Miguel Lopez

Mechanical Engineering Recent Graduate at Washington University in St. Louis | NASA L’SPACE MCA & NPWEE Participant | WashU Design/Build/Fly

St Louis, Missouri, United States

About

I am a detail-oriented and disciplined individual with a BS in Mechanical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis and a BA in Organizational Management at Gettysburg College, obtained in 2024. I am passionate about engineering and project management, and I am always motivated to turn creative ideas into real solutions. Through internships, engineering clubs, and coursework, I’ve developed a well-rounded foundation in both design and analysis, and I enjoy tackling challenges that span modeling, prototyping, and real-world implementation. Looking for Full-time opportunities in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering industries.

Experience

  • NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Remote)
    • NASA L'SPACE Proposal Writing and Evaluation Experience Participant
      May 2026 - Present · 2 mos

      - Collaborate within an interdisciplinary engineering team to author a competitive, technical aerospace proposal targeting specific NASA pain points and propulsion system inefficiencies for a $10,000 development prize. - Utilize Siemens NX to model and parameterize complex geometries according to a proposed developed idea. - Evaluate and score peer proposal submissions by serving as a trained technical reviewer, delivering criteria-based feedback aligned with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center solicitation and evaluation standards.

    • NASA L'SPACE Mission Concept Academy Mechanical Engineer (Payload)
      Jan 2026 - Apr 2026 · 4 mos

      - Collaborated with a 15-member multidisciplinary team across programmatics, mechanical, thermal, power, CDH, and payload subteams to define and verify 40+ traceable mission requirements — integrating physical and functional interfaces, balancing science, engineering, budget, and schedule constraints. - Modeled rover mechanical subassemblies in Siemens NX under 150 kg mass and 1.5 m³ volume constraints, and performed landing site analysis in JMARS using LOLA 1024ppd slope data to identify candidate PSR exploration zones with slopes ≤5°. - Led 5 formal trade studies using weighted matrices to select rover architecture, selecting an Al 6061-T6 chassis, MLI thermal insulation, a TRIDENT drill, and a rocker-bogie mobility system meeting ≤150 kg constraints for a lunar permanently shadowed region rover. - Contributed to the development of technical documentation such as Mission Concept Review, Systems Requirements Review, Mission Definition Review, Preliminary Design Review, and a technical presentation of the preliminary design review.

  • WashU Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (St Louis, MO)
    • External Representative Officer
      Jun 2025 - May 2026 · 1 yr

      - Built external relations with local and national companies to build partnerships with SHPE WashU. - Managed and connected members of the chapter with industry leaders and professionals in the workforce. - Secured corporate sponsorship with industries to fund key events and opportunities for the chapter. - Served as the primary representative at career fairs, networking events, corporate meetings, and industry luncheons.

    • Member
      Nov 2024 - Jun 2025 · 8 mos

  • Propulsion Engineer at WashU Design/Build/Fly (WUDBF)
    Jan 2025 - May 2026 · 1 yr 5 mos

    - Conducted calculations on an average of 4 ideal motors through a MATLAB script to verify speed of motor with calculated drag, followed by 4 plots comparing speed vs endurance, electrical power vs thrust, throttle vs electrical efficiency, and throttle vs endurance catered to the flight missions. - Conducted a propulsion system trade study evaluating 3 motor–propeller–battery configurations against mission constraints (T/W ≥ 0.75, cruise velocity ≥ 105 ft/s, max propeller diameter 17 in), selecting a SunnySky V3 X4130 380Kv motor with a 15×10 APC propeller and MaxAmps 8s 82.88 Wh LiPo — achieving a T/W of 1.39 and max velocity of 146 ft/s while minimizing system mass to 0.86 lb. - Performed SolidWorks Simulation FEA on aircraft structural components — fuselage/motor mount, , horizontal stabilizer, vertical stabilizer, and rear landing gear with safety factors ranging from 3.36 to 31.00 and deflections under 0.20 in across all assemblies.

  • Solid Mechanics - Course Assistant at Washington University McKelvey School of Engineering
    Sep 2025 - Dec 2025 · 4 mos

    - Reinforced core mechanical concepts (stress analysis, strain, torsion, bending, and deformation of solids) for 83 undergraduate students critical to material structures, by holding weekly office hours and problem-solving sessions. - Assisted the course instructor in grading assignments and exams, while providing constructive feedback to improve students’ understanding of mechanics and analytical problem-solving skills.

  • Airbrakes and Recovery Team Member at WURocketry
    Aug 2025 - Dec 2025 · 5 mos

    - Collaborated in the design of a servo-driven airbrake mechanism using SolidWorks and FEA simulations, enabling controlled variable drag for precise apogee, targeting 20,000 ft for an L2 high-power rocket used for the NASA Student Launch Competition. - Developed and tested electromechanical subsystems integrating sensors, Kalman filtering, and real-time PID flight control. - Built and validated dual-deployment recovery systems using redundant black-powder charges, shock-cord routing, and Nomex protection for safe descent.