Daniel DeLaurentis, a professor in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, chatted with AAE graduate student Nick Gunady for the College of Engineering's new series, "Office Hours."

Daniel DeLaurentis is the first Purdue Engineering professor to be featured in the "Office Hours" series.

The series offers a look into the lives of Purdue Engineering faculty, focusing on how they spend time away from the University's West Lafayette campus, what motivates them in life and much more. 

DeLaurentis joined AAE faculty in 2004, and all three of his degrees are in aerospace engineering. His love for the field began well before that. 

"As a young boy, I was hooked on Star Trek reruns of the original series," said DeLaurentis, whose favorite Star Trek captain is James T. Kirk. "Something about just that episode and other science fiction movies, especially after that, really got me hooked. So when I was seemingly attracted to engineering for my college degree, aerospace was my choice and the rest is history."

The course of his experience in graduate school directed him toward an academic career for a couple reasons.

"(Reason) A, I like the freedom to convince someone I wanted to work on something and they should pay me to do it," he said with a smile, "and B, the fact that you could have amazingly smart students work with you on something at the same time you were working on it sealed the deal."

The videos publish once per month and feature professors from across the College. The full playlist can be viewed on the College of Engineering's YouTube channel.