Ben Collins Email & Phone Number

Notre Dame, Indiana, United States

• Collaborate with other engineers to design, construct, and test a 12-foot rocket and corresponding subsystems for competition in NASA’s Student Launch Initiative
• Perform trade studies, compare potential designs to optimize for performance, cost, and safety
• Write technical reports and give professional presentations for NASA containing design justificationsApogee Control System Squad Design Focal (Current)
• Design, manufacture, document, and communicate Apogee Control System structure and mechanism
• Model components and complete assembly in CAD using Fusion 360
• Simulate stresses using FEA on load-bearing components to ensure minimum factory of safety

Los Angeles, California, United States

• Designed, manufactured, and successfully tested novel technology for Worker Bee orbital transfer vehicle
• Rapid mechanical and electrical prototyping of Mini Bee asteroid mining demonstration vehicle
• Constructed lab hardware systems for compressed air loop, coolant lines, and optical safety equipment
• Machined parts, selected/calibrated sensors, wired/soldered for electromechanical assemblies

Notre Dame, Indiana, United States

• Coordinated and led multi-disciplinary team to design, build, and test prototype CubeSat from scratch
• Integrated the following prototype subsystems for a 3U satellite with $8,000 budget: Attitude Determination and Control, Communications, Computing, Power, Sun-sensing Payload
• Performed test mission to self-orient inside Helmholtz cage using data from magnetometers and IMUs, regulate power consumption, and point to specified orientation
• Set deadlines and deliverables for team of 10 engineers; organized tasks using Gantt Charts and Kanban Boards
• Led weekly project meetings; communicated work accomplished and next steps in full-team meetings

Kent, Washington, United States

• Constructed SolidWorks parts and assembly for the Model 10-4 Hydraulic Impact Hammer
• Simulated functional stresses and modified working part designs to eliminate potential points of failure
• Compared manufactured parts, legacy engineering drawings, manufacturing BOMs, and current CAD models to identify and correct errors as well as ensure cohesion among departments

• Developed a conceptual design for a lunar lander spacecraft using Python to evaluate design options
• Coded Python programs to perform trade studies; plotted performance and cost comparison between different parameters; utilized functions and classes to calculate apogee, total mass, propellant usage, and other.
• Evaluated engines, propellant types, launch masses, tank specifications, and other parameters to determine the most cost-effective design capable of delivering a fixed payload mass to the lunar surface
• Delivered presentation and 14-page written report to justify design decisions