Cabinet - Executive leadership

Trey Taylor

President, Program Director

Trey is a Junior from Chagrin Falls OH, majoring in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. Trey joined Purdue Orbital his freshman year on Icarus Systems and served his sophomore year as the Chief Systems Engineer. Now as President Trey seeks to create an inclusive environment with inspiring opportunities for Orbital members.

Matthew Murday

HAPSIS Chief Engineer

Matthew is a senior in Aero/Astro Engineering from Dallas, Texas. Outside of Purdue Orbital, Matthew enjoys hobby high-power rocketry and flying R/C aircraft. He has been passionate about space and aviation for most of his life and as a result has decided to pursue a career in that area. 

Ben Wassgren

ICARUS Chief Engineer

Ben is a Senior from West Lafayette Indiana, majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Materials Science Engineering. This is Ben's Second year in Orbital. As a chief engineer he hopes to help enable members to develop their engineering skill sets and get experience working on challenging projects.

Luke Hunter

Cheif Systems Engineer

Luke is a Junior from the Bay Area California, majoring in Materials Science and Engineering. Luke joined Purdue Orbital his freshman year on Hapsis Systems. Now as Pegasus chief engineer Luke seeks help teach the next generation of systems engineers with supportive and inspiring environment full of professional development for Orbital members.

Connor Wessel

operations Director

Connor is a Junior from Cincinnati Ohio, majoring in Aerospace Engineering. Connor joined Purdue Orbital as a freshman on Icarus systems. As chief of operations, Connor plans to grow the orbital brand to draw in more funding and potential sponsors.

Samuel Forfang

Primary Treasurer

Sam is a Junior from Houston majoring in Applied Statistics and Economics. Sam has been a part of Orbital since his sophomore year and initially joined the Enterprise and Operations team. In his spare time, Sam enjoys running and is currently training for a Marathon for the end of 2024! 

sayantan mukhuti

Secondary Treasurer

Sayantan is a senior from Singapore studying Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, with a minor in Astronomy. He can trace back his interests in aerospace engineering to the countless hours spent playing Kerbal Space Program, launching water bottle rockets as a child and being able to successfully bring the payload, an egg, safely back to Earth, at least most of the time. Aside from Purdue Orbital, he is a Peer Teaching Assistant for ENGR16x and spends his free time going on long runs or adding to the thousands of hours he already logged on his flight simulator at home.

Matthew Gammon

Cheif Manufacturing Engineer

Matthew Gammon is a senior studying Mechanical Engineering Technology. Matthew is interested in aerospace engineering because he believes that this field in particular is pushing the limits of what is possible more than any other field and Purdue Orbital, in particular, is going about it in a very innovative way. Outside of school Matthew is a TA at Bechtel Innovation Design Center and likes to stay busy with hobbies such as snow skiing and wake surfing.

Danielle Evinger

Balloon infrastructure DESIGN LEAD

Danielle is a sophomore from Northern Virginia majoring in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering and minoring in Public Policy. This is Danielle’s third year with Orbital and on the Balloon Infrastructures team. Danielle enjoys the close knit community in her team and enjoys solving hard problems with smart, passionate people.  

Jack Hogan

Avionics DESIGN LEAD

Jack is a junior from Northern Virginia double majoring in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence with a minor in Mathematics. This is his third year in Orbital working in avionics and ground control. Jack has always loved computers, engineering, and space, so it’s no surprise that he’s here at Orbital. Outside of school Jack likes to read, walk, work out at the Corec, explore, and work on his programming and engineering projects.

elise bauerschmidt

Flight Systems design Lead

Elise is a junior studying Electrical Engineering, originally from Glenview, Illinois. This is her second year in Purdue Orbital. Growing up Elise always loved space and once she got to Purdue, she loved the collaboration of Purdue Orbital and their mission to launch into orbit. Outside of Purdue Orbital, Elise loves working for the Women in Engineering Program by creating and helping run engineering events for elementary through high school students.

William Bethke

launch structure design lead

(Bio Coming Soon)

sam lichenstien

hapsis systems Design Lead

Sam is a senior studying Aeronautical Engineering Technology from Pittsburgh, PA. This is his third year with the organization and working on the Hapsis Systems team. Sam has always been interested in everything Aviation and Aerospace and sees orbital as a way to work with real problems in this industry. Outside of orbital Sam does ambassador work for the School of Aviation at Purdue and enjoys watching all types of sports.  

Wes Kron

Guidance, Navigation, & control Design Lead

Wes is a junior from Northern Virginia. He is majoring in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering. Wes joined the Purdue Orbital GNC team in fall 2022. Outside of Orbital, he is training for the Purdue Boilermaker Half-Marathon in October.  

Christiaan Sengers

Propulsion design co-lead

Christiaan is a Junior majoring in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering from Northern Virginia. Christiaan has been part of Orbital for 2 years and joined the propulsion subteam in his second semester. He wants to create a team focused on collaboration where everybody's ideas are heard. 

Diego Ayala​

Propulsion design co-lead

Diego is a Senior from Frederick MD, majoring in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering with a specialization in propulsion. Diego has been a member of our propulsion team since freshman year and is now co-leading the team in their efforts to develop and test a high-power solid rocket motor.

Max Lopez

Airframe Design Lead

Max is a junior in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Los Angeles. This is Max’s first year as Design Lead, but third year with the Airframe sub-team. Space has consumed Max’s life, so he appreciates the company of other passionate students all working together to push the envelope of possibility. “Rockets are cool.” 

Michael Hatlas

icarus systems Design lead

Michael Hatlas is a Junior in Aerospace Engineering from Chicago, IL. Since joining Orbital as a freshman, Michael has been an integral member of the Icarus Systems Team. As the current Design Lead, he is responsible for ensuring smooth and safe operations while aligning the Icarus team with consistent requirements and objectives. Outside of his academic and team responsibilities, Michael enjoys skiing and traveling.