Co-founder, Vice President & Director · January 2026 – Present
SAE Aero Design at Stevens
Project Overview
In January 2026, I co-founded the SAE Aero Design chapter at Stevens Institute of Technology. We are building a fixed-wing aircraft for the Micro class at SAE Aero Design East 2027. Micro-class scoring favors low empty weight, fast assembly, and high payload fraction. I hold two roles: Vice President, the officer position registered with the school, and Director of the internal engineering organization. I direct the Chief Engineer and four subsystem leads; my responsibilities cover technical direction, team organization, and the design report.
Building the Team
The chapter recruited a 30-member technical team through info sessions and campus outreach, organized under a Chief Engineer and four subsystem leads.
- Leadership structure: The Chief Engineer and four subsystem leads report to me as Director through weekly design reviews.
- Working method: I assign tasks based on my own research and review the results in weekly design reviews.
- Funding: I'm working on a fundraising strategy to cover the build and travel budget for the competition cycle.
Presenting at one of the chapter's first recruitment events.
Engineering Progress
The design phase is underway. I drove the airframe configuration selection and the airfoil optimization, and I define the trade studies each subteam runs on wing sizing, propulsion, structures, and controls. Each major design decision is supported by a trade study before fabrication. I also lead authorship of the competition design report.
- Airframe: Configuration selected through comparative trade studies.
- Aerodynamics: Airfoil optimization done for the Micro-class mission profile.
- Trade studies: Subteam studies defined, assigned, and checked in design review.
- Design report: Drafting in progress.
Road to Competition
The chapter's roadmap through the 2027 competition cycle:
- Freeze the aircraft CAD and release drawings to the build team
- Complete the first airframe build
- Flight-test, iterate, and lock the competition configuration
- Submit the design report and compete at SAE Aero Design East 2027