Enterprise-Level Leadership
Charles Brown
Chief Financial Officerchebrown@mtu.edu
Charles is a Mechanical Engineering Major with a love for space exploration. He is here to help everyone reach the dream of having something they touched be in space. Experienced in both practical engineering CAD design and accounting.
Sean Bennink
Program Managerscbennin@mtu.edu
Sean Bennink is a 4th year Electrical and Computer Engineering Student. He worked on the Ground Support Equipment team for over a year before becoming the Program Manager. He has interned and is currently working with Orbion Space Technologies in Houghton, Michigan as an Electrical Engineering Support role. Sean hopes to pursue a position in the aerospace industry.
Dalton Headley
Chief Engineerdbheadle@mtu.edu
Dalton Headley is a 5th-year Electrical and Computer Engineering Major. Dalton joined the enterprise in the Spring 2022. Dalton was briefly the TT&C Systems Engineer, before rising to the Lead Systems Engineer position and subsequently the Chief Engineer position. After graduation he seeks a Master’s Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from MTU.
Malcolm Benedict
Lead System Engineermmbenedi@mtu.edu
Malcolm Benedict is a 4th year undergraduate pursuing a degree in Robotics Engineering. He is currently in the enterprise, and wants to pursue a career in the aerospace industry
Mission-Level Leadership
Carinn Tryon
Auris Mission Directorcmtryon@mtu.edu
Carinn is a fourth year Mechanical Engineering student and was recently promoted to the Auris Mission Director. She is extremely grateful and excited for this opportunity. When she graduates in Fall 2025, She will commission as (hopefully) a developmental engineering officer in the United States Air Force and will pursue a Masters in Engineering. She hopes to use her Aerospace knowledge to become a test engineer and develop new advanced aircraft systems!
Jayden Hendrian
Jayden is a Mechanical Engineering student with a passion for aerospace, aviation, and hands-on engineering, Jayden Hendrian leads the Descensus mission. This fast-paced project is structured to demonstrate un-powered descent control from a low-atmosphere rocket launch without the use of a parachute. The Can-Sat project is internationally known for its rapid development and unique challenges. Jayden thrives in high-pressure environments, learning and adapting to meet the demands of the innovation project.
William Blacketor
Stratus Mission Directorwablacke@mtu.edu
William is a 5th year undergraduate pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Bill wants to pursue a career in the aerospace industry.
Subteam-Level Leadership
Attitude Determination & Control
Henry Bergheof
Team Leader hberghoe@mtu.edu Henry Berghoef is a 3rd year mechanical engineering student.
Malcolm Benedict
Systems Engineermmbenedi@mtu.edu
Malcolm Benedict is a 4th year undergraduate pursuing a degree in Robotics Engineering.
Auris Payload
Kris Burch
Team Leader kmburch@mtu.edu Kris is an Electrical and Computer Engineering student who has worked on enterprise for the past 4 years. In his time on enterprise he was the systems engineer and team lead for A-PYL. Currently he is graduating this semester and plans on working at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard as a nuclear controls engineer
Kellen Minyon
Systems Engineerkrminyon@mtu.edu
Kellen Minyon is a 4th year Electrical Engineering Student. He’s worked on the Auris-Payload team for over two years and has taken the position of Systems Engineer. He has interned with Orbion Space Technologies in Houghton, Michigan as an Electrical Engineering Intern. Kellen is hoping to break into the defense industry after graduation.
Electrical Power System
Chad Mitchell
Team Leaderchadmitc@mtu.edu
Chad is a 4th year Electrical Engineering major who will be graduating in Spring of 2025. He joined the enterprise in Spring of 2023 and transitioned to EPS team lead in Fall of 2024. Chad has had internships at Amigo Mobility International and Textron Aviation. Upon Graduation he hopes to work as an Avionics Engineer.
Asher Degraaf
Systems Engineeradegraaf@mtu.edu
Asher De Graaf is a Electrical Engineering Major that joined the Aerospace Enterprise in Spring of 2022. He helped to lead the EPS subteam as well as the Wire Design task group and hopes to continue his passion for Aerospace into careers in the future.
Ground Support Equipment
Ella Adams
Team Leaderepadams@mtu.edu
Ella is a 3rd year Mechanical Engineering student with a minor in Aerospace Engineering. She has interned with Textron Aviation as a manufacturing engineer on component manufacturing in the summer of 2023. After graduating she plans to work on aeronautical developments in aircraft structures and propulsion systems.
Steven Prudhomme
Systems Engineersjprudho@mtu.edu
Steven is a 4th year student achieving a bachelors degree Electrical Engineering. He joined the Aerospace Enterprise in the spring of 2023 and took on the role of Systems Engineer for GSE in the spring of 2024. He has recently worked as a Controls Engineering Intern at Autokiniton implementing hardware and software improvements to automation processes. After graduation, Steven aims to find a career in the aerospace industry or defense industry.
Mission Development and Simulation
Carinn Tryon
Team Leadercmtryon@mtu.edu
Carinn is a fourth year Mechanical Engineering student and was recently promoted to the Auris Mission Director. She is extremely grateful and excited for this opportunity. When she graduates in Fall 2025, She will commission as (hopefully) a developmental engineering officer in the United States Air Force and will pursue a Masters in Engineering. She hopes to use her Aerospace knowledge to become a test engineer and develop new advanced aircraft systems!
Ezra Crandell
Systems Engineerejcrande@mtu.edu
Ezra is a 3rd year at Michigan Tech. Ezra is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. They are currently in the enterprise, and want to pursue a career in the aerospace industry.
Software
Michael Riccobono
Team Leadermjriccob@mtu.edu
Michael was a 4th year undergraduate student working towards a bachelors in Computer Engineering. He has since graduated with the bachelors and wants to still pursue a career in the aerospace industry
Steven Braggs
Systems Engineersdbraggs@mtu.edu
Steven is U.S. Navy veteran and Computer Science student, he brings a strong background in cybersecurity, software development, and systems engineering. His experience includes network defense, automation, and leading technical teams in high-stakes environments. In the Aerospace Enterprise, Steven contributes to the development and integration of software solutions for aerospace systems, ensuring reliability and efficiency in mission-critical applications.
Structures
Parker Molewyk
Team Leaderpjmolewy@mtu.edu
Parker Molewyk is a 5th-year Mechanical Engineering student with a minor in Aerospace Engineering. He worked on the Structures team as a member for 2 years before becoming the team lead. After graduating in the spring of 2025, he hopes to get a job in the aerospace industry.
Elijah Sierra
Systems Engineeremsierra@mtu.edu
Eli is a Mechanical Engineering major with a minor in Aerospace Engineering and on his Junior Year. He leads the Connexus mission, which is a all in one station for the Aerospace Enterprise Members.
Thermal
Nate Bruursema
Team Leadernsbruurs@mtu.edu
Nate is a 4th Year Mechanical Engineering Student. Thermal Team Lead for 5 semesters, graduating in Spring 2025 with plans of going into an Accelerated Masters in Mechanical Engineering here at MTU starting Fall 2025.
Andrew Pestun
Systems Engineerabpestun@mtu.edu
Andrew has been on the enterprise for 5 semesters and served as systems engineer for 2. He has assisted in the development of several thermal models, post-processing scripts, and thermistor tests. He joined the thermal team because of an interest in thermal-fluids engineering and heat transfer as well as CFD simulation. Outside of school, Andrew enjoys hot air balloon competition, skiing, hockey, and rock climbing.
Telemetry, Tracking & Control
Martin Wilkens
Martin is a 4th-year Electrical Engineering major with a minor in Astrophysics. He has been in the enterprise for one year now, on the TT&C subteam. He has been an intern working on defense contracts for Pratt Miller in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After graduation he plans on joining the space industry.
Alexzander Wright
Systems Engineeralwright2@mtu.edu
Alex is a Computer science & Electrical engineering major, on his 4th year of schooling. With a primarily TT&C background, he enjoys working with both Aerospace Enterprise and the Husky Amateur Radio Club.