People

James Braun

James Braun is an assistant professor in the school of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at NC State University. He received his PhD from Purdue in 2019, a Research Master at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics in 2015 and has a Master’s degree from the KU Leuven in Belgium (2014). Prior to joining NC State, he was an assistant research professor at Purdue University. He did a postdoc at Purdue and was an ORISE fellow working with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).

In his free time, James enjoys snowboarding, traveling, and learning new languages.

Eduardo Leite de Moraes

Eduardo completed his BS in Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and MS in aerospace engineering at NC State. His is the lead of experimental test campaigns at BEFAST. In his free time, Eduardo enjoys working on electronics projects and model aircraft.

James Fernandez

James completed his BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering at NC State University. He works on simulations of rotating detonation engines. His expected graduation date is spring 2029. In his free time, he enjoys football, golf, chess, and weight lifting.

Kayla Gatsonis

Kayla completed her BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering at NC State University. She works on simulations of supersonic multiphase flows. Her expected graduation date is fall 2027. In her free time, Kayla enjoy playing soccer, traveling, and music.

Jack Grunenwald

Jack completed his BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering at Purdue University. He works on simulation and processing of rotating detonation engines. His expected graduation date is spring 2027. In his free time, he enjoys biking, trying new foods, and baking baguettes.

Edward Hurley

Edward completed their BS in Aerospace Engineering at NC State University. They work on rotating detonation engines. Their expected graduation date is spring 2028. In their free time, they enjoy making scale models, meeting new people, and rearranging their furniture.

Jack Lance

Jack completed his BS in Aerospace Engineering at NC State University. He works on simulations of rotating detonation engines. His expected graduation date is spring 2029. In his free time, Jack likes to rock climb and play pickleball

Jacob Leff

Jacob completed his MS in 2022 at NC State. He worked in Huntsville AL, and is now pursuing his PhD. He works on rotating detonation engines. His expected graduation date is fall 2027. In his free time, he is an avid hiker and backpacker, especially in the mountains of California and Oregon

Nate Michnoff

Nate completed his BS in Aerospace Engineering at University of Central Florida in spring 2025. He works on simulations and experiments of rotating detonation engines and supersonic multiphase flows. His expected graduation date is spring 2029. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with his dog Rocket, petting his cats Bear and Meg, and working out.

Luke Nicol

Luke completed his BS in Aerospace Engineering at NC state. His focus is in combining turbomachinery with the unsteady exhaust of RDEs. In his free time he enjoys climbing, traveling, and hiking.

William Stigliano

Will completed his BS in Mechanical Engineering at Ohio Northern University and his MS at NC State in Aerospace Engineering. He works on simulations of rotating detonation engines and supersonic multiphase flows. His expected graduation date is spring 2028. In his free time, he enjoys playing chess, basketball, ice hockey, and travel.

Lauren Wilkie

Lauren completed her BS in Aerospace Engineering at NC State. She works on rotating detonation engines and supersonic multiphase flows. Her expected graduation date is spring 2030. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and building rockets.

Will Busse

Will completed his BS in Aerospace Engineering at NC State University in 2026. His expected graduation date is spring 2028. He works on simulations of rotating detonation engines. In his free time, Will likes to play video games, cook, read, and watch football.

Aditya Chadha

Aditya completed his BS in Aerospace Engineering from NC State University. His expected graduation date is spring 2028. He works on simulations of rotating detonation engines.

Rodrigo Dacosta

Rodrigo completed his BS in Aerospace Engineering from NC State University. He is planning to complete his MS in 2027, and continue with his PhD. He works on simulations of rotating detonation engines. In his free time he likes to work out.

Stephen Harrington

Stephen completed his BS in Aerospace Engineering from NC State University. His expected graduation date is spring 2027. He works on simulations and experiments of rotating detonation engines. In his free time, Stephen enjoys hiking, cooking, and weightlifting.

Shivprateek Shankar Prasad

Shivprateek is currently pursuing his MS in Aerospace Engineering. he works on RDE coupled systems: nozzles, diffusers, and thermal mixers. His expected graduation date is spring 2027. In his free time he likes to play soccer (Manchester is Blue) and swim.

Kierra Shook

Kierra completed her BS in Aerospace Engineering at NC State University. Kierra works in the experimental lab. Her expected graduation date is spring 2027. In her free time, Kierra enjoys weightlifting, photography, baking, and is an aircraft enthusiast.

Kyler Watson

Kyler completed his BS in Mechanical Engineering at Western Carolina University. He works on computational modeling of supersonic multiphase flows. His expected graduation date is spring 2027. In his free time, he likes to go hiking and play guitar

Sanika Agarkar

Sanika is pursuing her BS in Mechanical Engineering and will graduate in the Spring of 2030. She works on an actuation system that varies the exit area of a rotating detonation engine during mid-fire. In her free time, she enjoys building rockets and painting.

Tosh Gross

Tosh is pursuing his BS in Aerospace Engineering and will graduate in the spring of 2028. He works on generating and acquiring experimental data specifically with detonation cell capture and analysis, as well as PIV for supersonic flows. In his free time he likes to run and cook new foods

Parker McCall

Parker is pursuing his BS in Aerospace Engineering and will graduate in the spring of 2028. He works on integrating cryogenics for future liquid bi-propellant rotating detonation engines. In his free time, he enjoys woodworking and working out.

Bryan Rey

Bryan is pursing his BS in Mechanical Engineering at NC State University. He works on developing wavy geometries for Baby RDRE, RDRE Test Operations, and Ion probe design + data acquisition. His expected graduation date is spring 2027. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, backpacking, and hanging out with his pet rabbits.

Kai Taylor

Kai is pursuing his BS in Aerospace Engineering at NC State University. he works on MATLAB data processing and test stand setup for the bladeless turbine project, including Mach 3 and 4 nozzles. He also assists on hot fire campaigns for the wavy wall, stainless steel, and copper bodies with different centerpieces. His expected graduation date is spring 2027. In his free time, he enjoys working out, riding his electric vehicles, and flying his FPV drones

Miranda Waggoner

Miranda is pursuing her BS in Mechanical Engineering and will graduate in the spring 2029. She works on various geometries of the inner body rotating detonation engines. In her free time, she enjoys travel and music.

Lian Yale

Lian is pursuing her BS in Aerospace Engineering and will graduate in the spring of 2027. She works on simulations of rotating detonation engines. In her free time she enjoys hiking, rock climbing, traveling, and reading.