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People

Staff

Administration

Kristi Morgansen

Professor and Chair
Faculty website

Kristi is the Captain of this Spaceship, aligning our efforts to a more excellent department as she also teaches and leads the Nonlinear Dynamics & Control Lab. We're not sure how she does it. She must get excellent sleep.

Rachel Reichert

Administrator

Rachel elevates the management of a rocket science department to an art. She is the gateway to our budgets as the head of fiscal and facilities. And she is streamlining all of processes to make us all work more efficiently.

Kim Maczko

Assistant to the Chair

Kim holds faculty destinies in her hands as she manages faculty HR and coordinates  hiring for faculty, post docs and all academic visiting positions. She is also the portal onto Kristi's calendar.

Noelle Hardman

Office Manager

Noelle is our departmental Swiss Army knife, greeting us in the Main Office and taming things from the mail room to our room reservations. She's the unofficial mayor of A&A's common spaces and human GPS for the lost. Need financial reconciliation wizardry or event planning magic? Noelle's our unicorn. We suspect she's secretly powered by rocket fuel.

Academic services & advising

Betsy Winter

Director, Academic Services

Betsy's goal is to make sure everyone has what they need for a great student experience. Have a question and not sure where to start? Betsy can guide you.

Erica Coleman

Academic Adviser, Undergraduate Programs

Erica welcomes and encourages questions from prospective and current students regarding admissions, course planning, and degree completion. 

Paul Neubert

Graduate Programs Manager

Paul manages our masters and doctoral programs. He is the perfect blend of competence, comfort and taskmaster to guide our grad students from fact-finding about the department through graduation. Grad students, talk through your plans and quandaries with Paul!

Susan Sherbak

Professional Programs Manager

Susan manages our Masters of Aerospace Engineering (MAE) and certificate programs (more details AUT24!). She’s excited to help you understand the differences in the program options and help you find your best fit!

Computing, labs & facilities

Sean Krewson

Facilities Manager

Sean is quickly rising to be the most popular staff member, in charge of our machine shop and partnering with faculty and instructors to provide hands-on classes. He's got mad skills in prototype design and machining.

David Wilson

Sr. Computing Specialist

David makes sure our Zoom is working like we expect and we're streaming to all of the right places. He also manages our hardware and software and supports our research technology. 

Colin Baxter headshot

Colin Baxter

Instructional Lab Engineer

Whether he's fine-tuning a wind tunnel test or hunting down the perfect piece of equipment, Colin's mission is clear – to help our future aerospace leaders soar to new heights, both in the lab and beyond. Colin is the behind-the-scenes wizard keeping our academic labs running smoothly, the wind whisperer of our 3x3 tunnel, and the grand curator of cutting-edge equipment for new experiments.

Fiscal

Sonia Bill

Grant Manager

Sonia is an expert grant manager, making sure our faculty are on top of all grant requirements. Let her know when you want to apply for funding to launch research projects, so she can assist you through the process. Once your projects have lifted off, she will help with keeping them powered at high altitudes.

Khalid Mohamed

Program Operations Specialist

Sometimes our faculty need extra fiscal support for budgets. Khalid is here for them and also handles payroll, travel, academic student HR, and purchasing. Need to purchase a rocket booster or an aircraft widget? Khalid will help you with that.

Jordan Allen

Budget Fiscal Analyst

Jordan joins our fiscal team to handle payroll, purchasing, and travel!

Communications & outreach

Amy Sprague

Communications Manager

Amy is our resident crusty Philadelphian, but she does get enthusiastic about our research. She writes our department news and features. Go ahead and tell her what you're up to. Beware though: She might give unsolicited advice on using UW colors and fonts.

Wanda Frederick

Community Relations and Communications Specialist

You know all of the faculty awards we've been racking up? Those nominations start with Wanda. And she knows how to communicate our department strengths to deepen our connections to alumni and the community. 

JCATI

Beth Hacker

JCATI Program Manager

Beth has been extremely successful at running the JCATI program and making sure our legislators understand the benefits to students, faculty, and the aerospace industry in Washington state. 

WA Space Grant

Kam Yee

Deputy Director

Kam manages WA Space Grant’s portfolio of K-12 outreach, internships, and fellowships. She’s here to create a positive learning community, especially for historically underrepresented students. Her favorite topics include equitable education, space exploration trivia, and her dog, Perigee.

Brenda Martinez

Student Events & Program Manager

Brenda supports WA Space Grant students and Aero & Astro affiliated RSOs. As a first-generation college student, she is passionate about creating a supportive and welcoming community for all students. She enjoys getting to know students and empowering them to take ownership of their educational journey to be successful. Brenda is another resource for students and is happy to connect with students. Feel free to reach out to ask any questions or simply to say hello!

Plasma & fusion scientist

Roger Raman

Research Scientist/Engineer Principal

As if it weren't hard enough to produce fusion reactions, the process can get interrupted and damage equipment. Roger is working on strategies to avoid these disruptions.

Wind tunnels

Miguel Salguero

Test Engineer

Miguel helps oversee operation of the Kirsten Wind Tunnel, prepare the tunnel for tests, and organize instrumentation and equipment. He works side-by-side with the KWT staff and students to ensure the tunnel keeps running and customers get the data they need.

 

Cara Winter

Business Manager

Cara keeps the 3X3 Wind Tunnel spinning and the Kirsten Wind Tunnel functioning like the aeronautical paradise that it is. She supervises the intrepid Wind Tunnel Student Crew and makes sure the data is always streaming, the wind is always blowing, and the aeronautical models are flying high.

Stuart Dickson

Test Technician

Stuart assists with the KWT's operational needs. This includes helping train the student crew, preparing for upcoming wind tunnel tests, and providing the best experience for our customers.

Student workers - Front desk admin and communications

Kavitha Krishnan

Kavitha is majoring in Visual Communication Design and Anthropology, and loves to find and explore overlap between the two disciplines. Maybe she's studying us in the A&A Department while she's doing graphic design for our socials.