Trent Yang, Director, CU Cleantech, University of Colorado, Boulder

Jean Koster, President of Tigon Enertec and Professor of Aerospace Engineering

Board of Advisers:

Jean Koster, President and Professor

Pioneered and developed novel experimental technologies (optical and radioscopic). He has 25 years of experience teaching at university level focusing on development of a hands-on curriculum for sophomore students in aerospace engineering, and a new rigorous senior design curriculum emphasizing systems engineering and teamwork (http://aeroprojects.colorado.edu/). Being interested in aircraft and alternative energies he initiated in 2009 the HELIOS project to develop a hybrid multi-torque propulsion system for aircraft.

He receved the "New Inventor of the Year 2010" award from the University of Colorado Office of Technology Transfer for the hybrid propulsion technology for aircraft. He also received the "Educator of the Year 2011" award from the AIAA Rocky Mountain Section for the Hyperion aircraft project.

jean.koster@tigonenertec.com

Alec Velazco, Controls Engineer

Alec is a graduate student in Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he is focusing his graduate studies on vehicle systems and controls. As an Undergraduate, Alec received a certificate in Engineering Entrepreneurship from Lockheed Martin, while also working as the Manufacturing Engineer on the Remote Reconnaissance Rovers project. From this project, he gained valuable experience in systems engineering, fabrication, and CAD modeling while building rovers that utilize an Ultrasound/RF navigation system. Alec was the Project Manager for the HYPERION 1.0 project (2010-11), an international collaboration of 3 Universities to conceive, design, implement, and operate a blended-wing-body unmanned aircraft as a platform to investigate new green aircraft technologies. 

Gaurav Soin, Software Engineer

Gaurav is a graduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder studying Aerospace Engineering Sciences, focusing in Spacecraft Control Systems and Structures. As an undergraduate at the university, he lead the SOLSTICE senior design project as the Systems Engineer, designing and building the first clutch-less coaxial drive hybrid engine for UAV’s. He also led their control software team, developing a novel control system to operate the hybrid engine in independent or hybrid flight modes as well as remotely restart the SOLSTICE system in mid-flight. The team worked under the graduate project Hyperion which was developing the blended wing body aircraft for SOLSTICE.  Gaurav coordinated his efforts extensively with the software and system leads of Hyperion. He also led the team in the AIAA regional conference where they were awarded first place in the team category. The team was also recognized by the Aerospace Department as the ‘Most Technically Innovative Project’ of AY 2010-11. The project helped him understand and gain invaluable technical experience and also taught him the importance of systems engineering in the Aerospace field. Currently, he is heading the Propulsion Systems team on the graduate project Hyperion, refining the SOLSTICE system and integrating it onto the Hyperion Aircraft. His goal is to utilize the lessons learnt from SOLSTICE and Hyperion to design, build and implement more advanced hybrid engine systems for future UAV’s and help promote the green aircraft technologies initiative through Tigon Enertec.

gaurav.soin@tigonenertec.com

Tyler Drake, Mechatronics Engineer

Tyler is an undergraduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder studying aerospace engineering, applied math, and astrophysics.  During the 2010-2011 academic year he was a member of the SOLSTICE senior project team which designed, built, and tested a clutch-less, coaxial drive hybrid engine for UAV’s.  Tyler was lead engineer on the project’s gearbox design and also worked on the structural and electronic subsystems.  His skills include gear analysis, programming, and a systems’ perspective. Recently Tyler received a certificate in Engineering Management from Lockheed Martin’s E-ship program and is currently completing his minors in applied math and astrophysics.  From the experience and knowledge gained from work done at the University of Colorado, Tyler hopes to continue developing innovative hybrid engines and continue building his foundation as an engineer.

tyler.drake@tigonenertec.com

Alex Thomas North, Mechanical Engineer

Alex is Senior in the Mechanical Engineering program at the University of Colorado Boulder. Alex has taken undergraduate classes in component design where he has learned valuable information on gear systems to power a bicycle using a cordless power drill. Alex is also in the mechanical engineering senior design class where he has been learning about teamwork and engineering systems developing a low to no H2O cleaning system for concentrating solar power mirrors. Throughout Alex’s undergraduate career he has gained experience in manufacturing and fabrication as well as using CAD programs such as SolidWorks to design many different parts from gears to entire mechanical systems.

alex.north@tigonenertec.com

Derek Hillery, Lockheed Martin Corporation

Cody Humbargar, Raytheon Company

Eric Serani, The Boeing Company

Alec Velazco