The SwampSat Team

	Vivek Nagabhushan is the SwampSat Project Manager. He is also the team lead for the structural / mechanism design and is credited for the CMG miniaturization. Vivek brings experience in hardware implementation from the defense sector. Vivek interned with NASA Ames this past summer.
	Shawn Allgeier is the team lead for the attitude determination system (ADS). Shawn conducts research on formation flight of satellites from the space systems group. Shawn is a licensed FCC general, KI4VSX.
	Sharan Asundi is the team lead for the electrical power system (EPS). Sharan also works on the health management of the satellite.
	Dante Buckley is the communications team lead and currently the contact for Mission Operations via the Gator Nation Nation Earth Station. His Master's research is the SwampSat antenna system.
	Jimmy si the vice-president of the Small Satellite Design Club as well as a member of the Space Systems Group. Jimmy is working on the magnet coils as well as mission control and operations. Jimmy is a licensed FCC general, KI4REO.
	Sal Torre joined the Space Systems Group in the fall of 2008. He is our go-to person for all embedded system work. He writes code for the radio, sun sensors, microcontroller, and pretty much influences all hardware testing. He received his Electrical Engineering Masters degree Sal is currently working on the SwampSat Flight Computer (SFC430). Much of his work can be viewed at http://plaza.ufl.edu/saltorre/home.html.
	Matthew Mahin joined the Space Systems Group in the Spring of 2009. He is an Electrical Engineering Masters student with several years of industry experience. Matt is currently working this summer for a local Gainesville company, TetraCam. Matt is working on a Plug and Play attitude control system for SwampSat I.
	Kunal Patankar joined the SwampSat team in the midst of the Spring 2009 term. Kunal is pursuing his Doctoral Degree in Mechanical Engineering. Kunal provides valuable experience in %mechanical drawings and machining components.
	Shawn Johnson joined the SwampSat team in the midst of the Spring 2009 term. Shawn comes to us from Georgia Tech and is pursuing his PhD in Aerospace Engineering. Shawn is interested in system integration and testing. He is also conducting thermal analysis on SwampSat.
	Obulpathi Challa joined the Small Satellite Design Club in the Fall 2008. Obul is a member of the Wireless (WAMS) lab pursuing his Post Doctorate Degree in Electrical Engineering. Obul is team lead for the SwampSat II communications and payload. Obul is also a member of the Mission Operations team.
	Josh Munoz is researching on guidance, navigation and control (GNC) methodologies for small satellites. Josh is our team captain in intramural basketball and is also currently interning with the Air Force Research Lab, AFRL in New Mexico. Josh has bee selected as a SMART scholar.
	Bungo Shiotani is the current FUNSAT VI Attitude Determination System (ADS) team lead and member of the FUNSAT V team. Bungo started his graduate studies in Aerospace Engineering in Fall '09.
	Our faculty advisor is Dr. Norman Fitz-Coy. Dr. Fitz-Coy teaches Space Systems Design (EAS4530), Dynamics & Control of Space Vehicles (EAS4412), and Astrodynamics (EML4510) at the undergraduate level as well as Advanced Astrodynamics (EML6939) at the graduate level. Dr. Fitz-Coy is also the Director of ASTREC, Advanced Space Technologies Research and Engineering Center. ASTREC is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry-University Collaborative Research Center (I/UCRC) with a focused effort in utilizing pico- and nano- satellites.

Our team is currently managed by graduate students from the Space Systems Group in the department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. The club is open to students from all disciplines and experience levels. Group meetings are often coordinated with the Space Systems Group. We are always looking for new members to add to the team and we will be happy to provide a list of recommended reading material as well as discuss our various endeavors. In addition to the activities of the club, we recommend Dr. Fitz-Coy's mentioned above as great sources of information regarding orbital mechanics, attitude determination and control, and design of space systems.

Contact Information

If you have an interest in any aspect of satellite design we can find a relevant aspect of the project that you can contribute to. We are located in the New Engineering Building on the first floor. Feel free to stop by the lab or the Space Systems Group office to learn more, or simply to talk about anything regarding space!