May 29th, 2024

Upon entering college, one of the most sacred resources engineering students discover is time. Often, new engineering students become painfully aware of how short 24 hours actually is to keep up with coursework, design projects and research while pursuing social engagements, relationships and extracurricular activities.

For Michael Ross, the key weapon in his battle against the clock is a personal accountability structure. Academically, Michael double majors in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering with two minors in Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Material Science & Engineering. Outside of class, Michael is involved in undergraduate research, several prestigious competition projects and serves as the Assistant Project Manager/Safety Officer for the UCI Rocket Project Liquids Team.

Much to the amusement of his closest friends, Michael religiously follows hour-by-hour alarms to hold himself accountable. When the alarm goes off, Michael throws himself headfirst into the task that awaits him, working to increase efficiency by maximizing effort over short bursts of time.

What Michael considers to be the most important aspect to his time management is the excitement he has for the work that he does. Almost as a catchphrase, Michael loves to admire “how cool” the things he learns are, no matter how complex. Michael’s zeal for material science innovation in the context of space exploration fosters a mentality of curiosity and passion with his peers.

When did you get involved in the Rocket Project Liquids Team?

I learned about it at the end of my freshman year and joined at the start of my sophomore year. I was an operations member and shadowed launch vehicles. That was pretty fun. During COVID, operations shut down and the project pivoted to a new testing subteam. When I started, operations just came back. As the launch vehicle shadow, I got some good exposure to technical skills. Being a sophomore in that environment was so exciting. Every year management proposed launching the rocket but it never happened up to that point. It was good having a goal to work towards. It was crazy, you would be in the lab from 8AM till 2AM.

What have you learned in college that has helped to guide you through your positions as the Assistant Project Manager/Safety Officer and as the Operations Lead?

I have two answers to this. For some context, my whole interest in the rocket project is based on my career goals of working on space exploration technology to allow for further travel–that is what I find really interesting. I think there is so much to learn in this field to reach that goal of my career, so I wanted to join this project. Being in this environment, I learned so much about what sort of considerations you have to make, and what the technological limitations are. One of the big things that I have taken away is a realization that one of the main limitations in aerospace engineering is materials. That perspective allowed me to shift my whole focus with studies and research. Alongside that, one of the really beneficial parts was getting really involved in a ton of different environments in the school. Speaking with faculty is a very fun thing to do. Not being afraid to talk to people serves as an excellent guide in college. You can genuinely learn a lot from those connections.

What are your hopes after the rocket project?

Since high school I have had the plan to go for my PhD. I think it will be a lot of fun to be able to focus on what I want to do. The research that I have done is awesome and I think it will help me when I actually do the research that I want to do and can dedicate my time to research in a fuller capacity. I’m really excited and have been waiting for acceptances to PhD programs.