Space Engineering MEng

Alex works in Research and Development for Deployable Space Systems and innovative research programs, mainly for the Department of Defense.  

Awards Received

Technological Development Achievement Award, 2018

What excites you about your career?

I get to learn and do new things every day. 

Reflection on Time Spent at UM

I liked how much the MEng program emphasizes team projects and professional development. It was the most applicable part of my education for my job. 

Favorite Class: Rocket Propulsion class with JP Sheehan

Advice to Students

Don’t be afraid of change, embrace it as an exciting adventure

What do you like to do outside of work?

Ultimate frisbee, sailing, and travel.

Aisha Bowe is the Founder and CEO of STEMBoard, a technology solutions company for federal and large private-sector clients that also works to educate underserved youth in STEM. At STEMBoard, she leads a team of engineers and computer scientists in addition to managing relationships with corporate clients and multi-million dollar federal contracts. 

Between undergraduate and graduate degrees, Bowe was an intern at NASA Ames Research Center where she examined accessibility to space for satellites. She continued her career at NASA Ames for eight years, working as a Mission Engineer and as an Aerospace Engineer on miniaturized satellites and aircraft trajectory optimization. Bowe now lives and works in Washington, DC.

Reflection on Time Spent at UM

Bowe has reflected that her journey was not linear; as a young student in Ann Arbor, MI, she struggled with self-esteem and confidence in the classroom. However, she credits key influencers in her life for encouraging her to continue her education.

• Favorite Student Orgs:  During her time at the University of Michigan, she was a leader and member of the UM Chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). 

What excites you about your career?

What excites me about Aerospace Engineering is that I can go home to my parents and when they ask me what I worked on today I can reply ‘rocket science’. The incredible complexity and coolness of the machines and technologies that make up the Aerospace field is a testament to the skill and knowledge of the people who study it. Aerospace is also a very broad field which means that there’s something for everyone, from the magnetometers on a satellite to the wing design of a 747. 

Reflection on Time Spent at UM:

The University of Michigan has given me a firm foundation from which to build on in the real world. The classes, I chose to take, covered a wide variety of topics in both aeronautics and space engineering which provided me a generalist approach to Aerospace Engineering. This was done in order to take advantage of the large size of the University of Michigan, which afforded a much greater variety of classes and specialized instructors.

Favorite Organizations/Classes: Michigan Balloon Recovery and Satellite Testbed (MBuRST) which operates in conjunction with the Space 584 class. 

Advice to Students:

My advice to incoming students, particularly in the graduate programs, is to always have some kind of balance between studying, life, and extracurricular activities and also to have these different aspects interact and build off of each other.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I enjoy playing video games, watching Netflix series, and reading fantasy or science fiction literature.

I work for Airbus developing technology roadmaps, which analyze the evolution of a technology over time, in order to value and synergize the company’s investments for short, medium, and long term. Having a comprehensive system of integrated roadmaps gives you visibility on what is available and what value technology brings to a specific product.  

I have previously worked as a project leader for NASA, where I developed mission concepts and early system design for a CubeSat constellation mission, and as a research assistant for Michigan eXploration Laboratory where I worked on space-grade CubeSat solar panels with dark-current, illumination, and infrared testing.

What excites you about your job?

I think I’m in a very lucky position surrounded by passionate people that I meet all over Europe. It’s not so often you get to see behind the scenes when big decisions are made about a company investment. I love having visibility on products/technologies that won’t be on the market for another 10-20 years

Reflection on Time Spent at UM

I remember having a lot of stressful times, through difficult classes, busy nights, endless homework. Yet, somehow, looking back am extremely thankful. Here I met some of the most inspiring and talented people from which I learned on a daily basis. I had the best support system of friends, professors, and mentors that cared about you on a personal basis.

• Favorite Student Orgs:  MXL (Michigan eXploration Laboratory): working on space hardware with some of the most talented engineers, spending long hours in the lab constantly learning and supporting each other through difficulties.  SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) outreach events to motivate and engage the next generations of engineers and scientists.
• DUST project sponsored by JPL: Developed mission concepts and early system design for the technology demonstration of a CubeSat constellation mission.  
• UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program) mentoring and advising first and second-year students in their first research experiences in the engineering fields.  
• AERO305 GSI- I loved teaching the AERO305 lab and introducing students to the fundamentals of instrumentation. I am sure that this experience taught me more than I taught students.

Advice to Students

Take advantage of meeting any guest lecturer/visitor and make sure you keep the contacts. Meet them and discuss on a personal level, don’t just add them on LinkedIn but give them a reason to remember you. Also try to do as much as you can in terms of student organizations, teams, research groups, and absorb everything. It’ll be worth it!

What do you like to do outside of work?

I am currently pursuing a Data Analytics degree and working towards a private pilot license outside of work. However, I am also taking advantage of weekend trips exploring the area’s countless castles and vineyards as well as other European destinations.

In my work for NASA, I specialize in trajectory design and optimization for spacecraft using advanced power and propulsion systems, particularly those with low thrust solar electric propulsion. I am currently one of the lead mission design engineers for NASA’s Lunar Gateway and Power and Propulsion Element, the latter of which will fly the most powerful electric propulsion system to date. I am also heavily involved in design studies for interplanetary space missions to explore destinations such as Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

My previous work includes computational fluid dynamics and thermal modeling for the U.S. Army, in addition to spacecraft survivability engineering for The Boeing Company, 2013-2015.

Awards

NASA Group Achievement Award, 2018

What excites you about your job?

It is incredibly exciting to be involved in the exploration of space. We are constantly making new discoveries and yet there are so many more places to go and questions to be answered. I feel honored to be tasked with designing the trajectories that will enable our spacecraft to extend our presence in deep space.

Reflection on Time Spent at UM

Attending U of M was one of the best decisions I ever made. I look back fondly on all of the late nights of studying and working on projects with my colleagues, knowing it was all worth it in the end. After all, we’ve been through, the city of Ann Arbor became a second home for me that I still look forward to visiting whenever I can. There’s nothing quite like a football Saturday in Ann Arbor.

That said, 8:30 am classes on North Campus were not my favorite thing. 🙂

• Favorite Events: Football games were my favorite events.
• Favorite Class: AERO 548 (Astrodynamics), the notes from which I still reference from time to time.

Advice to Students

•  Get involved as much as possible in relevant projects and research outside of class. This is a great way to help figure out the type of work you enjoy doing before you graduate.
• Don’t wait to be taught how to do something. Be curious and explore the topics that interest you.
• Take advantage of the vast resources that UM provides to you as a student. There are probably many that you’re unaware of.

What excites you about your job?

My mission is all real-time. There is no long design life-cycle since the satellites are already built. Any action that I perform has a direct and costly (savings or burning) impact on the mission at hand.

Awards

• Hero of the Week (2019) – Awarded to the flight operations team for saving real-time mission data upon hardware maintenance flaws

Reflection on Time Spent at UM

• Likes -There are too many organizations and project teams to not have fun, learn, or find your community. I had a blast with all of my involvement. U of M has the resources to make experiences very real and exciting.  There is good food everywhere 
• Dislikes -There was not enough time to fit every class I wanted to take into my schedule, while still graduating on time
• Favorite Organization – Michigan Capoeria (Brazilian Martial Arts)
• Favorite Event – Annual Welcome Back Barbecue by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
• Favorite Class – Space 584: Space Instrumentation with Susan Lepri

Advice to Students:

• Every class and project experience holds value. Give it your best and your learning will flourish. 
• Talk to those senior to you. They do not have to be your mentor to get advice from or idea bounce with. They could even be friends just a year or two above you, school or career-wise. 
• Keep dreaming. There is plenty of time to figure life out and plenty of opportunities to be had so don’t rush. However, do know how to make decisions and when a good opportunity arrives. Find the balance between waiting and rushing.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I love cooking! I also have a passion for language so I try keeping up on my Japanese and Spanish. When I can give it, my 2 cats enjoy my attention too. But I can’t leave out my guitar, martial arts, video games, nor anime either.