2024-2025 Officers 

Santiago is a senior pursuing a major in Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics with a minor in Astrophysics and is currently serving as this year’s President. This is his third year as a member of AIAA and a board member. He is also a CSE Mentor, a Formula SAE team member, and a soccer intramural team captain. Outside of school, he enjoys playing soccer, going to the gym, listening to music, and watching as many movies as possible. 

Lahari is a junior pursuing a major in Aerospace Engineering and a minor in Computer Science and is currently serving as this year’s Vice President. This is her third year on the board and as a member. Lahari is also involved in the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) and is a member of the sorority, Alpha Sigma Kappa (AΣK). Outside of school, she loves visiting coffee shops, going to concerts, traveling, and watching movies!

Sofia is a senior studying Aerospace Engineering. It is her fourth year in AIAA and second year as Secretary. She spends most of her free time playing volleyball, either in UMN’s Women’s Club Volleyball Team, intramurals, or open gyms. Outside of UMN, she enjoys skiing, pickleball, puzzles, hiking, and rivers. Upon graduation, Sofia plans to pursue a graduate degree in Aerospace Engineering.

Ashton is a senior pursuing a degree in Aerospace Engineering and is serving as the Treasurer. This is his third year as a member of AIAA. He is also involved in the Rocket Team, primarily focusing on propulsion, and in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club. He likes to play piano and go hiking in his free time. 

Daniel is a senior majoring in Aerospace Engineering and serving as this year’s Event Coordinator. On campus, he leads craft workshops as a Toaster Ambassador in Walter Library and competes in triathlons as a member of the university’s triathlon team. Outside of the classroom, he enjoys exploring the cities, cooking, running, and spending time with friends. After graduation, Daniel plans to begin his career in the engineering industry.

Grace is a junior Aerospace Engineering major and is serving as this year’s Outreach Coordinator. Grace is also involved in Alpha Phi as the Vice President of Health, Wellness, and Accountability, and is also a member of the U of M’s robotics club on the Lunabotics subteam. Outside of class, she enjoys hanging out with friends and enjoying the outdoors. After graduation, she plans to join the engineering industry. 

Lainey is a senior in Aerospace Engineering and is serving as this year’s Marketing Manager. Lainey also serves as the project manager for a solar flare mission at the university’s Small Satellite Research Lab (SSRL), and is also a thermal analyst for the lab. She hopes to attend graduate school next fall at the UMN and study hypersonics and other thermal-fluid systems. Outside of school, Lainey enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, playing games, and reading. 

Annu is a junior pursuing a major Aerospace Engineering and a minor in Astrophysics. She is currently serving as this year's Communications Chair. It is her second year in AIAA and first year on the board. Outside of school, she enjoys reading, scrapbooking, and spending time with friends.

Keira is a sophomore pursuing a major in Aerospace Engineering and a minor in Computer Science. She is serving as this year’s Webmaster. Outside of school, she enjoys traveling, listening to music, and spending time with friends. 

Elliot is a junior in aerospace engineering at the University of Minnesota. During his freshman year, he discovered and pursued an aerospace-related hobby: building and racing FPV drones. This hobby, along with joining some clubs at the U of M, has fueled his passion for designing aircraft and UAVs, which he hopes to turn into a profession one day. Outside of academics, he skis and snowboards almost every weekend during the winter, and in the summer, he enjoys soccer and mountain biking.

Nazdana is a junior majoring in Aerospace Engineering. This is her second year at the University and her first year in AIAA. Nazdana is also involved in Rocket Team and Women in Aviation. Outside of school, she likes to learn how to fly planes, read, and enjoys conversations about physics, philosophy, and novels.  

Robert is a 5th year Ph.D. candidate studying Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics with a focus on applying novel robust control techniques to complex, uncertain, and nonlinear spaceflight systems, advised by Professor Ryan Caverly. His degree is supported by a DOD SMART Scholarship sponsored by the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate Space Control Branch. He's been a part of AIAA at UMN since 2017 and has held many roles in the group including President for the 2019-2020 academic year. Along with his current duties as the Graduate Liaison, Robert is an officer of the AIAA Twin Cities section focused on promoting professional and student branch collaboration. Robert enjoys hiking, running, and playing rough with his partner's dog, Winnie. 

Franklin is a senior studying Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Astrophysics. It is his third year on the CanSat team and first year as the team lead. Over the summer he participated in the Summer Research Mentorship Program under Professor Anabel del Val doing research on stochastic hypersonics. He likes playing games, the gym, and winning CanSat competitions. Franklin plans to continue college in graduate school. 

Thomas is a Senior majoring in Aerospace Engineering and minoring in Spanish. This is his third year in AIAA/DBF and his first year serving as the DBF lead. He is also involved in MN Space Grant through both a summer internship and a high-power rocketry competition in the spring, and he sings with one of UMN’s acapella groups, Vocal U, where he will be the assistant music director this year. Thomas plans to continue his Aerospace Engineering education in grad school.