Our Leadership

Meet the current leadership of the MAXWELL team! We are more than just engineers and scientists, so read below to learnÌýmore about us.

Seasoned Experts

Prof. Scott Palo

Principal Investigator

Dr. Palo is theÌýCharles Victor Schelke EndowedÌýProfessor in the Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences Department.Ìý He has been involved with the development of small satellites for nearly 20 years and has been either principle investigator or co-principle investigator on the following small satellite programs: the Drag and Neutral Density Explorer (DANDE), Colorado Student Space Weather Explorer (CSSWE), the Miniature X-Ray Solar Spectrometer 1&2 (MinXSS-1 & 2), QB50 Challenger, Maxwell and the University of Colorado Earth Escape Explorer (CU-E3).Ìý Dr. Palo has a background in electrical engineering with research interests in remote sensing, upper atmosphere physics, space weather and satellite communications systems.Ìý His teaching interests center on experiential project based learning.Ìý Dr. Palo is a founding member and chair of the AIAA Small Satellite Technical committee and was a founding member of the National Capstone Design Conference.

Dr. Marcin Pilinski

Project Advisor

Dr. Marcin Pilinski is a research associate at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder Colorado.Ìý He has been involved in small satellite developmentÌýsince 2004 and has served as a subsystem lead,Ìýproject manager, systems engineer, or co-investigator on three 50kg-class spacecraft and five CubeSats.Ìý His research interests include aeronomy and space-weather, satellite drag modeling andÌýspacecraft gas-surface interactions, and small-spacecraft instrumentÌýdesign.

Dr. Nicholas Rainville

Project Advisor

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Jerome Hittle

Project Advisor

Jerome is the electrical power systems (EPS) advisor for MAXWELL.ÌýHe has over 15 years of experience in the aerospace industry, and has worked on four deep space missions, including missions to the Sun, Jupiter, and Mars.ÌýSpecializing in power systems for sub-1kW class spacecraft, he designed the charge controller for NASA’s InSight mission to Mars. Today, his research centers around digitally controlled power systems for cubesats and commercial markets.ÌýJerome received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Houston in 2007.

Student Leadership

Ashutosh Kalsi

Project Manager

Ashutosh is pursing a mastersÌýdegree in Computer ScienceÌýwith a focus on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. He has vast experience in software industryÌýand has lead and managed diverse projects thoughout his career.Ìý

Ben Gavin

Chief Engineer

Ben is a grad student at CU Boulder currently working as the Systems Engineer for the MAXWELL CubeSat project with the Satellite Technology Integration Laboratory. Currently he assists the team withÌýAI&T, development on the Electrical Power System, andÌýhardware acceptance testing.ÌýHis master’s specialization focuses on Autonomous Systems with a certificate in Satellite System Design.Ìý

Former Student Leadership