How did you get interested in space? 
From a very young age I have always been interested in space. I grew up watching shows such as Cosmos and Nova and they instilled in me a great fascination with our universe. My father also helped nurture this interest, always calling me to come look through a telescope to see the craters on the moon, the rings of Saturn or the moons of Jupiter. Through CubeSat my love for space has only grown. I have found that it is a fascinating field with challenging problems which keep you busy and entertained every day! In the future I would love to work on long term electric propulsion methods for space travel, most specifically on Direct Fusion Drives given my interest in Plasma Physics.

Tell us a bit more about yourself and your experience before joining Wyvern.
I am the son of Costa Rican immigrants and grew up in Fredericton New Brunswick. I attended a French school throughout my childhood and am now completing a degree in Applied Physics at the University of New Brunswick. Before joining Wyvern, I was involved in the University of New Brunswick’s CubeSat Project, VIOLET. I was the project manager of the imaging payload, SASI (Spectral Airglow Structure Imager) and lead the team in a redesign of the optics, the development of our opto-mechanical cell, the design of our custom PCBs as well as the development of a custom embedded Linux image for our subsystem. Through this experience I have had the opportunity to work with many industry experts and learned enormously from my collaboration with them. In addition to CubeSat, I was a research assistant in the Physics department’s Atmospheric Physics Laboratory. Here I worked with fully compensated Doppler Michelson Interferometers. My main work was on the characterization of a Lab interferometer with segmented mirrors which could generate 4 separate images of a field simultaneously. This work is done to further understand the properties of such interferometers and in the hopes of one day using them in space applications.

Zenith Fellows and Host Institutions were matched via ranking; what made you rank Wyvern highly?
I chose Wyvern as my first choice because I was interested in their satellites. The idea of having deployable optics was incredible and I wanted to have an opportunity to work on something so groundbreaking. In addition to my interest in their amazing optical system, I was also drawn by their mission. I believe that through Wyvern’s spectral imaging we will be able to provide valuable information on many aspects of our ever-growing planet.

What are you most looking forward to as part of your internship? 
I am most looking forward to collaborating with everyone at Wyvern for their first satellite launch and the development of their deployable optics. I find it very exciting and am lucky to be a part of this team. I am hoping to learn as much as I possibly can about hyperspectral imaging and deployable optics and I am looking forward to working with so many talented individuals.

What do you think about moving to Edmonton from Fredericton for the summer?
Moving from Fredericton to Edmonton is big for me since it is my first time moving away from home! I am both nervous and excited about all the opportunities I will have this summer. I am looking forward to being put out of my comfort zone and growing not only as a professional but as a person as well!

What do you like to do outside of work?
Outside of work I love to spend time with friends and family. I enjoy watching movies, reading, playing video games, and cooking delicious meals. In recent years I have picked up biking and love to spend my afternoons and weekends going on bike rides and exploring my surroundings.