Brett Michal’s garage looks like an episode of Dexter’s lab.
Half-filled by an 11-foot, 4-finned, 50-pound rocket, his workspace demonstrates the passion behind the newly emerging rocketry community at Old Dominion University. Founder of the new ODU Rocketry Club (ODRC), Michal is working to share his passion for aerospace with the wider community.
“Virginia Tech has a profound rocketry club, UVA has a rocketry club, JU has a really good rocketry club,” Michal said “I’m just like, why doesn’t ODU have a rocketry club?”
Hampton Roads hosts big players in the aerospace industry, such as NASA’s Langley Research Center, Wallops Flight Facility, and Lockhead Martin. With this, there are opportunities for students to move into a growing sector. ODRC helps students gain experience in the various technical challenges in this industry. As Michal puts it, “industry is looking for students that have experience with projects, hands-on stuff.”
New experiences have shaped Michal’s directions academically and professionally. Before going to college and hoping for a military career, he learned how to pilot aircraft. This made him want to learn more about the technology and mechanics that go into air and space craft.
“Once I delved into rocketry and then focused more on the engineering side of things. I started to see my passion really is with engineering.”
Through the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) guidelines, Michal followed standardized guidelines allowing him to piece together rocket bodies, nosecones, wingtips, and engines into various sized rockets. As it turns out, a lot of complicated math and science go into the development of these devices. Building rockets led Michal to Old Dominion’s Mechanical and Aerospace engineering program. As a senior in the engineering department, Michal seeks to leave the campus with a lasting impact: ODRC.
As a new organization, ODRC faces the same challenges as everyone else: “You have no funding, you have no place to work, you have no official meeting times,” said Michal.
However, they do have passion to forge the next generation of aerospace enthusiasts, engineers, and scientists.
It isn’t just about gaining know-how in aerospace either. Having new experiences in one area will give students exposure to all sorts of unexpected benefits. Michal’s aerospace journey led him to an internship at NASA, where he gained software development skills and learned about battery technology. ODRC is a vehicle for students to gain experiences that can lead themin any number of ways.
“I didn’t have a lot of opportunities available to me,” Michal said“I didn’t know what I could do [with rocketry]. I hope to help those people [like me] find their passions, even if it’s not with rocketry.”
You can connect with the ODU Rocketry Club on Instagram (@ODRC_ODU), via the ODU Discord hub, and on Campus Groups.