Smriti Nandan Paul (Director)
Graduate Students
Grant Baer (PhD Student)
Grant Baer received his BS in Aerospace Engineering from Missouri S&T in 2024. In Summer 2024, he joined the DCV-Space group as a PhD student. He was a NASA BIG Idea Challenge 2023 Finalist (Moon Mining Project). His research interests include Astrodynamics, Guidance, Navigation, & Control (GNC), and spacecraft design.
Logan Paige Banker (MS Student)
Logan Banker received her BS in Aerospace Engineering from Missouri S&T in 2024. In Fall 2024, she joined the DCV-Space group as an MS student. Her research interests include Astrodynamics, Guidance, Navigation, & Control (GNC), and vision-based active space removal and on-orbit services.
Jay Kamdar (Voluntary Graduate Student)
Jay Kamdar is a graduate student pursuing an MS in Aerospace Engineering at Missouri S&T, with a focus on space operations, control systems and mission design. His current research focuses on space debris mitigation and integrating robotics and computer vision to simulate space operations. Having worked on various projects and professional academies, his leadership skills are best highlighted through his role as the Director of Projects at SEDS (seds.org) and Vice President at AIAA – MST. Outside work, Jay enjoys working on spacecraft and rocket models and is an avid film enthusiast!
Yumeka Nagano (Past Graduate Student)
Yumeka Nagano received her MS in Aerospace Engineering from Missouri S&T in 2023 and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Saitama University (Japan) in 2020. From 2021-2023, she was a member of the Command and Data Handling subsystem on the Missouri S&T Satellite Research Team. Her research interests include Astrodynamics, Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC), as well as Active Debris Removal.
Undergraduate Students
Ryan Dunham (Undergrad)
Ryan Dunham is an undergraduate BS student in Aerospace Engineering and expected to graduate from Missouri S&T in 2026. His research interests include Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC), and Propulsion.
Michelle Angel (Undergrad)
Michelle Angel is expected to receive her BS in Aerospace Engineering from Missouri S&T in 2026. She is also pursuing a minor in math and in business. Her research interests include Astrodynamics, Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC), as well as spacecraft design.
Trevor Hunting (Undergrad)
Trevor Hunting is expected to receive his BS in Aerospace engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in 2026. He is an active member of the MST Rocket Design Team who has taken an interest in liquid propulsion. His research interests include Spacecraft Propulsion Systems and Astrodynamics.
Igor Panfil (Undergrad – Integrated Master’s Student)
Igor Panfil is an integrated Master’s student in Aerospace Engineering at The University of Sheffield, England. He studied on a year abroad at Missouri S&T, where he was a member of the Propulsion and Thermal subsystems of the Missouri S&T Satellite Research Team. His research interests include Space Object Characterization, Multiple-Model Adaptive Estimation, and Space Sustainability.