On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, Philip Austin ‘23 spoke to engineering students in Mrs. Rebecca Mulrooney’s class about the field of Aerospace Engineering Sciences. 

Austin is currently an Aerospace Engineering student in Colorado. During his presentation, he discussed with students the projects he has done so far in school, beginning with his most significant project - M.O.N.O.L.I.T.H. - which stands for Modular Operational Network Outpost for Lunar Intercommunication, Transit, and Handling. 

“This project was all about developing a deployable infrastructure for aerospace basecamps and logistical routes,” Austin explained. “We designed a lightweight, compact tower that can be deployed to support space operations, and we had to make sure it could handle the challenges of its environment.”

He shared some of the challenges his team faced while working on the project. “The biggest challenge was making sure everything was light enough to launch, but also durable enough to work properly once it was deployed,” Austin said.

In addition to M.O.N.O.L.I.T.H., Austin talked about several freshman-year projects that gave him a taste of real-world engineering. One of these was a high-altitude payload balloon, designed to test the efficiency of solar panels in extreme conditions. The balloon, which reached altitudes of 30 to 40 kilometers, carried small payloads weighing 850 grams. 

“The idea was to use solar panels to charge batteries, which would then power motors to cut a grape and open a hatch to drop it down,” Austin explained. “Unfortunately, the experiment didn’t go as planned, but we learned a lot about the limitations of calculations and predictions.”

Another memorable project was a self-destructing balloon flight. Austin and his team used hydrogen to lift a balloon, with the goal of making it pop automatically at a precise point in the air. “It sounds simple, but getting the timing right with hydrogen and creating the conditions for combustion is tricky,” Austin said. “I’m actually proud of how it combusted. It wasn’t planned, but it showed how precise you have to be.”

Austin also discussed his work with experimental rocketry, comparing small model rockets with the more powerful experimental rockets he’s worked on. “Model rockets are small and don’t go very high, but experimental rockets like the ones we’ve worked on can reach thousands of feet. I built a rocket with a J-motor, which is a huge motor compared to the typical A-motor. We expected the rocket to reach around 3,700 feet,” Austin said, showing a video of its launch.

As he talked about these projects, Austin emphasized the importance of high school courses for students interested in aerospace engineering. “In engineering, it’s essential to have a solid understanding of subjects like precalculus, physics, and differential equations,” he explained. 

Austin shared how he applied differential equations in one of his projects: fish population modeling. “We used differential equations to predict changes in fish populations, considering factors like fishing rates and natural growth,” he said. “It’s a great example of how math can be used to model real-life systems.”

Another project he worked on involved data compression, which involved comparing and compressing different types of files. “This was a more complex project, but it showed how math and coding can be used to compress data in ways that are useful in aerospace engineering,” Austin said. 

He also discussed a wing modeling project, where he used math to model the wing under various conditions. “We took all the variables — weight, pressure, and wind speed — and used them to predict how the wing would behave,” Austin explained.

Finally, Austin talked about a bottle rocket trajectory project, where he and his team measured how factors like launch angle and pressure affect the rocket’s flight. “This project was probably the closest to pure physics, as we used basic principles of force and gravity to understand how the rocket would behave,” he said.

After his presentation, Austin opened the floor to questions from students interested in pursuing a career in aerospace engineering.