pretty bad. You know it鈥檚 a tough application and only a few people get selected, but it鈥檚 hard to accept you鈥檙e not good enough. To go through it multiple times you wonder if you鈥檙e ever going to be good enough.

What were you doing to improve your application prospects?

I did things in my career that were interesting to me that I also knew were relevant to NASA.

I was always interested in flying, so I got my private pilot鈥檚 license.

Then I saw a note about the Naval Test Pilot School, which is where the Army sends its pilots. I was being recruited for the Army Aviation Research and Development Command, but I asked my assignments guy if I could be sent to the test pilot program first. I thought it would help at the R&D command if I was trained to be a flight test engineer.

He said, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not going to test pilot school. You鈥檙e an infantry guy,鈥� but I got bold and wrote a letter to the responsible general officer about it and he got me assigned to test pilot school.

I鈥檓 convinced that program had a big role in me eventually being chosen as an astronaut.

The one thing I didn鈥檛 do was get a PhD. It would have been just for my application, and that didn鈥檛 appeal to me.

You were selected in 1987 and had your first spaceflight in 1991. What is it like working in microgravity?

Floating around in microgravity is a pretty neat thing. I like being able to move really heavy things around and do weird moves and flips in space. From a sensory perspective, it鈥檚 almost overwhelming because it鈥檚 very different. You can be upside down or in any orientation.

You have a different perspective on volume when you鈥檙e floating around. You can use all the volume. You鈥檙e not limited to the floor. You can have someone lying up on the ceiling and they feel out of the way. Your perception changes.

You share the record for the longest spacewalk in American history at eight hours and 56 minutes. Was that planned?

We had no idea when we were out. It wasn鈥檛 until we got back inside that they said, 鈥榊ou know that鈥檚 the longest spacewalk ever.鈥�

Wow, I knew I was tired and getting thirsty.

Had I known we were at 8:56, I would have stayed out for four more minutes to hit nine hours.

Jim Voss with his Cirrus SR22.

You flew on five shuttle missions. What led you to retire from the astronaut program?

There were three of us on my final flight and we were giving an interview from ISS. The interviewer asked if we would sign up for another mission. Yuri Usachev and I both said this was probably our last flight. Susan Helm said she wasn鈥檛 sure. It ended up being the last for all of us.

We trained for four years for the mission and a lot of that was spent in Russia. I thought I鈥檇 done everything I wanted to do, and I didn鈥檛 want to go through another couple years of training. It was time to do something different and I wanted to teach again.

You鈥檝e had multiple assignments in Russia for NASA. How is your Russian?

I鈥檓 not a language person. Before going the first time, I got a couple months of very part-time instruction, but when I got to Russia my Russian was really not good.

We didn鈥檛 have any interpreters. None of the training materials were in English and almost nobody spoke English.

I really had trouble since I spoke it poorly; I wanted to speak it correctly. Roscosmos provided a Russian instructor and I spent every morning doing training and I eventually got there. After a year I could communicate well.

How does teaching at West Point compare to 51吃瓜网 and Auburn?

I enjoy all the undergraduate and graduate students I鈥檝e taught. I enjoy the interaction with them and seeing their enthusiasm. The difference at West Point is the students are very disciplined. If you were boring as an instructor鈥攁s sometimes happens鈥� and they were sleepy, they would stand up behind their desk to pay attention.

How does space mission training compare to actually being in orbit?

The actual mission is a lot easier than the training. NASA needs you to be ready for anything, so during the training they鈥檙e intentionally causing malfunctions. Once you actually get up there, everything鈥檚 not breaking around you.

What do you have planned for retirement?

I still enjoy flying and working on my airplanes. I have a Cirrus SR22 and a Rutan Long-EZ experimental aircraft I built myself. I spend a good bit of time doing maintenance on them. They keep me pretty busy.

My wife and I would like to travel more, although I think she鈥檚 worried I鈥檓 going to miss teaching.

We have a lot of travel plans. We went to Egypt when we were younger and are interested in visiting again. I鈥檇 like to go to New Zealand and go back to southern Africa. Our next big trip will be to Brazil this fall for the annual Association of Space Explorers Congress. I expect to stay busy in retirement, but will miss my CU students and colleagues.

Additional Photos

Voss floating in microgravity.

ISS Expedition 2 photo with Voss, Yury Usachev, and Susan Helms.

Voss on a spacewalk while orbiting Earth.

Leading classroom instruction at 51吃瓜网

Voss helping a student gear up in a mock space suit.

Voss being recognized with the AIAA Haley Space Flight Award.

From training as an Army Ranger and flight test engineer, to life as an astronaut in the microgravity of space, to educating the next generation of...

Off

Traditional

Voss conducting a spacewalk on STS-101.

White

Multiple honors at AIAA student conference

Jeff Zehnder — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 18:17:50 +0000

Multiple honors at AIAA student conference Jeff Zehnder Tue, 04/29/2025 - 12:17

Jeff Zehnder

Smead Aerospace students received multiple awards at the 2025 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Region V conference.

In undergraduate and graduate categories, aerospace students were recognized at the event, which was held at the University of Minnesota earlier this month.

Undergraduate Team Category

1st Place: Senior Design Team ASTRA - 鈥淐ountering Balance Impairments in Microgravity and Earth Environments Using a Reactive Balance System"
- Sweta Alla, Austin Marx, Stephen West, Rishab Pally, Jack Diener, Tyler Hoover, Zack Goldberg, Rohit Karri, Barbara De Figueiredo, Jessica Shoemaker, Chloe Zentner, Maya Mital, Alia Feltes-DeYapp
3rd Place: Senior Design Team LEONIDS - 鈥淎erodynamic Stability for Optimal CubeSat Drag Sail Operations"
- Adrian Bryant, Quinten Krikava, Nicole Rogers, Polly Fitton, Tyler Renken, Murilo Tibana, Savar Rodine, Mark Turner, Andrew Vo, Shane Billingsley, Sam Allen, Daniel Mascarenas, Victoria Madden

Undergraduate Category

1st Place: Christopher O鈥橬eill Jr - 鈥淢odeling Trajectory and Attitude to Optimize Baffle Design for the Optical Navigation System of the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt"

Graduate Category

3rd Place: Lynnette Wilde and Lynzee Hogger - 鈥淗uman Spaceflight Graduate Projects: Recommendations for Project-Based Aerospace Systems Engineering"

Off

Traditional

White

Spring 2025 Graduation Ceremony Information

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:09:09 +0000

Spring 2025 Graduation Ceremony Information Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/29/2025 - 08:09

Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences will host a commencement ceremony for all graduating aerospace students on May 8, 2025.

Off

Traditional

White

Aerospace senior earns college perseverance award

Jeff Zehnder — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:00:08 +0000

Aerospace senior earns college perseverance award Jeff Zehnder Tue, 04/29/2025 - 08:00

Teegan Oatley is an aerospace engineering sciences senior and a 2025 recipient of the Perseverance Award from the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Below, as a soon-to-be graduate, she reflects on her student experience and future as an engineering professional.

What are your post-graduation plans?

After graduation, I am working as an Engineer I at a satellite solar array start-up called Source Energy Company.

What is your favorite memory from your time at 51吃瓜网?

My favorite memories from my time at CU were game days at Folsom and spending time with my sorority sisters.

What accomplishment are you most proud of, either academically or personally?

I am most proud of my role in the growth of Phi Sigma Rho, a sorority for women and gender minorities in STEM, which supported about 20 members when I first stepped into leadership and now supports more than 70 active members.

When did you feel like you hit your stride or like you were 鈥渙fficially鈥� an engineer.

With each internship that I had, I grew more and more confident in my skills. During my 3rd internship, I was working in manufacturing engineering and set up a process for conformal coating circuit boards for various satellite components.

I was able to confidently identify issues in the cleanroom setup that impacted the machinery used for the conformal coating process and presented suggested solutions to the Director of Engineering at the company, who immediately addressed them.

The success of that project felt like a breakthrough in realizing that I am fully capable of being an engineer.

What is your biggest piece of advice for incoming engineering students?

My biggest piece of advice for incoming engineering students is to learn what helps you reset or de-stress. For me, I ground myself and reset my stress levels by spending some time in nature, but it could be anything that works for you.

Engineering and college in general can be really stressful so having a mechanism to help relieve stress is crucial.

What experiences or qualities do you think led to you receiving this award

I was raised in a family of very hard-working and self-driven people. When I decided that I wanted to be an aerospace engineer in 7th grade, nothing was going to change my mind.

By the time I came to CU, I was closer to my goal than ever before and so as I got closer to graduation, each setback didn't feel as significant because I learned more with each one and I was still getting closer to reaching my goal.

I also have a passion for supporting others through their experiences in STEM so my involvement in the Learning Assistant program, Phi Sigma Rho, and the GoldShirt scholarship program provided avenues for me to both practice my skills and support other engineering students.

Off

Traditional

White

Leading space bioastronautics research and inspiring the next generation

Jeff Zehnder — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 21:09:35 +0000

Leading space bioastronautics research and inspiring the next generation Jeff Zehnder Fri, 04/25/2025 - 15:09

Jeff Zehnder

David Klaus has built a career centered around the science and engineering of human spaceflight as a systems engineer, researcher and educator. After four decades on the leading edge, he is embarking on his next challenge: retirement.

鈥淚鈥檝e been lucky,鈥� said Klaus, a professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences. 鈥淚鈥檝e had a really fun career. If you鈥檇 asked me 40 years ago what I wanted to do with my life, I would have had no idea, but looking back now, it's easy to see how the dots connected.鈥�

Klaus has supported Space Shuttle launches, played an active role in dozens of research studies that have flown in orbit, worked on designs for future space habitats, crafted curriculum for undergraduate and graduate students, guided federal regulations, and nearly became an astronaut himself.

An impressive list of accomplishments for someone who originally did not see himself spending a career in aerospace.

Growing Up

鈥淪pace wasn鈥檛 something that was talked much about when I was growing up in West Virginia. Watching the Moon landings as a child, the astronauts were like superheroes to me. How do you do that kind of work? I had no idea,鈥� Klaus said.

After high school, he earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from West Virginia University and, upon graduation, faced every young engineer鈥檚 dream: multiple job offers 鈥� he successfully interviewed at Pratt and Whitney, Texas Instruments, and NASA Kennedy Space Center.

He chose NASA.

鈥淚 honestly hadn鈥檛 thought about opportunities in aerospace, but the possibility that I could work in a program launching people into space? You can鈥檛 turn that down,鈥� Klaus said.

Life at NASA

He worked with life support systems in shuttle launch control and before long, had transitioned to Vandenberg Air Force Base and then Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Texas. Klaus鈥檚 job in spacesuit testing and spacewalk operations had an almost perfect crossover with some of his hobbies.

鈥淚 had my pilot鈥檚 license and was a scuba diver, so I got to get in the neutral buoyancy laboratory, the pool鈥攚here the astronauts train鈥攚ith them,鈥� he said.

51吃瓜网

In 1990, he came to 51吃瓜网 with an eye toward a master鈥檚 degree. The aerospace department鈥檚 BioServe Space Technologies was researching biological life support systems, which Klaus saw as an important advance from the traditional physical and chemical technologies used on the space shuttle.

Klaus鈥檚 prior experience at NASA became invaluable for the upcoming BioServe payload activities. His background at both Kennedy and Johnson Space Centers meant he was intimately familiar with mission operations and crew procedures.

鈥淚 came for the master鈥檚, but the research became really interesting. I got much more into how spaceflight affects microbes and continued on to a PhD. I did my thesis on how bacteria respond to spaceflight. At that time, there were maybe a couple dozen papers on the topic,鈥� Klaus said.

After completing his PhD and a year-long Fulbright Postdoctoral fellowship at the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Germany, Klaus suddenly found himself without a job offer, the exact opposite of the situation after his bachelor鈥檚 degree.

鈥淚 was applying for jobs from Germany, but I never got any responses. BioServe said they needed help with some upcoming flights and would I return? My plan at that point was to only hang out in 51吃瓜网 for a few months while I figured things out,鈥� Klaus said.

Designing Courses

His 鈥渇ew months鈥� in 51吃瓜网 quickly became a more permanent chance to conduct space life science research and craft what would become the department's bioastronautics curriculum.

鈥淚 developed my first class, space life sciences, in 1993 while I was still a PhD student. Human space vehicles were for me at the time mostly focused on the life support hardware 鈥� HVAC systems, pumps, and fans. Eventually I became more aware of the human-centered aspects, that鈥檚 how I鈥檝e developed the curriculum here. We start with a human in mind and then move on to what is needed to keep them alive and healthy in space,鈥� Klaus said.

In 2002, Klaus became a tenure-track professor within the aerospace department, cementing his leadership role in growing bioastronautics research and education at the university.

鈥淲e鈥檙e helping students find their place in the world. I love seeing where they go. They鈥檙e the real product of the university; our research is important, but the students are the most significant outcome, in my opinion,鈥� Klaus said.

Across his time at 51吃瓜网, Klaus has directly advised 24 PhD students and served on another 30 PhD committees, in addition to teaching thousands of undergraduate and graduate students.

Astronaut Finalist

Klaus twice applied to the NASA astronaut program, both times making it through successive rounds of applicant winnowing and being brought in for NASA鈥檚 intense multi-day in-person interview process.

鈥淚t鈥檚 mostly medical testing, like having a weeklong physical,鈥� Klaus said. 鈥淭hey check everything. Do you have two kidneys? You think you do, but I know I do. NASA checked.鈥�

The culmination is an hourlong meeting with a panel of NASA administrators and astronauts.

鈥淵ou write an essay that they read aloud to the group, then they sit you down and say, 鈥楾ell us about yourself. Start with high school.鈥� I was kind of lucky because I knew a lot of the crew. It could be an intimidating experience if you鈥檇 never been there before,鈥� Klaus said.

In both cases, Klaus made it to the last group of around 40 finalists for roughly 15 astronaut slots. Unfortunately, he was not selected.

鈥淭he first time was a real letdown, but the second time, my oldest son was born the day before I got the call and having a kid changes your perspective on life and risk taking,鈥� Klaus said.

Recent Research

As a faculty member, Klaus鈥檚 recent work has included leading the last four years of a Federal Aviation Administration Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation. The seven-university initiative evaluated how the FAA could meet the needs of the growing space sector.

鈥淚t really helped the agency extend itself from an aircraft-centered organization into spaceflight, as the FAA must increasingly deal with both vertical and horizontal traffic. The Center helped them broaden their way of operating into multiple flight domains,鈥� he said.

Although Klaus has graduated his last PhD student and will no longer be teaching, he is still working on several research papers related to his time as deputy director of the NASA SmartHab Space Technology Research Institute, which ended in 2024. The effort, called HOME, focused on assessing autonomous or 鈥榮mart鈥� technologies needed for future space habitats on the Moon or Mars.

鈥淲hen something breaks in low Earth orbit, you can launch up a new part. That鈥檚 not an option for a base on Mars. You need to rely on processes like additive manufacturing, 3D printing, so we鈥檙e creating the means to integrate those technologies into the habitat. It鈥檚 been a cool way to wrap up my career, looking back at things I learned on the Space Shuttle and what worked for it and now determining other areas where we need new possibilities for deep space operations,鈥� Klaus said.

After his retirement in May, Klaus and his wife are planning to travel, but he is also looking forward to no longer having a need for a daily alarm clock.

鈥淚 need a little decompression time,鈥� Klaus said. 鈥淚 want to be bored for a little bit, to take a breath and reprioritize my days.鈥�

In recognition of Klaus鈥檚 contributions to the university, aerospace faculty voted this spring to bestow him with the title emeritus professor. The distinction recognizes his record of exceptional service and allows him the opportunity to continue research on campus, should he decide retirement can wait a bit longer.

Off

Traditional

White

Student built rocket soars to second place finish at 24,000 feet

Jeff Zehnder — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 21:00:31 +0000

Student built rocket soars to second place finish at 24,000 feet Jeff Zehnder Tue, 04/22/2025 - 15:00

Jeff Zehnder

Up, up, and away!

The 12-foot tall rocket soared upward, screaming into the sky as it broke the sound barrier.

The CU in Space Club鈥檚 entry to the Argonia Cup rocket competition reached 24,000 feet and earned second place in the tournament.

鈥淭he flight was awesome. All the hard work is worth it when you finally see it go up and vanish out of sight in a few seconds,鈥� said Alex Virga, a 51吃瓜网 aerospace senior and co-leader of the competition team.

Held March 29-30, the competition brought together 20 college teams from across the United States to rural Kansas for a showcase of high-powered rocketry. CU in Space had spent months designing, molding, and shaping fiberglass, carbon fiber and other assorted materials to meet the competition requirement of a two-stage rocket carrying a payload of multiple golf balls that could reach 9,000-40,000 feet in altitude.

Designing a rocket

鈥淲e made a python script to map out all the possible rocket configurations we could use and the different scoring metrics to determine the most important considerations for the design,鈥� said Rithul Rengarajan, an aerospace sophomore and competition co-lead.

The requirement of a two-stage rocket presented unique challenges. Many members of the team had taken part in past competitions and amateur rocket building, but had never faced this level of difficulty.

鈥淗igh powered rocketry can be pretty complex, especially a two-stage rocket. You鈥檙e essentially stacking two rockets on top of each other and then you have to figure out how to separate and ignite the second stage safely in midair,鈥� Virga said.

Prototype launch and breakdown

In the months leading up to the competition, they built a prototype vehicle and conducted two test launches. One went well, with both stages of the rocket firing successfully. The second launch, however, was not as positive.

鈥淲e had an electronics failure and the rocket went ballistic,鈥� said Leya Shaw, team captain and an aerospace junior.

The team had noticed issues with an onboard computer before the test launch, but did not believe it was a fatal problem. They were wrong, and it led them to take additional precautions with their competition rocket build.

鈥淎t Argonia we all had the ability to say I鈥檓 not comfortable with the launch. We implemented protocols like NASA does before a launch where everyone has go/no go approval,鈥� Virga said.

Competition time

The night before the competition, three team members pulled an all-nighter to complete integration of their avionics and computer systems into the rocket. The work demonstrated a new problem: one of their altimeters was failing.

Members of the team at the launch pad.

鈥淭hankfully, at an event like this, there are a lot of rocketry vendors there. We ended up buying a new altimeter and were good to go,鈥� Rengarajan said.

Well, mostly good to go.

After squeezing everything into the rocket and carrying it out to the launch pad, something went wrong again.

鈥淭he computer was showing an error. We鈥檇 already installed the igniters by that point, so it was a very careful dance of disarming the electronics, removing the initiators and making sure the rocket was safe to move and take apart. Luckily just one wire had popped loose from a screw terminal,鈥� Virga said.

After a quick reassembly, the launch went off without a hitch.

Of the 20 teams, just five had their launches recorded for a score, including 51吃瓜网. Several teams had second stage separation issues or could not find their rockets after landing to recover the onboard computers containing critical altitude data for scoring.

With a second place finish, the team took home a cash prize as well as valuable flight computers and altimeters donated by corporate sponsors for the top finishing teams.

Record of success

It was a stellar result for a team with a history of success. Last year, CU in Space competed in the NASA University Launch Initiative, earning the rookie award, among other honors. In 2023, the team鈥檚 predecessor, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, earned first in all categories at that year鈥檚 NASA First Nations Launch competition.

Their eyes are now on 2026 and potentially entering the International Rocket Engineering Competition, which brings in teams from around the world.

鈥淲e want to be 51吃瓜网鈥檚 competition rocket team,鈥� Shaw said. 鈥淥ur motto is learn, burn and earn. For learn, if you have no experience, we鈥檒l give it to you. Burn, we launch a lot. Earn, we want to earn our reputation in the rocketry community.鈥�

Off

Traditional

White

Two PhD students earn top National Science Foundation fellowship

Jeff Zehnder — Sun, 20 Apr 2025 19:52:39 +0000

Two PhD students earn top National Science Foundation fellowship Jeff Zehnder Sun, 04/20/2025 - 13:52

Jeff Zehnder

Two aerospace graduate students have earned prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program awards.

Annalise Cabra and Asa O'Neal are 2025 recipients of the NSF GRFP awards, which recognize and support outstanding grad students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields who are pursuing research-based master鈥檚 or doctoral degree.

Awardees receive a $37,000 annual stipend and cost of education allowance for the next three years as well as professional development opportunities.

Find out about their research below:

Annalise Cabra

Advisors: Jim Nabity and Xu Wang
Labs: Bioastronautics Laboratory and the Institute for Modeling Plasmas, Atmospheres, and Cosmic Dust (IMPACT)

Undergraduate Major: Physics, 51吃瓜网

My research will focus on the handling of lunar dust to support space exploration, specifically methods for dust mitigation and/or in-situ resource 鈥媢tilization. The dust on the lunar surface gets electrically charged from the solar wind and will mobilize or be lofted, causing it to adhere to various materials like spacesuits or spacecrafts with instruments, solar panels, etc. This then becomes a hazard when trying to carry out space exploration. I will focus on strategies to mitigate this.

I am also interested in in-situ resource utilization and the extraction of local resources on the moon. These steps are crucial for making long-duration space missions more sustainable and affordable by minimizing the need to transport materials from Earth. I will focus on advancing methods for extracting volatiles from the lunar regolith like oxygen to produce materials like propellant or habitats.

Asa O'Neal

Advisor: Iain Boyd
Lab: Nonequilibrium Gas & Plasma Dynamics Laboratory

Undergraduate Major: Mechanical Engineering & Physics, University of Kentucky

My research will focus on modeling air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) systems for spacecraft operating in very low Earth orbit (VLEO). This research will support the development of sustainable, long-duration VLEO missions by enabling in-situ propellant collection and reducing reliance on onboard fuel.

Off

Traditional

White

Flickr Gallery: 2025 Senior and Graduate Design Symposium

Jeff Zehnder — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 20:16:59 +0000

Flickr Gallery: 2025 Senior and Graduate Design Symposium Jeff Zehnder Fri, 04/18/2025 - 14:16

Smead Aerospace held the 2025 Senior & Graduate Projects Symposium on April 18, 2025 at the Aerospace Building on campus.

Off

Traditional

White

Engineering advice from the President of BAE Systems, Space & Mission Systems

Jeff Zehnder — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 17:40:23 +0000

Engineering advice from the President of BAE Systems, Space & Mission Systems Jeff Zehnder Thu, 04/17/2025 - 11:40

Jeff Zehnder

Dave Kaufman is offering advice on career paths to aspiring engineers as the President of BAE Systems, Space & Mission Systems.

Kaufman began his 30-year career in industry as a thermal engineer. He gradually took on new roles and opportunities, managing larger and larger teams until he became president of BAE Systems鈥� Space & Mission Systems sector, previously known as Ball Aerospace.

A year after Ball Aerospace鈥檚 acquisition by BAE Systems, Inc., Kaufman shared insights with students in a special seminar April 10 hosted by Mark Sirangelo in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the 51吃瓜网.

If you were studying engineering today, where would you focus?

If you read career guidebooks, they say you鈥檝e got to have a plan. You have to know what your next step is and where you鈥檙e going, or you鈥檒l never get there. That鈥檚 not true. I never knew where I was going. I was doing a job, and I found it exciting.

Quantum and AI are important, but truly, study what you love. If it鈥檚 interesting to you, you鈥檒l keep going. It was that excitement that kept me going. The things we do are hard. If you don鈥檛 love it, it鈥檚 going to be a grind.

It might not be the subject, but it might be who you鈥檙e studying under. All of us have had a couple of teachers who changed our direction. Being open to that is important.

You worked at Hughes, Boeing and then Ball Aerospace in frontline engineering positions for 10 years before making the leap to leadership. What led to that change?

I wanted to solve challenges and achieve missions. I was fortunate because I was selected to lead a little team as the thermal lead. In that role, I coached and helped out, which exposed me to people leadership. That felt like me.

My leadership opportunities started as a lot of chance. I did it because it needed to be done, and I liked it and was invested. I鈥檓 always learning something. I moved from engineering jobs and program engineering jobs to proposals and portfolios. As I went on, every step I led more people, focused a little less on the technology and moved a little closer to the customer. The journey was just so exciting.

What was the transition to leadership like?

You have choices along the way. You can be a SME 鈥� a subject matter expert 鈥� basically a really hardcore engineer or scientist. Or you can lead a function. I took the project path. Those aren鈥檛 necessarily mutually exclusive, but at some point, you make a choice. I鈥檓 glad that I picked what I did, but I鈥檓 so appreciative of people who picked differently.

As I moved away from the work and moved toward management, my value as an employee changed. I didn鈥檛 design, but I influenced projects and made contributions through all these people.

The other piece of it was that I had to give up doing the job I used to do, and that was difficult. Letting go is so important. I needed to let the new person do that job, even though there were things they were going to do that I wouldn鈥檛 do that way. But there are some parts of that job they will do better than I would ever imagine.

What skills are more important today for students than when you were in college?

Don鈥檛 shirk your writing skills. Students coming out of pure engineering schools sometimes don鈥檛 have the writing skills. It鈥檚 not fun, but the most brilliant analysis in the world is only your own. You鈥檝e got to tell somebody about it. That communication in written form or in presentations is so important. I really see it as the difference between someone staying at the lower level and moving up.

Ball Aerospace has been a part of 51吃瓜网 for decades. How have things changed since BAE Systems acquired the company?

BAE Systems, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, a global aerospace, defense, and security company. The Inc. business is based in Falls Church, Virginia, and operates independently through a Special Security Agreement between the U.S. Government, BAE Systems, Inc. and BAE Systems plc.

When Ball Aerospace was acquired, we became a new sector called Space & Mission Systems. Our team of more than 5,200 colleagues were welcomed to BAE Systems, where together we continue to share our values of mission-driven innovation and operational excellence.

Off

Traditional

White

Morton GPS research spotlighted in Science News Explores

Jeff Zehnder — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 16:10:04 +0000

Morton GPS research spotlighted in Science News Explores Jeff Zehnder Tue, 04/01/2025 - 10:10

Jade Morton was interviewed by Science News Explores in a new piece about research conducted with engineers at Google.

The team used the GPS sensors that come standard in every smartphone to collect data on how Earth鈥檚 atmosphere warped signals coming from satellites. In the process, they were able to view phenomena in the atmosphere, such as blobs high above the planet known as 鈥減lasma bubbles,鈥� in never-before-seen detail.

Morton is a professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the 51吃瓜网 and an expert on GNSS remote sensing.

The original research was published in fall 2024 in the journal Nature.

Read the full article at Science News Explores...

Off

Traditional

White