 Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us. This will also be recorded on YouTube. I'm an uploaded leader In case some people aren't able to save a whole time or need to pop in or out Okay, so we'll go ahead and get started now So I can start by using myself. So my name is Eva Luna part of Keegan I'm the peer advisor for computer science engineering and I'm a junior in computer science engineering I'm from Michigan And yeah, I'm excited to be interviewing Massa today So if you guys want to introduce yourself, maybe tell us a little bit about who you are what your goal is And things like that we can get started So hi, I'm Julie. I'm a sophomore majoring in CS. I'm from California on Massa I'm in charge of the development of a software application for our mission control So that allows us to control things like valves and visualize our sensor data in addition to that I'm also the business lead for Massa. So I'm in charge of getting sponsorships for the team and also it like our marketing and other Other business things like that Hi, I'm Evan. I'm a junior in computer engineering I'm from Michigan. Well, Massa I do mostly hardware stuff. So for design, but also for more development project management that sort of thing Oh, and I'm Jose. I'm the current avionics lead for Massa I'm a senior in aerospace and computer engineering and I'm basically managing all the hardware and software projects here Awesome. Thank you for introducing yourselves And then I guess you started if you guys could tell us a little about what Massa is and what it stands for And what the main goal is or guess your main mission with your project team is right So Massa stands for Michigan Aeronautical Science Association and our main goal is to launch rockets So on a little bit of team history. So before we used to work a lot of solid rockets that means like our Kind of like the propellant we use a solid But now we're moving to liquid rockets, which is way more complex and involves a lot of adding a lot of new stuff to your systems So right now we're trying to launch the first liquid rocket for Massa That's awesome. Okay. That's really cool And then could you tell me a little bit about maybe the different teams that you have? What kind of things they've worked on in the different teams too? So Massa is basically broken down into several teams I can't start with like aerodynamics So on the aerodynamics team basically we do all the simulation of like the shape of the rocket How we're gonna make it like optimized for last drag We do simulation like temperature and we use a lot of like computer aided design software to do that Moving from aerodynamics, we also have at low that stands for assembly test launch and operations And that's the very hands-on team of people like getting the tools cutting the tubes and actually Assembling the rocket and making all the tests necessary So for example, we traveled to the Mojave Desert this summer to test our engine and during that the Ato team was very hands-on like conducting the test and analyzing all the data we needed Apart from that, we have also propulsion which basically designs the engine and also does all the analysis to figure out like the size of The engine the different components we have and also how much trust we need to provide to fly the rocket Besides that we have structures teams that basically work Defining most of the internal structures is structure of the rocket. So like the propellant tanks a few tank a few tank oxidizer tank and they also do like Sometimes they collaborate with aerodynamics doing like the rocket fence which basically stabilize the rocket and I guess besides that of course Avionics which is Everyone here is on Avionics and we deal with all the electrical component and software. So we do a lot of board design We do a lot of embedded software and we also do high-level application And we currently just starting a new software team So we have projects ranging from computer vision to database application to app development And I guess besides that we have the business team Which is like how we reach out to companies how we have like external relations with other companies how we we acquired funding for our projects and Production so production is like the team that basically get all the components and they actually go to the machining shop and build everything I think that's yeah, yeah All the sections That's awesome, thank you And then I kind of want to ask so for you guys Did you guys have prior experience coming into Massa with some of the things that you work on now? Or what kind of skill level do you need to have to join Massa? So before joining Massa, I definitely had experience of coding and working with user interfaces But definitely like not in Python. So that was near to me. I also had never worked with like continuous like incoming packets of data or like Live data visualization. So that was also new to me But I feel like you definitely don't need prior experience to join Massa It's definitely possible to learn as you do it Yeah, that's what most of the members do there aren't very many that come in already knowing things It's kind of you learn as you as you go Right, that's great. What type of ways do you guys do then to teach members? So maybe don't know like anything going into the stuff that you guys do Yeah, so what we try to do specifically for avionics, but I also think for other subteams We schedule like work session times for like projects So that's where more experienced members can talk to the new members and they can like identify the gaps and point out The ways to learn we also have on-boarding tutorials like explaining how to use some tools For example, if you want to join let's say the flight computer project We have an onboarding doc that explains how to download all the tools and how to start collaborating to the to the project Okay, awesome. That's really cool And then you mentioned before that you guys went on some trips and we're testing and things like that Could you tell me more a little bit about that what you did there? What was it like traveling there? Julie like this one. Yeah, so I did go up on to Southern California over the summer So we went down to Mojave Desert for about a week And so the testing site is like legitimately in the desert So we had to stay at like Airbnb is like an hour out And then drive in every day and then drive back And it's pretty cool Even though it is a lot of hard work because I feel like it's the kind of experience that you really Probably wouldn't get anywhere else So it's pretty special. Yeah, like being in the desert in the middle of the night That's awesome and then you have you guys done trips like that before is this like a usual thing that you do every year Or every semester or something So we that's the second trip we do to the Mojave Desert I think we start doing that because now we transition to liquid rockets So it's a little bit more complex and then since we need a test facility that we can like test our engine We start doing that since last year and then we plan should be doing every summer Okay, awesome. Are members sponsored through that or how was that work for like traveling then? So none of the costs have to be paid by students We really try to make sure that everything is covered by the team and so that's part of our business sub team is so important because We try to get funding from other places. That's awesome. That's really cool We also have a lot of local testing too. So it's not all traveling We have a regional or a local location as well for the non-hot fire tests So when we're just running fluids through and we're not igniting anything that can happen in the air Oh, that's cool. Okay, that's awesome And then I want to ask to kind of what companies I was looking at answering before and I see a lot of people usually do internships Or things like that because you're getting hands-on experience. What kind of companies to people typically work at then they're in NASA so so I'm asking would have like Mostly arrow majors. We also have mechanical engineers and Computer engineers. Yes. So for the arrow side people would usually go to the aerospace industry like SpaceX The origin Northrop German Ray young I guess on the computer science side I had the opportunity to work at Amazon also Microsoft during software engineering over the summer and that was definitely like Working at NASA helped me to like fill my resume with projects. So there was a good opportunity and computer engineering side I guess they also mostly go like to the aerospace industry, but to work with a dionics and do hardware I Worked in the automotive industry over the last couple summers at a company that's near here And there's a lot of people that are really interested in the aerospace industry, but that's still around the team So people like that won't necessarily go to those big aerospace companies, but there's a lot of other opportunities for them That kind of helps Awesome, would you say then that some of the skills that you learned from Massa were also applied then to internships that you guys had mentioned that you've done Yeah, absolutely The at least the projects I worked on there's pretty much a one-to-one correspondence between what I worked on over the summer and what I worked on here That's awesome. That's really cool And then with that you mentioned like you were able to put stuff on your resume specifically from Massa Do you guys also work on professional opportunities in Massa kind of like helping people with resumes? Yeah, so we have a leadership team And the vice president is usually responsible for hosting like in full sessions with Massa members and industry And those are usually like specific to the members and yeah People usually reach out because either they're like Massa alumni or they just like are very interested in our work And then we get those opportunities Yeah, and I guess like we also have a website so people get our emails and they constantly send like updates asking for like resume books So for some of our like corporate partners They also come in to visit us and hold like info sessions and recruiting sessions. So recently relativity They make like 3d printed rockets. They came in to have a recruiting session with us. That's really cool That's awesome. And then I guess with that What are some ways then that computer science engineering or computer engineering students like you guys can get involved specifically in Massa You mentioned a new software team. When is that getting started or is it already started and how people join? Yeah, so the software team is already started. We started this semester The way to get involved We have no applications pretty much just like letting us know you're interested in to join we have weekly Meetings for avionics. They're like Monday 6 30 p.m. On GFL 107 So if you just show up to one of those meetings, you'll be able to talk to anyone And it will be happy like to guide you how to get started So specifically talking about the projects on the software team right now We're doing like computer vision application to read Measurement from pressure gauges. We also starting our own app development because like we want members to be like to have a Massa app on their phone where they can say like the calendar have access to our internal wiki and also like have access to test data So they can run any kind of analytics Another project is Yeah, we're also doing our own database engine So basically like instead of starting everything in Google Drive that you can like go and like search for the data We just want to be able like to create a way to sort that efficiently and just like query the data and run analytics very quickly That's awesome. That's really cool. You guys have a lot of cool projects that you're working on So just to reiterate so students can just kind of like show up to those meetings And kind of get started on projects. Is there any specific ones that they have to apply to or they can just join any project They're interested in. Yeah, so there's no application and also something I think is really important to point out is that no previous experience required because we're here to help everyone get started and like Help everyone find what their interests are and we have a lot of previous members that have experience on that So they kind of work as mentors for new members And the the way the meetings kind of work are weekly Monday meetings Those give an overview of every project that we have active right now and also team updates as well So you can kind of see what the rest of the team is working on but during those project updates You can see what's available to work on figure out who the lead is for each of those projects So you have someone to talk to if you're interested in getting involved and you can kind of see where each project is at and where There might be opportunities to join That's also okay. That's perfect And then I guess with that I wanted to ask for you guys who are CS or CE majors What is the time commitment like or how has it been balancing classes with that? I Think it depends on who the person is and also how long they've been on the team Obviously the people that have been on the team tend to be more committed to it. They'll put in more time There also tend to be the people with the leadership position So it kind of naturally goes that way what I'd say for most people that start on the team It's maybe a couple hours a week if that like showing up to meetings and then work sessions So at first a lot of people don't really put in time outside of it So you're kind of getting used to it and then as you get more involved with the team in different projects that tends to increase over time And I think generally we do a pretty good job of balancing, you know School obviously comes first over everything. So it's kind of just something you figure out as you go But it's definitely not like you're fully submerged right away For you guys personally, what are some like tips? I guess that you have then for maybe people who are in CS and like trying to balance classes in the project team What has been like most useful for you? Think something that I use a lot is like I Write down all my deadlines like in a planner calendar where I can see like in one page Everything through all the semester so I can really plan my assignments ahead So and I think that's something they tell you like if you take x280 or x280 ones like start your assignment At the first day and that's true, especially if you're involved in a project team. So like you can actually balance being a moaf Yeah, a lot of members tend to do their work here as well. So it's kind of like another way to As well, so there's a group of people that you know are in the same classes that you can work with That's for and then I guess to close off or like the last question I have is for each of you. What has been your favorite part of mass are your favorite memory that you've had so far Yeah, I think that's a great question. I would say that my favorite memory of Massa. I think was like so During COVID year basically the team was working entirely virtual and I was like back at home So I couldn't meet everyone else. So last year when school came back We hosted like a barbecue party and that everyone got up got to see each other again So I think yeah, that was like a pretty nice moment just like having the opportunity to see the new members again. That's awesome. I Think for me maybe going to Southern California and testing because it's pretty cool seeing all of your work Kind of like finally result in something especially when you're with people from your team. It's pretty cool Yeah, I think my favorite part of the team is One just having cool projects to work on that aren't really related to school necessarily like there's a lot of stuff to get involved with Before it would be covered in a class But I think the most Cool part of the team is just the people that are on it. It's really a great Community of people that are all interested in one thing And working towards a joint goal. That's awesome. I really appreciate that Well, I think then I don't see any questions in the chat here But I really appreciate you guys answering those questions. I want to join messa now personally It's really exciting here about the And the software team that you're the new software team, especially for CS people And like I mentioned, this will be posted on YouTube for people to watch later And then I don't know if you guys want to mention maybe your email or something Maybe people can reach out to I don't know if you know if Just so it would be like in the recording for people to reach out to yeah, I'm getting the email right now Type it into chat Any questions, but your Instagram is also linked here, so I'm sure they can Yeah, so if you're also interested in joining the team, you can just send an email And then we figure out how to get it. It's also on our website as well Our website will have all the contact information as well as all the leads So if you're interested in a specific team, you can contact one of them directly Perfect. Okay. Thank you so much for joining us and thank you everyone for joining us as well I really appreciate it. Have a good rest of your day. Thank you