People
Celebrating 50 Years of Moon Landing: 1969-2019
People
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Dr. Rohan SoodAssociate Professor - Lab Director
Dr. Rohan Sood was born in Shimla, a small town in the cradle of the Himalayas. He pursued his dream and love for space exploration and graduated summa cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering. Sood participated in international programs at Chiang Mai University, Thailand, INSA/ENSAE/ENAC in Toulouse, France and interned at Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile (ENAC).
Sood moved to Purdue University in the fall of 2009 and joined Professor Kathleen C. Howell’s Multi-body Dynamics Research Group. Rohan received his Master of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2012. The following year, he continued his higher education and entered the doctoral program at Purdue University. In 2014, he also became a part of NASA's GRAIL science team and collaborated with Professor Henry J. Melosh while continuing work in astrodynamics and space applications. Upon receiving his Ph.D. in December of 2016, he joined the faculty of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Dr. Sood's research has emerged as a combination of two fields, applying engineering tools to study advanced concepts within multi-body dynamical systems and investigating scientific data to explore celestial bodies. His primary research investigates innovative spacecraft trajectory design leveraging natural dynamics to deliver cost-effective solutions for scientific exploration of space and celestial bodies. In 2018, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) selected his Technical Excellence proposal on Advanced Trajectory Design. In 2019, Dr. Sood was awarded the Astrodynamics in Support of Icy World Missions grant by NASA HQ. He is also the recipient of the Center innovation Funds from NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory for two consecutive years (2019-2021). His ongoing collaboration with MSFC involves exploring solutions for NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Scout mission slated to be launched in late 2021 and the recently selected Solar Cruiser spacecraft set to launch in 2025. Dr. Sood's scientific discoveries of lunar lava tubes and buried craters has received widespread coverage by the BBC and National Geographic that led to collaboration with the Japanese Space Agency, JAXA. Dr. Sood also employs a variety of hardware and software to enhance visualization (3-D and Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality) of spacecraft trajectories, mission architecture, and to improve student classroom experience. |
Graduate Students
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Abram AguilarMS Student
Abram started working in ASRL as a rising Junior in the Summer of 2017. During his time with ASRL, he interned at a.i. solutions working for the FreeFlyer team developing sample mission plans and undergraduate tutorials on how to use the FreeFlyer astrodynamic software suite. After graduating in May 2019 with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, he accepted a full-time offer with a.i. solutions as a Junior Systems Engineer/Flight Dynamics Analyst. In this role he works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Navigation and Mission Design Branch performing navigation, attitude, and maneuver planning analysis and operations for the Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission. He is now a third year M.S. student in the Bama by Distance Program. His interests include spacecraft GNC, space mission design, and human spaceflight to the Moon and beyond to Mars.
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Brennan BlumenthalPhD Candidate
Brennan Blumenthal is a fifth year Ph.D. student in the Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics department at The University of Alabama. Brennan received a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware in 2012. In 2013, he began working at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia as part of the Configuration Aerodynamics Branch, where he conducted research in the fields of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), wind-tunnel testing and applied aerodynamics for aircraft. In 2016, he graduated from Penn State University with a master's in aerospace engineering. After graduating, Brennan made the switch from the world of aerodynamics to astrodynamics and was offered a position in the Trajectory Operations and Analysis Branch at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He currently works full-time performing various orbital trajectory and operations analyses for NASA’s Orion and Boeing’s Starliner programs and is training to be a flight controller in mission control. Brennan is currently interested in space mission design, space systems and furthering the abilities of human space exploration.
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Aaron HouinPhD Student
Aaron joined the ASRL in the summer of 2020 as a distance M.S. student and has since continued on to the PhD program. He completed his undergraduate degree from Purdue University in Mechanical Engineering in 2018 and currently works full time in the Mission Design and Analysis team at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. At NASA, Aaron has worked on the Solar Cruiser mission proposal, the Artemis 2 manned mission design, the SLS launch vehicle, and the lunar Human Lander System. His research interests include multibody trajectory design, low energy transfers, low thrust optimization in the restricted three body problem, and dynamical systems theory.
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Xavier KippingPhD Student
Xavier Kipping is a first year Ph.D. student studying at the University of Alabama. Xavier received a Mechanical Engineering degree from Utah State University and has supported the Air Force as a Systems Engineering intern for two years. As a civil servant, Xavier received the Civilian Cat I of the Year in 2022 and has been given numerous nominations for working above his pay grade. Mr. Kipping's research interests include Distributed Controls, Astrodynamics, and Machine Learning.
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James PezentPhD Student
James Pezent is a fifth year Ph.D. student at The University of Alabama. He graduated from The University of Alabama in Spring 2019 with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. As an undergraduate, James worked in the ASRL conducting research on trajectory design, optimization, and virtual reality. During the course of his undergraduate career, he published two conference papers and a journal paper on solar sail trajectory design. James has interned as a trajectory designer in the EV/42 Guidance Navigation and Mission Analysis branch at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and as mechanical engineer at the Phifer Wire Corporation. He was awarded the 2018 and 2019 Randall Outstanding Undergraduate Research awards as well as the 2019 UA College of Engineering Student of the Year award. In the Spring of 2019, James was selected for both the University of Alabama's prestigious Francko Fellowship as well as the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
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Carrie SandelPhD Student
Carrie Sandel is a third year Ph.D. student in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics. She received her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics from the University of Alabama in May 2021. As an undergraduate, Carrie conducted research through ASRL and worked with solar sailing and trajectory design in the CR3BP. She was awarded the 2021 Undergraduate Research Assistant of the year in the Aerospace Engineering department and was named one of the National Alumni Association’s Outstanding Seniors. In the spring of 2021, Carrie was selected for the NSF Graduate Fellowship Program and also received a Graduate Council Fellowship from the University of Alabama. Carrie’s research interests include solar sailing, trajectory design, and GNC.
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Jared SikesPhD Student
Jared Sikes is a fifth year Ph.D. student at The University of Alabama. He began working with Dr. Sood as a sophomore in multi-body dynamical systems. He is currently investigating resonant orbits and cost-effective transfer trajectories. His interests also include virtual reality and 3-D visualization. Jared was recently awarded a National Alumni Association Fellowship for the 2019-2020 academic year.
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