Our People

Research Areas: Space architecture, Space robotics, System-of-Systems methodology, Dynamics and Control, MBSE

Kshitij Mall is a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the Center for Integrated Systems in Aerospace, Purdue University. He obtained his Ph.D. and Masters degrees from the School of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Purdue University in 2018 and 2013 respectively. He was a Post-doctoral Research Fellow in the department of Aerospace Engineering at Auburn University in 2019. Previously, he completed B. Tech. in Mechanical Engineering at JSSATE Noida and then worked for a year at Infosys Technologies Ltd. as a Computer Systems Engineer Trainee. He has worked on projects with NASA, DARPA, SERC, Sandia National Labs and the Mars Society. He has volunteered on educational outreach projects for the Orissa Government and Tata Steels in India. He is a young professional member of AIAA.

Research Interests: Human-Class Mars Missions, Trajectory Optimization, Atmospheric Flight Mechanics, Explainable Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Air Mobility, and Systems Engineering.

Research Areas: Systems Engineering, Structures and Materials, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Prajwal holds a Masters in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue. He has previous experience in projects ranging from electric vehicle DBT, operations research methods, multi-agent system architecture, mechanism design for game balance, system-of-system acquisition and portfolio optimization, to leading conceptual design for amphibious aircraft, using machine learning to quantify game balance. His PhD dissertation focuses on modeling and measuring fidelity of models for SoS and Digital Twins. He used to play the violin and is currently learning the guitar. He starts his day with a big cup of coffee and a few chess rapid games. Always interested in games - on a board or a console.

Research Interests: Modeling & Simulation, Digital Twins, Machine Learning, System Design and Verification, Multi-agent Systems, Operations Research and Gamification

Dalia received an MSc in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at Purdue with a minor concentration in Computational Science and Engineering. Dalia’s thesis involved developing a framework for digital mission engineering, which leverages developments and tools used for digital engineering to design and implement space missions. Now, Dalia is a PhD student with a minor concentration in astrodynamics and is pursuing a Systems Graduate Certification to enhance her skills in systems engineering, MBSE, and system-of-systems modeling and design for space applications and missions.

Research Interests: Digital Mission Engineering, Space Missions, System and Mission Architecture, Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE).

Derek Carpenter is a graduate research assistant at Purdue University's Center for Integrated Systems in Aerospace. He has focused on integration of the Robust Portfolio Optimization (RPO) toolset with Purdue-developed rocket sizing, payload allocation, and complexity assessment tools. Additionally, Derek worked as a teaching assistant for a Purdue system-of-systems engineering (SoSE) course, titled AAE560, during the spring of 2022. He also assisted in generation of problem sets, solutions, and example content for a SoSE textbook.

Research Interests: System-of-Systems Simulation, Model-based Systems Engineering, Technical Writing, System Dynamics Modeling

Edward is a Ph.D. student at Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Edward holds a bachelor's and master's degree at National Cheng Kung University Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics with experience in the design of Stirling engine and aerospace heat exchangers.

Research Interests: System architectures of advanced aerial mobility and space structures.

Nick is currently a graduate research assistant in the Advanced Air Mobility cluster, particularly on the Operational Limits Analysis Project sponsored by NASA Langley and the National Institute of Aerospace. His personal work aims to develop methods to and study powering future electric aircraft for minimizing operational costs and identify opportunities for urban planners. He has previous internship experience at American Airlines and GE Aviation, working on civil and military aircraft such as the 787, 777, P8 Poseidon, KC-46 Tanker, F/A-18 etc.

Research interests: Advanced Air Mobility, Aircraft Operations and Design, Optimization, Renewable Energy.

Yinchien Huang is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Purdue University's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He earned his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from National Taiwan University and his master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University. His academic focus spans electric vehicle design, satellite design, and control systems.

Research Interests: System architectures of satellite communications and Ai applications in space.

Winston earned his B.S. and M.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue in 2020 and 2022. His research focuses on leveraging optimal control theory to benchmark maximum vehicle performance as well as applying various methods from control theory and machine learning to approximate the nonlinear optimal control for real-time applications.

Research Interests: Autonomy and Control, Optimal Control Theory, High Speed Systems.

Rod is an astrophysicist from Brazil with a M.Sc. in Space Engineering focused in Space Mechanics & Controls. Rod also specialized in AI by working as a programming teacher and data scientist, and co-founded SEARCH, the first organization at Purdue dedicated to astronaut-related initiatives. Currently, Rod is working on the development of space missions from a multi-level perspective. In the systems level, his research concentrates on exploring the design space of innovative space systems via graph representation and generative design. In the System-of-Systems level, multiple systems are simulated in different mission architecture configurations towards optimizing mission metrics. In his free time, he enjoys outdoors activities like hiking, as well as instrumental music and philosophical books.

Research interests: Space Mission Architectures; Generative Design; Deep Learning; Explainable AI; Space System Design; Optimization.

Alex Shi is a PhD student at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. Her research involves developing methods and tools for addressing challenges in space sustainability, with a focus on the impact of large satellite constellations. She also has experience developing decision support tools and frameworks for tackling complex, multi-disciplinary problems. Alex obtained her Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, UK, on a Singapore Public Service Commission scholarship. Prior to joining Purdue University, she spent several years as policymaker in the Singapore government, where she worked in diverse fields including economics, finance, and infrastructure policies.

Research interests: Satellite Constellations, Agent-Based Modelling, Game Theory, Space Sustainability, Space Policy, Optimization, Decision Support Systems

Sonali is a Ph.D. student at Purdue's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a Graduate researcher at CISA (SoS Lab). She has a keen interest in interdisciplinary research for space applications, with a focus on Systems Engineering. She has an affinity for large-scale space missions involving multiple systems and stakeholders.

Research interests: Space Mission Engineering, Systems Architecture, System Safety and Risk Assessment, Model-based Systems Engineering, Space Exploration Systems.

Somrick is a Graduate Aerospace Engineering student and enthusiast at Purdue University. His interests include Systems Design, Sustainable Aviation, Rocket and Aero Engine design, Mechanical design, Aeromodelling, Thermodynamics, FEA, CFD, and CAD. He also enjoys debating, and is always up for a debate.

Research Interests: Aircraft Design, MDO, Systems Design, Mechanical Engineering.

Adler is an M.S. at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University, having obtained his B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering in 2023. He originates from Jakarta, Indonesia. His research work centers around advanced air mobility concept of operations, where he implements urban air mobility (UAM) ridesharing models to investigate economial and environmental limits to the deployment of large-scale ridesharing-enabled UAM operations across various urban areas in the US. He has previous experience in the analysis of remote sensing datasets from his undergraduate years.

Research interests: Urban air mobility, aviation sustainability, systems design & optimization, networks, fleet planning

Jonah is a Master's Student at Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Jonah recently graduated from Purdue with his bachelor's in AAE. Currently, Jonah is performing research for the DoD to develop and enhance the DCTC Program at Purdue and working on a case study on UAM operations in international countries. He also has a strong background from previous research in data analytics and processing.

Research Interests: Autonomy and Controls, Optimization Algorithms, Urban Air Mobility

Brian Melching received his Bachelor's in Aeronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and has commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. His research interest included aircraft flight test and controls, and in general research with a military technology innovation application. Following Purdue, he will continue his career as a pilot in the USAF.

Research interests: Flight Test, Controls, Design, Hypersonics