Alumni Spotlight: Erin McNeil

Notes from Erin McNeil

I am currently working as an Autonomy Engineer at Blue Origin on the New Glenn Program. The New Glenn rocket is a massive heavy lift launch vehicle (320 feet tall) that will carry people and payloads into orbit and beyond. As I write this in October of 2024, we are estimating first flight to take place a month from now, in November. We currently have designed the GS1 section to be 25 times reusable and are developing a second stage that is also reusable. Our mission is to fly New Glenn 100 times per year once we have base-lined the design.

What is your greatest professional accomplishment?

I've worked previously on projects at Raytheon Missile Systems as a structural analyst for projects like the Tactical Boost Glide hypersonic vehicle as well as a GNC engineer developing an Autopilot design for variations of the AMRAAM program. But working in the commercial space industry on this giant rocket, New Glenn, has been the most incredible experience so far.

Describe your UTA, The College of Engineering experience. How did UTA help prepare for your career achievement?

UTA is one of the best engineering schools in the US. I had the opportunity to work on several different undergraduate research projects, one within the Bioengineering department, one within Dr. Alan Bowling's Robotics lab, and one with Dr. Panos Shiakolas as an output of my Senior Design project. I was able to work on extra-curricular teams like the UTA Formula SAE team, the UTA Aero Mavs and building with my now husband the UTA Mars R.O.V.E.R. team. I negotiated a Co-Op opportunity at Parker-Hannifin while studying at UTA. Additionally, the coursework did a great job of preparing me for my work in industry--it was a great investment to come to UTA.

How did your education in the College of Engineering prepare you for what you are doing today?

I minored in Aerospace Engineering as well as majoring in Mechanical Engineering-- I still reference the material from some of the classes now at work but also while attending Georgia Tech for my Aerospace Engineering M.S. program studying Flight Attitude and Controls. The professors in our MAE department are top-notch and care about giving us a great education. I was also given the ability to sit-in on some of the graduate level classes-- notably Dr. Bowling's Robotics course, which were great exposure to advanced concepts.

What advice would you give current students interested in pursuing a career in your field?

Rocket science is difficult -- that's why it is a cliché. But you can persevere-- don't sweat it if you take a break from school and must come back later. If you lose your scholarship, go get an internship and supplement your tuition that way and reduce your course load. You don't need to maximize the number of classes each semester and make perfect grades to still be successful. Seek out advisors and mentors within the department—they can be a great resource for school and beyond!