Achievements & Awards

2023-2024

Team CU Boom Extension Device (CUBED) earned 3rd place at the 2024 AIAA Region V Student Conference for their project, Noise-Free Relative Attitude Determination System for Payload Extended from Satellite Body.

  • Team Roster: Tanner Brummond, Steven Liu, Kevin McGough, Mark Wilbourne, Jack Iribarren, Aidan Luczkow, Abby Rindfuss, Kate Kosmicki, Abby Mason, Andras Szalay

2022-2023

Team HEIST’s lunar habitat VR maintenance and repair system earned 2nd place at the 2023 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Region V Student Conference.

  • Team HEIST: Esther Revenga Villagra (PM), Trayana Athannassova, Sruthi Bandla, Sebastian Boysen, Rachael Carreras, Julia Claxton, Lucy Davis, Matthew Grewe, Akanksha Nelacanti, Hattie Rice, Alicia Wu, Steven Young

2021-2022

Team DROPS (Ben Capeloto, Alex Karas, Cody Watson, Nate Kuczun, Daniel GutierrezMendoza, Joshua Schmitz, Ian Chakraborty, Caroline Dixon, Sid Arora, Mia Abouhamad, Dominic Dougherty, Rafael Figueroa) won first place at the AIAA SciTech International Student Conference.

񱦵 senior design teams have earned 1st and 3rd place at the 2022 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Region V Student Paper competition.

  • 1st Place: Team DROPS (Ben Capeloto, Alex Karas, Cody Watson, Nate Kuczun, Daniel GutierrezMendoza, Joshua Schmitz, Ian Chakraborty, Caroline Dixon, Sid Arora, Mia Abouhamad, Dominic Dougherty, Rafael Figueroa)
  • 3rd Place: Team CubIST (Chesney Boal, Matthew Gedrich, Nicolena Weber, Josie Johnson, Natalie Link, Quaid Garton, Chad Pflieger, Cameron Humphreys, Chava Friedman, Maria Callas)

2020-2021

Senior design teams earned second and third place in the 2021 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Region V Student Paper competition.

  • 2nd Place: Team FLASH - Functional LiDAR Analysis of Structural Health - Team Roster:Ricky Carlson, Shray Chauhan, Andrew Fu, Jake Fuhrman, Courtney Kelsey, Ishaan Kochhar, Julian Lambert, Fiona Mcgann, Kunal Sinha, Erik Stolz.
  • 3rd Place: Team SpaceNet - Passive Orbit Determination Based on Time Delay of Arrival - Team Roster: Ryan Burdick, Samuel Firth, Noah Francis, Jordan Gage, E Owen, Tyler Pirner, Keith Poletti, Ryan Prince, Israel Quezada Cordova, Colin Ruark, Benji Smith.

2019-2020

Team Category, 2020 AIAA Region V Student Paper Awards

  • 1st Place: Team EMU - Alejandro Castillo, Becca Rivera, Dakota Labine, Henry Moore, Libby Hasse, Matthew Lehmann, Max Alger-Meyer, Michael Flores, Mitchell Spencer, Nathan Castille, Nathan Hetzel, Shawna McGuire. Advisor: Jean Koster
  • 3rd Place: Team NanoSAM - Conner McLeod, Jaykob Velasquez, Aanshi Panchal, Jared Cantilina, Jacob Romero, Matt Weber, Josh Horst, Sara Reitz, Jessica Harris, Hui Min Tang, Quinn LaBarge. Advisor: Zoltan Sternovsky

2018-2019

  • 2nd Place - AIAA / Utah State University Conference on Small Satellites Student Competition - Team VANTAGE
  • 1st Place - Society of Allied Weight Engineers International Paper Conference - Team HERMES

Team Category, 2019 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference in April in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

  • 1st Place - Team HEPCATS: Alexander Baughman, Colin Brown, Jordan Lerner, Christopher Peercy, Valerie Lesser, Vishranth Siva, Matthew Skogen, Braden Solt, Benjamin Spencer, Colin Sullivan, Kian Tanner, Advisor – Dr. Donna Gerren
  • 2nd Place - Team HERMES: Brindan Adhikari, Colin Chen, Katelyn Griego, Junzhe He, Ashley Montalvo, Quinter Nyland, Chase Pellazar, Alexander Sandoval,Brandon Santori, Alexis Sotomayor, Michely Tenardi, Advisor – Dr. Kathryn Wingate
  • 3rd Place - Team ARES:Matt Alexander, Carson Brumley, Will Butler, Alejandro Corral, Elliott Davis, Cody Goldman, Thomas Kisylia, Connor Myers, Erika Polhamus, Alec Stiller, Yuma Yagi, Advisor – Dr. Donna Gerren

2017-2018

  • 3rd Place, Team Category, 2018 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference in April in St. Louis, Missouri. Senior design Team KESSLER - Abdiel Agramonte-Moreno, Glenda Alvarenga, Cong Bui, Chris Choate, Lauren Darling, Sergey Derevyanko, Cassidy Hawthorne, Abby Johnson, Nick Thurmes, Taylor Way, Jannine Vela. Advisor: Dr. Jade Morton.

2016-2017

  • 1st Place, Team Category, 2017 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference in Denver. Senior Project Team REPTAR - Kevin Faggiano, Dustin Fishelman, Aaron McCusker, Craig Wenkheimer, Calvin Jon Buechler, Cody Brian Gondek, Lee Huynh, Himanshi Singhai, William Sear, and Nathan Yeo. Team advisor: Prof. Brian Argrow. The team was sponsored by the Raytheon Company.
  • 2nd Place, Team Category, 2017 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference in Denver. Senior Project Team CASCADE - Chad Eberl, Matthew Fromm, Timothy Kiley, Haoyu Li, Tony Ly, Andrew Mcbride, Noel Puldon, Keegan Sotebeer and Morgan Tilong. Team advisor: Dr. Jelliffe Jackson. The team was sponsored by Sierra Nevada Corporation.

2015-2016

  • 1st Place, AIAA SciTech 2017 International Student Conference: Senior Project ELSA. Team Members: Darren Combs, Gabriel Frank, Sara Grandone, Colton Hall, Daniel Johnson, Trevor Luke, Scott Mende, Daniel Nowicki, & Benjamin Stringer. “Project ELSA: Europa Lander for Science Acquisition." The team was sponsored by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. Team Advisor: Dr. Robert Marshall.
  • 1st Place, Student Poster & Paper Competitions, 75th SAWE International Conference on Mass Properties Engineering: Senior Project FISH&CHIPs. Team Members: Megan Howard, Davis Peterson, Lewis Gillis, Evan Graser, Jorge Cervantes, Taylor Maurer, Larry Burkey, Andrei Iskra and Margaret Williams. “Minimizing Mass on a Spacecraft Structure,” The team was sponsored by Surrey Satellite Technology. Team Advisor: Mr. Joe Tanner.
  • 1st Place, Team Category, 2016 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference: Senior Project ELSA. Team Members: Darren Combs, Gabriel Frank, Sara Grandone, Colton Hall, Daniel Johnson, Trevor Luke, Scott Mende, Daniel Nowicki, & Benjamin Stringer, “Project ELSA: Europa Lander for Science Acquisition,” The team was sponsored by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. Team Advisor: Dr. Robert Marshall.

2014-2015

  • 2nd Place, Team Category, 2015 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference: Senior Project MEDUSA. Team Members: Daniel Frazier, Nathan Genrich, Abram Jorgenson, Christopher Jirucha, Crawford Leeds, Huikang Ma, Alex Truskowski, Carlos Torres and Corey Wilson. “Methane Engine Design for Unmanned Small Aircraft (MEDUSA),” 2015 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference, Wichita, KS, April 22-24, 2015. The team was sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory. Team Advisor: Dr. Jelliffe Jackson.
  • 3rd Place, Team Category, 2015 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference: Senior Project RACER. Team Members: Thomas Green, Michael Hanson, Nicole Harris, Hunter Hoopes, Dustin Larsen, Gregory McQuie, Drew Penrod, John Russo and Casey Zahorik. “RAppelling Cave Exploration Rover (RACER),” The team was sponsored by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Team Advisor: Dr. James Nabity.

2013-2014

  • 3rd Place, Team Category, 2014 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference: Senior Project ODINSun. Team Members: Chris Nie, Leonard Komow, Kirstyn Johnson, Michael Lotto, Lauren Hurst, Kier Fortier, Paul Guerrie, Ian Franklin, & Sarah Kemp. “Development of a Dust Impact Monitor for Exploration of the Inner Heliosphere,” The team was sponsored by the Dr. Zultan Sternovsky, 񱦵. Team Advisor: Dr. James Nabity.

2012-2013

  • 1st Place, Team Category, 2013 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference: Senior Project LEOPARD. Team Members: Samantha Archambault, Gautham Gopakumar, Jarred Langhals, Liz Notary, Alex Smith, Chelsea Welch, KatieRae Williamson, Jonathan Wu. “Low Earth Project for the Acquisition and Recovery of Debris,” The team was sponsored by Lockheed Martin. Team Advisor: Dr. Scott Palo.
  • 2nd Place, Team Category, 2013 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference: Senior Project TracSat. “Target Recognition and Acquisition Cube,” The team was sponsored by SURREY Satellite Technology. Team Advisor: Dr. Dale Lawrence.

2011-2012

  • $1000 SpaceX Grand Prize The American Astronomical Society Guidance, Navigation & Control Conference: Senior Project DayStar. Team Members: Jed Diller, Kevin Dinkel, Zach Dischner, Aaron Holt, Tyler Murphy, Sara Schuette, Michael Skeen, Nick Truesdale, Andrew Zizzi. “Diurnal Star Tracking for Balloon-borne Attitude Determination,” , Breckenridge, 2013. The team was sponsored by Southwest Research Institute (SWRI). Team Advisors: Dr. Scott Palo and Dr. Hanspeter Schaub.
  • 1st Place, Team Category, 2012 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference: Senior Project DayStar. Team Members: Jed Diller, Kevin Dinkel, Zach Dischner, Aaron Holt, Tyler Murphy, Sara Schuette, Michael Skeen, Nick Truesdale, Andrew Zizzi. “Diurnal Star Tracking for Balloon-borne Attitude Determination,” The team was sponsored by Southwest Research Institute (SWRI). Team Advisor: Dr. Scott Palo.
  • 2nd Place, Team Category, 2012 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference: Senior Project FENIX. Team Members: Michael Bonnici, Elliot Guber, Samuel Henney, Elvin Mujcin, Naveen Penmetsa, Wenceslao Shaw-Cortez, Trevor Schlieper, Joshua Veum. “Fluid Extraction for Nozzle Injection eXperiment,” The team was sponsored by Dr. Ryan Starkey, 񱦵. Team Advisor: Dr. Hank Scott.
  • 3rd Place, Team Category, 2012 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference: Senior Project SPEAR. Team Members: Dustin Buccino, Andrew Gilbert, Caleb Gradert, Alex Granrud, Carol Helfenbein, Boaz Norton, Nick Schlatter,Kevin Stuth, Sal Vargas-Castro. “Sounding Payload Ejection and Recovery,”The team was sponsored by Dr. Lakshmi Kantha, 񱦵. Team Advisor: Dr. Hank Scott.

2010-2011

  • 1st Place, Team Category, 2011 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts - Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Forum: Senior Project REDCROC (REsearch and Development for the Capture and Removal of Orbital Clutter). Team Members: Kristen Brenner, Ben Curran, Ahna Isaak, Matt Knoch, Adam Leppek, Jenae Lestishen, Austin Williamson, and Nic Zinner. “Junk Hunter: Autonomous Rendezvous, Capture, and De-Orbit of Orbital Debris,” The team was sponsored by Lockheed Martin. Team Advisor: Dr. Donna Gerren.

2009-2010

  • 1st Place, Team Category, 2010 NI LabVIEW Student Design Competition: Senior Project CUBOAT. Team Members: Daniel Ambrosio, Ryan Del Gizzi, Bobby Hodgkinson, Jared Kirkpatrick, Colin Miller, Julie Price, Tyler Thomas. “Colorado Underwater Buoyant Oceanic Acoustic neTwork,” Team Advisor: Dr. Dennis Akos.
  • 1st Place, Team Category, 2010 AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference: Senior Project CUBOAT. Team Members: Daniel Ambrosio, Ryan Del Gizzi, Bobby Hodgkinson, Jared Kirkpatrick, Colin Miller, Julie Price, Tyler Thomas. “Colorado Underwater Buoyant Oceanic Acoustic neTwork,” The team was sponsored by the University of Colorado. Team Advisor: Dr. Dennis Akos.