
Anna Rankin is entering her second year in the Burnett Honors College where she is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and pursuing a minor in Bioengineering. Anna is passionate about understanding the human body on a cellular level because she one day would like to 3D print a working artificial human heart; she has research lined up that revolves around 3D printing. Outside of class, she is professional development chair for the Society of Women Engineers. In her free time, Anna likes to play volleyball and spend time with friends and family.

Christopher Ngo originates from South Florida and is currently pursuing a M.S. in Biomedical Sciences after receiving a Pre-Clinical Health Sciences B.S. from UCF. He is a returning fellow whose research focuses on contributing to the goal of achieving sustained long-term presence on the lunar surface over the next decade as outlined by NASA’s strategic plan with a focus on orthopedic human health and performance. Outside of research, Chris is a trained firefighter/EMT.

John Yonkauske is a senior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University majoring in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in CAD/CAM. He is President of the Honors Student Association and Bylaws Officer of the Tau Beta Pi Florida Iota chapter. He has experience in the creation and analysis of a foldable carbon fiber-Kevlar floor for an expandable Martian habitat. He is also involved in the Experimental Rocket Propulsion Lab. His current research is in the development of a surface acoustic wave cleaning device which will utilize his experience researching multifunctional nanocomposite materials at NASA Langley Research Center this summer. In his free time, John enjoys traveling, reading, origami, photography, and rooting for his favorite sports teams.

Olivia Ricca is a first-year aerospace engineering student. She is in the EXCEL/COMPASS and LEAD Scholars programs at UCF. She intends on exploring different specializations of aerospace, but space exploration has always piqued her interest. She has also started to enjoy CAD and design. Currently, she is working in the Hawking Center Research lab for lunar regolith interactions. In her free time, she enjoys drawing and catching up on her favorite anime, One Piece. Being from South Florida, she’s quite a beach bum. She is very excited to be a part of this incredible opportunity and learn new skills to expand her knowledge.

Raven Pascua originates from the Tampa Bay area and is a second year currently pursuing a B. S. in Molecular Microbiology from UCF. She became involved in research after participating in ISEF her senior year of high school. Raven’s research will focus on testing a novel method of eradicating bacterial growth and preventing biofilm growth both on Earth and in space. In her free time, Raven enjoys cross stitch and spending time at the beach.

Juan P. Roldan is a Burnett Honors College student at UCF. He is in his junior year of my BSAE, also pursuing a minor in computer science. He is a member of the UCF Robotics Club, currently part of the mechanical team for Autonomous Ground Vehicle (AGV). His internship will entail improving heating predictions for the backshell of the Dragonfly reentry capsule through computational fluid dynamics. Outside of school, he enjoys studying geography and playing table tennis.

Jessica Schwend is a senior pursuing a degree in Aerospace Engineering with minors in Astronomy and Physics. She’s currently researching charged lunar dust dynamics in the Astrodynamics and Space Robotics Lab and will be experimentally and computationally extending her work at NASA KSC this summer. Jessica is passionate about space and human spaceflight, with the goal of being an astronaut herself one day. Along with a passion for learning, Jessica loves music, fitness and travel. She helped lead a UCF Global Engineering Brigade where a group of 10 engineers travelled to Honduras to design a water system for a rural community.

Kayla is a second-year graduate student on the Planetary Science track of the Physics Ph.D. program. She received her bachelor’s degree in Physics with Astronomy Emphasis from Macalester College. Her research interests are regolith behavior in microgravity and vacuum environments, including Plume Surface Interactions (PSI). She is also the Test Team lead for the Lunar PAD project, where the team designs and tests landing pads that capture and redirect nozzle plumes. She has previously done NASA Langley and Lucy internships and completed the NASA L’SPACE Academy courses.

Jackson Rockefeller is a junior majoring in Physics and minoring in Math and Astronomy. He is a new fellow that will be working at JSC over the summer of 2023 and will be working on Flight Software Development where he’ll be aiding in the software development of exercise machines for future exploration missions. While his main focus in on schoolwork and research he enjoys playing video games, watching movies, and bowling with friends in his free time.

Juanpablo Delgado is a 22-year-old aerospace engineering UCF graduate student from Miami. His research field is computational fluid dynamics with a focus in modelling combustion systems. His favorite aircraft is the F-35. In his free time he likes to swim, go on runs (with his dog), and hit the grill. He considers himself an introvert, but loves to spend time with his family. He likes to watch boxing and soccer.

Khanh Nguyen is a first-year graduate researcher at the University of Central Florida (UCF) working on a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering with a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering. His researcher consists of using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software to investigate cavitation phenomena inside of rain droplets at supersonic/hypersonic speed flows. He will start his internship at the NASA Langley Research Center in the summer, performing code optimization and image processing of ballistic data.

Taylor Peterson is a graduate researcher at the University of Central Florida (UCF), going into her third year working towards a PhD in Aerospace Engineering, and holds her bachelor’s in physics from Carthage College. Her PhD research revolves around studying and tracking cryogenic fluid flow behavior in microgravity and was recently awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to continue this work. Along with this, Taylor holds a role with the Zero-Gravity Corporation as a parabolic flight coach and has been flying with them as a researcher since 2018. Her work this summer at NASA Kennedy Space Center will focus on stability of tethered spacecraft using fluids. She will be working on fluid modeling to solve this issue.

Ashley Tirado is a senior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University majoring in Aerospace Engineering, astronautics, and minoring in Applied Mathematics. She is a part of Society of Women Engineers and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, ensuring that the next generation of women and men are just as inspired and passionate about their goals. Apart from these extracurriculars, Ashley has dedicated this past year to research in materials science. She participated in the NASA RASC-AL competition earning her and her team 3rd place at state finals; she was also awarded ‘Best Design Concept’. Now, she is focusing on her research for improving ceramic coatings for aerospace applications. She is going off this summer to intern at NASA Langley to continue this work.

Sam LeBlanc received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UCF in 2015 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has been working in the additive manufacturing industry for 10 years. He has worked on a wide range of applications including 3D printed electronics, printed RF devices and antennas, and holds the unofficial world record for the smallest game of tic-tac-toe where the board measured 300 microns by 300 microns. He is interning with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California this summer. Outside of school and work, he is an avid powerlifter and woodworker.