Introduction To The Next Van Braun

Hello and welcome to anyone reading this! My name, as far as the internet is concerned is An 8pound Oreck. Given to me by my late father. I’m a twenty-three year old aerospace engineering student currently at the University of Oklahoma. I’ll give you a quick and dirty rundown of myself.

Hobbies: Paintball, Climbing, Cars, Motorcycles, Video Games, Travel, Cooking, and Trail Riding.

Likes: Relaxing nights with friends, Riding motorcycles at night, Space Games, Sci-Fi movies.

Dislikes: Jump scares, waiting in line, fruit.

I’m working on being gainfully employed with a space agency in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Attempting to pilot a shuttle at JSC
Personal Photo - March 2016

It’s one of the most beautiful places in North America in my opinion. Through the myriad of space companies, I want to be on the team that designs the space shuttles that are used on the first Martian round trip. Most likely a pipe dream, but go big or go home right?

Currently, at OU, I’m helping Sooner Off-Road Racing build a Baja vehicle to compete in an international competition. I’m a design lead tasked with creating a fully functional brake system. It’s a work in progress. The team competes in Kansas in the second half of May where there are four events: Maneuverability, Acceleration, Hill Climb, and Endurance race. Historically, our team has scored well in maneuverability and endurance. Most of our endurance points come from finishing the race which a surprising number of cars never cross the finish line.

I am also a tutor at Oklahoma City Community College, OCCC, where I assist the fledging engineers in their intro courses and provide life advice. Every Friday is a special day for me because it’s when I help one of the professors teach a welding class. For the past year, we’ve been slowly building two heavy duty trailers that will actually be put to use. I fear that day when I see one of those trailers on a highway.