Andrew McGuckin
Junior, Aerospace Engineering
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Andrew McGuckin is a junior attending the University of Arizona pursuing a Bachelor's of Science in Aerospace Engineering and a minor in Mathematics. His experiment design experience primarily comes from Arizona Space Grant's ASCEND! program, wherein students design an experiment with a limited budget and maximum allowable weight. The project is carried, via weather balloon, to altitudes in excess of 90,000 feet where the experiment is to take place. The program lasts two semesters, and McGuckin has participated two years in a row. McGuckin is also an offi cer in two clubs on campus. He is the Technology Offi cer for University of Arizona's chapter of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (UASEDS), a position which he has held for a semester. Responsibilities include maintaining the club website and any devices in the club offi ce, as well as assisting other offi cers when necessary. Additionally, McGuckin has served as the Vice President of the University of Arizona Flying Club for two semesters. The duties of the Vice President are to administer meetings when the President is absent, handle club matters as prescribed by the President, and assist other offi cers as needed.


Joel Mueting
Junior, Aerospace Engineering
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Joel Mueting is a junior at the University of Arizona studying Aerospace Engineering with a focus in Information Science and Technology. Mueting's interests focus on mechanical and aerospace engineering, space exploration, and planetary science. He is currently employed at the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) Operations Center as an undergraduate research assistant. His duties include creating digital terrain models from HiRISE and LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera) images for planetary research. Mueting has also worked as a laboratory technician for the Center for Astronomical Adaptive optics at Steward Observatory in Tucson where he designed and built experimental setups and test rigs for optical and mechanical experiments. Mueting also has extensive experience in community outreach. He has worked as a planetarium operator and astronomy lecturer for the Flandrau Science Center located at University of Arizona. He also participated in and helped to coordinate many public science outreach events.

Danny Pagano
Senior, Interdisciplinary Studies: Science Communication
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Danny Pagano is a fourth year Interdisciplinary Studies undergraduate. The major encompasses skills from three departments; Fine Art Photography, Journalism, and Business Administration and emphasizes transmitting information succinctly through both visual and verbal avenues of communication.
Danny has been involved in the University of Arizona's chapter of SEDS, the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space for two years. He holds the elected position of Communications Offi cer for the second year running.
Danny is co-leading UASEDS ASCEND! Team this semester. The team plans to collect fungal spore samples in the upper atmosphere using a vacuum collection system housed in a carbon fi ber payload enclosure. ASCEND! is graciously funded by the Arizona Space Grant Consortium as a means of exposing students to a full spectrum engineering project.
Pagano also works as a student validator for the University of Arizona's HiRISE camera, which takes high-resolution images of the surface of Mars from its host satellite the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. HiRISE was an integral part of mission planning for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory. The camera sent back images of potential landing sites to identify potential hazards during entry, descent and landing


Eric Sahr
Junior, Geology
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Eric Sahr is a junior at the University of Arizona with an academic major of Geology and a minor in Mechanical Engineering. Sahr's previous experience in designing, constructing, and running scientific experiments has been in Arizona Space Grant's ASCEND! program. In this program, students from a variety of schools at the community college and university level design, build, and launch small payloads on a weather balloon to about 90,000 feet. Most recently, Sahr participated in designing and building the structure for the UASEDS team's panoramic imaging payload, which was designed to keep a series of cameras warm through the frigid atmosphere.
Sahr also works for the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory examining images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). In this capacity, Sahr compares Apollo images to recently-taken pictures captured by the LRO, in order to determine if crater impacts have occurred since the Apollo Era. Sahr has held numerous leadership positions in the University of Arizona chapter of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (UASEDS). Two years ago, Sahr was the Trip Coordinator and Vice President. Sahr's responsibilities included planning trips throughout the school year to various areas in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Illinois. Additionally, he was responsible for assisting the President in ensuring that the club was run smoothly.
This year, Sahr is in his second year as President of UASEDS. In this capacity, Sahr is responsible for the overall well-being of the club and maintaining the high level of excellence the club has enjoyed in the past.



Amanda Urquiza
Junior, Mathematics
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Amanda Urquiza is a junior at the University of Arizona pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Studio Art with a minor in Spanish. She is an Undergraduate Alliance Scholar through the National Alliance for Doctoral Studies in the Mathematical Sciences. Alliance Scholars are comprised mainly of students from underrepresented backgrounds who aspire to accomplish graduate degree programs in the math sciences. Urquiza's interests encompass a wide range of the sciences. Over the summer, she worked on a research project regarding Reed-Solomon codes through the University of Louisiana's NSF funded STAGE program. Urquiza and her research team created a new decoding algorithm titled Division Algorithm Decoding. Last year, Urquiza was involved in the statewide Arizona Space Grant Consortium program ASCEND!, and currently co-leads the project. The ASCEND! project involves planning and building scientific payloads to launch from high altitude weather balloons. This year, the project will involve the detection of microorganisms in the upper atmosphere- specifically fungal spores. For two years, Urquiza has been a member of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) UA chapter: a club in which members are devoted to promoting space exploration and development. Presently, she holds the officer position for Outreach in the club; Urquiza searches for, and conducts student outreach opportunities for the club in the Tucson community.
Upon completing her mathematics and art degrees at the University of Arizona, Urquiza plans to further her education at graduate school and complete a doctoral degree in applied mathematics. Thereafter, she hopes to enter the workforce in the space industry. It is her belief that, now more than ever, it is imperative scientists and engineers from all backgrounds work as a collective group to promote and advance the research and development of space. In the future, Urquiza hopes to be able to use math and computational sciences to build models that will aid in reaching these goals.


Amanda Alfing
Senior, Geology
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Amanda Alfing is a senior at the University of Arizona studying geology. Alfing has a strong interest in both terrestrial geological processes and planetary geology. Her experience in the field covers a large spectrum of the two. Alfing is currently employed by the copper mine ASARCO (American Smelting and Refi ning Company) as a Split Engineering geologist and helps dictate the ore control of the mine. In addition, Alfing has worked at the Cortez Hills mine of Barrick Gold of North America where she was an Intern Geologist, assisting with field mapping, core logging, and drill rig inspections. Alfing has also worked in research and has aided professors at the University of Arizona in thermochronology work where she focused on dating hematite concretions to determine a water transport time. Alfing has had experience in planetary science fields as well. She volunteered her time to examine meteorites using x-ray spectrometry, and was employed for an academic year by the OSIRIS-Rex mission at the University of Arizona, working closely with the optics team simulating images and participating in clean room assembly.