Dylan Snarr Email and Phone Number

Engineering technician conducting thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) testing. Setting up, running, and monitoring TVAC testing on large-scale space hardware systems in the Test Engineering, AI&T, and Technical Services Directory of Sierra Space Durham. Following detailed procedures specific to each component, adjusting temperature and vacuum settings according to temperature profiles, and thoroughly documenting necessary adjustments to maintain conditions in testing chamber. Independently adjusting platen and control thermocouples according to test progress, hardware system performance, and environmental feedback. Applying fundamental theories of heat transfer and pressure in near vacuum to perform industry standard space hardware testing procedures and compile accurate documentation.

Leading the Namibia WAO semester study abroad program with two other former study abroad students, returning to the program following our undergraduate program participation in 2022. On-site in Namibia from August - October 2024. Managing daily research activities, coordinating drone flight schedules, organizing group volunteer and animal behavior activities with sanctuary personnel, and scheduling individual work breakdown schedules for group of 20 undergraduate engineering and animal science students. Meeting with sanctuary personnel twice-per-week to schedule field research operations, and communicating daily before and after each drone flight, to follow agreed upon safety procedures.Running daily anti-poaching simulations operations, sorting students into the various simulation teams,teaching proper DJI Mavic drone procedures, setting up all simulation metrics, and ensuring each student is sorted through each of the individual teams the same number of times.

Researching the feasibility and potential practical benefits of adding commercial-off-the-shelf, multi-rotor UAVs as aerial units to existing anti-poaching unit (APU) teams in Southern Africa, including being safer, cheaper, and more accessible forms of aerial surveillance. Establishing the impact of drone and APU ground team coordination on poacher catch rates during simulated poaching events using randomized, terrain agnostic, and terrain specific flight patterns. Utilizing previous research of positive drone impact in research simulations, leading to a drone catch rate of 60%, and optimizing all input variables to ensure simulations are as accurate and fixed as possible. On-site leading the study abroad program and APU simulation research from August - October 2024. Working with N/a'an ku sê military APU team and trained find & attack K9 unit (dogs + APU members) to conduct coordinated, K9 specific, poaching simulations using a combination of undergraduate NC State students and the K9 team. Scaling up to full-property simulations on the enclosed sanctuary reserve with the goal of permanently integrating our DJI Mavic drones into N/a'an ku sê's APU team. Documenting research findings to complete requirements for MSAE thesis track. Post processing all collected data upon returning to NC State to publish at the end of Summer 2025.

Promoted to Aerospace Engineer following graduation with BS in Aerospace Engineering and working as an intern for 19 months. Working on NOAA Phase 1 proposal iterating the first stage of our zero-emissions, vacuum-lift, solar-electric, airship. Tasked with R&D work for manufacturing and procurement plans of hardware components, establishing testing and quality assurance measures, integrating FAA requirements into system design, and creating a manufacturing specifications document to share with potential composites manufacturers for the proof of concept demonstrator.

Anumá Aerospace is "Lifting Aviation to New Heights of Sustainability" through the creation of a zero-emissions, solar-electric, vacuum-lift, long-haul airship. With a high potential for unlimited range and endurance, this airship will help rural and remote areas gain more affordable access to goods, without bringing the downsides of traditional infrastructure. Together, we are reducing the impact of human actives on the planet through the creation of zero-emission transportation. As an intern, I aid in creating Fusion 360 vacuum-lift models, researching renewable energy implementation, and improving manufacturing efficiency with composite materials. I work directly with the company's cofounders part-time each week, and have loved every second of the experience so far. With this internship, I have been given the opportunity to help the global climate crisis and work towards making a long-term change in the supply-chain issues of global shipping, increasing accessibility to goods in rural or underserved regions, and aiding the humanitarian crisis to disaster-stricken areas. The issue of sustainability in the aerospace industry is not talked about enough. We have to protect the planet through the creation of sustainable methods and technology, while increasing accessibility to information and goods for people around the world. Anumá Aerospace is changing the face of the aerospace industry with sustainable methods. I am so grateful and happy to be part of it!

NSF award and NSF PAWR program funded research to develop an advanced wireless platform for the greater Research Triangle Park area in North Carolina. Based in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at NC State.Serving as in-person lab liaison between the hardware manufacturing team and principal investigators, supporting hardware manufacturing operations including component manufacturing, portable node development, and PCB testing. Streamlining drone upgrades and new component manufacturing with one-on-one meetings, lab-wide communication in shared virtual workspace, and analysis of post flight performance reports. Organizes lab and workshop space, updates hardware inventories in shared Google Drive, implements organization procedures for technical documentation, and compiles purchase requests weekly to avoid manufacturing backhaul.

NASA L'SPACE (Lucy Student Pipeline Accelerator and Competency Enabler) Mission Concept Academy (MCA), summer 2023, workforce development program, applicant and participant. Proposing a small robotic reconnaissance mission concept to the dwarf planet Ceres in support of NASA's Lucy Mission, working towards PDR creation in Phase B of the NASA Mission Life Cycle on a fully virtual team of eleven. The SOLACE (signs of life and curious exploration) mission will evaluate environment and substance enablement of habitation in the Ernutet crater, located in the northern hemisphere of Ceres, through in-situ testing and analysis of organic matter and radiation levels.I serve as Project Manager (PM) and lead Computer Hardware Engineer, detailing the Command and Data Handling (CDH) system. As PM I prioritize collaborative ideation between the science, engineering, and programmatics sub teams through weekly team and project level sprint timelines. I host reoccurring team meetings to discuss mission requirements, success criteria, and risk mitigation procedures. Twice per week, I conduct system and project level risk analysis for all design decisions, with respect to mission concepts, to identify and mitigate potential success hindering risks. I design the CDH subsystem to relay telecommunications from the rover back to the launch vehicle and Earth utilizing multiple recovery and redundancy methods. Radiation hardened, high TRL/MRL components with previous flight heritage, and low risk components are essential to system success, and are sourced from reputable sources. The system control scheme was established with a system Functional Block Diagram and N^2 Chart.As a team we completed the MCR, SRR, MDR, and PDR deliverables. The team presented our full mission concept along with science objectives, rover manufacturing and procurement plans, and administrative timeline to NASA stakeholders, and received positive marks, successfully passing an industry standard review board.

Undergraduate position continuing into graduate level research for the Ballistic Loading and Structural Testing (BLAST) Lab at NC State. Working with PhD candidate on biobased composites for hydrokinetic turbines for the North Carolina Renewable Ocean Energy Program. Researching fully recyclable composite panels using plant-based epoxy. Working on fabrication and optimization techniques of liquid crystal thermoset composites using heat press molding and testing with bi-axial loading, blasts, and containment chambers.

Engineering researcher at N/a'an Ku Sê Wildlife Sanctuary in Namibia. Located 50 km NE of the capital city of Windhoek, N/a'an Ku Sê is located in the semi-arid, savanna biome. Alongside twelve others I spent ten weeks living and working on the property conducting anti-poaching and biodiversity research as part of my engineering coursework through study abroad. We worked in the field full time completing anti-poaching simulations with DJI Mavic drones to research their impact on poaching interdiction scenarios. Anti-poaching in Namibia requires large amounts of time, personnel, and money. Aerial surveying platform make anti-poaching technologies more accessible for N/a'an Ku Sê and positively impact their APU (anti-poaching unit) team. Our group spent our time conducting simulations where were were poachers and APU. Random coordinates in the simulation grid were generated to establish entrance, camp, and exit locations. The poachers' goal is to enter the grid, stay in camp for five minutes, and make it to the exit without being caught by the APU teams. We completed 90 simulations during our time on the property. Our dataset shows that when drones are in the air it takes the poachers longer to exit the grid, and the APU team's catch rate increases. Through this field research I learned valuable communication, teamwork, and navigation skills while adapting to a new environment and culture. The second segment of our research was conducting biodiversity surveys on the property using a fixed wing drone platform. Our graduate student designed and fabricated the Believer drone. Each morning the Believer was hand launched from the airstrip to fly over the property in transects and take pictures. Two groups walked under transects on the North and South side of the property and counted all the animals they saw. Once back in the States we wrote sections for the research paper summarizing our results, and sorted all the Believer pictures from our time on the property.

Tutor for the TRIO Collegiate Program offering educational assistance in previously taken courses. Job roles includes:- weekly meetings with students surrounding a detailed lesson plan created by myself- organize tutor events to share tips and strategies with students- direct communication and weekly updates with supervisor entailing meeting logs and progress reportsTRIO Programs are Federal outreach and student services programs designed to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate degrees.

Research technician surveying hunter and business perspectives on Chronic Wasting Disease in North Carolina. Working under two NC State thesis projects to survey and identify wildlife management course of action to respond to CWD. Gathering data through phone surveys with registered deer hunters and businesses from the NC WRC database.

As a team member on the SolarPack Solar Vehicle Structures team I aid in creating initial design plans for the battery box space, consulting with other sub teams to ensure design compatibility, and modeling and testing chassis components of the car to determine the effectiveness of our designs. Following an engineering design process, our team finished SPX or SolarPack Experimental, and competed in the American Solar Challenge this summer in Topeka, Kansas. Our car was successful in the Grand Prix challenge. We are blown away with our sponsor's endorsements and help in this process. I am grateful to have been given leadership challenges within this project and I hope to continue to help my team succeed. We will continue to raise awareness about the effectiveness and adaptability of solar power this year with further design to SPX for the 2022 ASC. We will begin designing Car 2.0 this year, with hopes to build the car from the ground up. This year I serve as the battery box project manager, and am in charge of ensuring timelines are properly met, and deliverables are given to organization mangers. This year, my roles include:- modeling the chasis within the aero shell designed by the Aerodynamics subteam- improving and updating the current battery enclosure within SPX- designing, testing, and fabricating a new roll cage for SPX

I serve as the Project Manager and Structures Specialist for the 2021-2022 Aerospace Engineering Senior capstone. This year, we are tasked with idealizing, and fabricating a new lunar rover that utilizes an unconventional mobility method (i.e. not wheels) to navigate the extreme terrain found on the lunar surface. My team will compete in the 2022 BIG Idea Challenge with NASA, in hopes to have our rover implemented on the Artemis mission launch. Our rover should be able to terrain steep inclined slopes >30 degrees, be fully autonomous for the duration of the mission, and be certified by NASA at a readiness level of 4. Our mission is to explore the permanent shadowed craters on the poles of the moon. LRO has collected satellite imaging suggesting the existence of water below the surface, as well as volatiles under the lunar minerals. We want to further NASA's mission of permanent human settlements on the Moon by using sustainable lunar resources to replenish supplies needed to run a lunar base. We will verify our design at the end of this semester, and move to fabrication in January. As Project Manager, I am tasked with facilitating a productive and safe learning environment for my team. My tasks include:- organizing and facilitating cohesive research for eight team members over six different rover design subsystems- collecting qualitative data for rover feasibility report weekly to allocate additional support for subsystems- completing FMEA for each new subsystem requirements to highlight percent involvement needed for success- setting timelines and assigning tasks with the team, and organizing all information with weekly, member specific To-Do's- communicating daily with department faculty to access process towards stakeholder requirementsAs the Structures Specialist, I focus on the assembly of the rover. I help determine the best way to showcase our design and protect the internal technology and payload.

Grader for Solid Mechanics (MAE 214) class of 70 students at NC State. I was directly hired through my department, as I received an outstanding grade in the course when I took it. Job roles include:- direct communication with Dr. Hu regarding biweekly assignment grading- efficiency with a strict one week deadline for return to student- consistency with the numerical system and detailing point basisThis job is completed remotely. It is my responsibility to reach out to my professor when students are showing signs of concern, or the entire class is not preforming well in a specific topic area. I grade course exams, as well, following behind Dr. Hu and checking her work. I assure points are added correctly, grading rubrics are followed, and organize papers for ease of handing back to the students.

Undergraduate teaching assistant for GC 120, intro to SOLIDWORKS and graphics. Role includes grading assignments, attending virtual open labs and office hours, corresponding with students directly, and assisting with modeling and system creation in SOLIDWORKS. Internship roles included:- management of student forum pages and chat rooms during class- assisting students with model creation, troubleshooting design errors via aimed communication and controlled screen access- maintain a professional relationship with faculty and students while grading assignments fairly and unbiased

Undergraduate researcher supporting the Composites Design and Manufacturing Laboratory (CDML) research group. Aids in the design and synthesis of multifunctional nano-composites, material characterization, physical property modeling, application in novel devices, and scalable manufacturing with composite materials. My research focused on the composite materials for photonic applications, the multifunctional 3D surfaces emphasizing the interaction with biological systems, additive manufacturing of composites, and printed stretchable electronics. Using COMSOL, nano-composite materials were created and analyzed. Analytical calculations for surface, internal, and external forces on each component were verified using physics software. Specific material analysis using material qualities were highly accurate in creating efficient composites for photonics applications.