People

Jasmine Aloor (she/her)
Dynamics, Infrastructure Networks and Mobility Group (DINaMo)
​Contact: jjaloor@mit.edu

Hi, I’m a first-year graduate student at the Dynamics, Infrastructure Networks and Mobility Group (DINaMo) led by Prof. Hamsa Balakrishnan. My research interest is in planning and decision-making for multi-agent autonomous systems. I completed my undergraduate and master’s (Dual Degree program) in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (India). I’m from Bangalore, India. 

Ryan de Freitas Bart (he/him)
Engineering Systems Laboratory
​Contact: ryandfb@mit.edu

Ryan de Freitas Bart is a fifth-year graduate student in the Engineering Systems Lab and a Draper Scholar. Ryan’s research interests are improving system engineering processes and methods for analyzing space system reusability. Ryan currently serves as a Co-President of the Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (GA^3) and Chair of the GSC Committee on Academics, Research, and Careers (ARC). When not working on research or improving student life at MIT, Ryan enjoys sailing on the Charles River and traveling to new places.

Sydney Dolan (they/she)
Dynamics, Infrastructure Networks and Mobility Group (DINaMo)
​Contact: sydneyd@mit.edu

Sydney Dolan is a PhD student and NSF GRFP fellow with Professor Hamsa Balakrishnan. They study graph neural networks and game theoretic design for space traffic management. For their masters, Sydney worked in the Engineering Systems Lab to develop a guidance, navigation and control suite for an in-space assembly system. In their free time, she likes to trail run, go ice climbing, and watch local drag shows. 

Chloé Gentgen (she/her)
Engineering Systems Laboratory
​Contact: cgentgen@mit.edu

Chloe Gentgen is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and a Research Assistant in the Engineering Systems Lab with Prof. Olivier de Weck. Her research focuses on space systems engineering, mission architecture, and multi-disciplinary optimization applied to deep-space robotic exploration. Chloe interned at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and received a B.S. and M.S. in Engineering from Ecole Centrale Paris in France and an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from MIT. 

Chris Kwon (he/him)
necstlab
Contact: ckwon23@mit.edu

Chris Kwon is a first-year graduate student in the Nano-engineered Composite Aerospace Structures Laboratory (necstlab) with Professor Brian Wardle. His research involves exploring the properties of nano-engineered carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) using finite element analysis and experimental testing. Prior to coming to MIT, he received his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2022. Beyond research, he enjoys cooking, photography, singing, watching anime, and exploring fashion. 

Michelle Lin (they/them)
Human Systems Lab
​Contact: shuyulin@mit.edu

Mich is a second-year MS-PhD student in the Human Systems Lab. Their research focus is on human behavior in Isolated, Confined, and Extreme environments and how to design architecture for long-duration space exploration. Outside of research, they are a Graduate Resident Advisor for East Campus and have been on the Graduate Association of AeroAstro (GA^3) Exec team for two years, as the Outreach & Diversity Chair (2021) and the social media coordinator (2022). They teach in Spark/Splash/HSSP (MIT Educational Studies Program’s outreach programs for middle/high schoolers), do ballet, travel, knit, and read. Please talk to them about: being queer at MIT, funding, human factors research, maintaining work/life balance, and community engagement! 

Lanie McKinney (she/her)
Aerospace Plasma Group
​Contact: laniemck@mit.edu

Lanie is a first-year master’s student working in the aerospace plasma group on plasma-assisted CO2 conversion. She’s originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she attended the University of Tulsa for undergraduate degrees in physics and math. Her favorite pastimes are singing and writing music, reading, and hiking! 

Adriana Mitchell (she/her)
Astrodynamics Space Robotics and Controls Lab (ARCLab)
Contact: amtchell@mit.edu

Adriana Mitchell is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Astrodynamics Space Robotics and Controls Lab (ARCLab) with Professor Richard Linares working on applying AI to improve optical navigation during entry, descent, and landing on other planetary bodies. Her research interests are deep-space optical navigation, terrain-relative navigation, machine learning, and computer vision. She received her B.S. in Optical Sciences and Engineering from the University of Arizona and her M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from MIT.  

She has lived in on-campus graduate housing residences (Sidney-Pacific, Edgerton), interned at NASA JPL, been involved with AeroAstro departmental student groups (GA^3, GWAE), participated in air-pistol and tennis sport intramurals, been funded through (internal and external) graduate Fellowships, and has researched abroad through the MIT MISTI Italy program. She is happy to answer any questions about how to get involved/interest with these opportunities! 

Christine Page (she/her)
Space Telecommunications, Astronomy and Radiation Laboratory (STARLab)
Contact: pagec@mit.edu

Christine is a PhD student in Aeronautics & Astronautics Engineering at MIT where she works in Professor Kerri Cahoy’s STARLab. She also holds a position as an aerospace engineer at Kirtland Air Force Base, working with the Space Force. Christine earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in electrical engineering, with an emphasis on power electronics and small satellites, from the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Her current research involves working on the NASA Roman Telescope project aimed at studying and analyzing the performance of dark hole maintenance algorithms used to maintain high-contrast in exoplanet detection. In her PhD studies, Christine is focusing on developing an AI algorithm that leverages multispectral imaging and active sensing for the autonomous identification and characterization of exoplanets and non-noise targets of interest with high resolution. 

William Parker (he/him)
Astrodynamics Space Robotics and Controls Lab (ARCLab)
Contact: wparker@mit.edu

Will is a third-year graduate student in the Astrodynamics, Space Robotics, and Controls Laboratory (ARCLab). His research interests include space weather, space sustainability, satellite collision avoidance, GN&C, computational astrodynamics, and space domain awareness. He grew up in Kingston, MA and graduated with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 2020. At MIT, Will has served as a social chair on the Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (GA^3), has competed as a member of the MIT Rowing Club, and plays with many AeroAstro intramural teams. Other interests include sailing, kayaking, hiking, skiing, and performing music at local bars with friends. 

June Stenzel (she/her)
Contact: jstenzel@mit.edu

June Stenzel is a PhD candidate in MIT AeroAstro. She received a B.S. in Physics from Texas A&M University in 2018, and a M.S. in Aerospace Engineering at MIT in 2022. She has worked for several years in the private sector as a software engineer, developing physics simulations and verification & validation processes for NASA missions. Her research interests include astronomy & space science, space systems, systems engineering, uncertainty quantification, and verification & mission assurance. 

Sunbochen Tang (he/him)
​Contact: tangsun@mit.edu

Sunbochen is a second-year Ph.D. student broadly interested in control theory, optimization, and machine learning. Prior to joining MIT, he studied in the Mechanical Engineering department at University of Michigan. Outside research, he enjoys photography and traveling. 

Hannah Tomio (she/her)
Space Telecommunications, Astronomy and Radiation Laboratory (STARLab)
Contact: tomio@mit.edu

Hannah Tomio is a PhD student in the MIT Space Telecommunications, Astronomy, and Radiation (STAR) Lab, with Professor Kerri Cahoy. Her research focuses on enabling laser instruments on small satellite platforms for communications and remote sensing. Prior to coming to MIT, she received a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.Eng. in Aerospace Engineering from Tohoku University. Outside of research, she enjoys learning languages and running along the Charles River.