Nicholas Gentz Email & Phone Number

Denver, Co, Us

Long Beach, California, United States

Chandler, Arizona

Boulder, Co

Wallops Island, Va

As an intern at the Balloon Research and Development Laboratory (BRDL) I worked on developing a procedure to test the apex and base fittings for helium leaks for NASA's Super Pressure Balloon. The testing involved creating sample fixtures, setting up data acquisition systems, and testing the fixture at cryogenic temperatures. Other tasks included assisting with the characterization of polyethylene film using Instron machines and digital image correlation, performing outreach activities to educate students and teachers about the Balloon Program, and other lab housekeeping duties.

Boulder, Co

The RocketSat-X program is a national student sounding program aimed at giving students real-world engineering experience by developing a scientific mission to fly to sub-orbital space on a sounding rocket. I led a multidisciplinary engineering team of 15 engineering students through a year-long industry-sponsored project with the end goal of launching our experiment out of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in August 2017. Our experiment aimed to test and characterize a strain energy deployment of a composite boom in the microgravity environment of space. As a project manager, I was responsible for the reports, documents, and deadlines required by the NASA program guidelines as well as keeping the team running smoothly and on track. I also served as a structural engineer on the project and designed, built, and tested some of our crucial housings that kept our electronics safe both during the launch and landing of the rocket so the data could be collected an analyzed post-flight.

Boulder, Co

Worked at the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region from May 2013 to August 2015.Worked at the YMCA of Boulder Valley from August 2014 until August 2016.As a head lifeguard at both YMCA facilities, I oversaw several other lifeguards during my shifts and dealt with any issues that arose during my shift. Common responsibilities included ensuring the proper number of lifeguards watching the pool at any given time, hourly testing of pool chemicals, opening/ closing duties, basic first aid, and closing the pool due to weather or other emergencies and getting people to safety.Anytime a patron had an issue at the pool I would be the one who would talk to them unless a pool manager was available. Common issues included issues with other lifeguards on staff, issues with other patrons, and informing them on the reasons why certain pool rules were enforced, such as weather delays.