Post by Batten College of Engineering & Technology

𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵: 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗔𝗬𝗟𝗢𝗥 Hometown: Crozet, Virginia Degree: Taylor graduated in Spring 2026 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in aerospace engineering, with a concentration in mechanical systems/design. During his time at ODU, Brandon worked with Dr. Colin Britcher on NASA’s Mars Electric Reusable Flyer (MERF) project, helping design a propeller system for a Mars aircraft concept built to operate in the planet’s extremely thin atmosphere and transition between vertical takeoff and forward flight. The MERF project is an initiative designed to develop a viable prototype for a small fleet of identical aircraft, each equipped with its own set of measurement instruments, that can effectively scout the Martian surface. The objective is to create a fixed-wing design that has significantly greater range, endurance, and terrain navigation capabilities than previous Martian rovers or helicopters. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 1% 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩'𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥.” Throughout the project, Brandon gained hands-on experience in wind tunnel testing, experiment setup, and data analysis — skills he also applied to his senior capstone project, the AIAA Design, Build, Fly Competition. In support of his MERF research, Brandon was awarded an undergraduate scholarship from the Virginia Space Grant Consortium. He presented the research at the Network for Undergraduate Research in Virginia (NURVa). This summer, he will work as an OSTEM intern at NASA Langley Research Center, supporting entry vehicle dynamic stability analysis for NASA’s DAVINCI Venus mission. NASA’s Virginia Space Grant - FREE STEM Programs