Among a variety of things, the scholars of ’31E enjoy…
…Ann Arbor Restaurant week (of course anything with food)…
…cider mills (even with a broken foot)…
…and game-night sessions!
’31E Class of 2023
Alfonso is a junior from Columbus, Ohio studying aerospace engineering and hoping to pursue a Masters. He is passionate about all things space-related and believes that space exploration can unify and bring new, helpful technologies to the world. Over the summer he interned at SpaceX on the Raptor Test Operations team and will be returning to SpaceX next summer. On campus, Alfonso is an active member of the university’s rocketry team, MASA, where he led the test operations team. This year he plans to focus on mentoring new members on MASA and exploring other interests, such as helping with DEI initiatives or joining more service-oriented teams. Outside of school, Alfonso enjoys learning about other subjects, traveling, and going to concerts with friends.
Alfonso Botta-Lopez
Morgan is a Master’s student from Robbinsville, New Jersey studying Aerospace Engineering with a concentration in Systems Engineering. After graduating, she hopes to perform system integration for complex air and space systems within the aerospace defense industry. This past summer Morgan was a Space Systems Engineering Intern at Leidos in San Diego, California. She was a member of the National Security and Space Division and had the opportunity to lead design work on ground support equipment for an overhead persistent infrared sensor (OPIR) payload to be used in LEO satellites. She also managed and updated mechanical, electrical, and software/digital interface control documents and wrote requirement verification reports for orbital debris mitigation and failure propagation analyses. On campus, Morgan is a Graduate Student Instructor for the x88 Systems Engineering Course Series and has supported its development since its inaugural year in Fall 2020. She is also a member of Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics (WAA), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and Michigan Sustainability Applications of Aerospace Vehicle Engineering (M-SAAVE). In her free time, she enjoys going to the beach, trying new coffee shops, and spending time with friends and family.
Morgan Serra
Claudia is a master’s student from Cary, North Carolina studying systems engineering. Her undergraduate degree was in mechanical engineering, with a minor in German. She is a member of the Engineering Global Leadership (EGL) honor society program within the College of Engineering. On campus, she is involved with the Michigan Vertical Flight Technology project team. MVFT works to improve electric vertical takeoff and landing aircrafts, helping to advance humanitarian aid and package delivery. She was the propulsion subteam lead, meaning that she was responsible for testing and selecting the motors, propellers, and electronic speed controllers (ESCs).She was also the president of her sorority, leading a chapter of over 200 women. During her senior year, she developed AEROSP 488, which is a capstone class focusing on model-based systems engineering and the intersection of academia and industry. Currently, she is the graduate student instructor (GSI) for AEROSP 488, helping to teach and lead the course.
Previously she has interned at Amazon and Boeing. At Amazon, she worked to utilize automation to improve employee safety. She spent the past summer at Boeing as a Tauber Intern, working for the 777-9 production integration team.
Claudia Zimmerman
’31E Class of 2024
Jose is a sophomore from Lebanon, PA (although born and raised in Mexico) majoring in Aerospace Engineering. Additionally, he plans to minor in Astrophysics. During his first year, Jose was part of the Autonomous Robotic Vehicle Project Team (UMARV) in the Embedded Systems sub-team and was chosen by the team to lead the upcoming year’s Embedded Systems team. This upcoming year, he is looking forward to joining MASA and the Michigan Chess Club. Jose is most passionate about space travel, physics, and programming. He hopes to utilize his skills to help humanity become a multi-planetary species through the development of better space launch systems. In his free time, he likes to learn as much as possible in topics such as physics, languages, engineering, mathematics, and space travel.
Jose Diaz Peon
Kira Woodhouse is a second-year engineering student studying Biomedical Engineering with minors in Computer Science and International Engineering. She is from Sparta, Michigan, a small town north of Grand Rapids. During her first year, she participated in research with the Shea Lab studying applications of T-Cell Therapy for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer through the Michigan Research and Discovery Scholars (MRADS) program. This year she is continuing her research and has accepted a position as a peer advisor with MRADS, helping first-year students secure research projects. Since October of 2020 she has served as a mentor for Rise Up! for CS, a program run through the School of Information which provides tutoring and mentorship resources to support Black, Latina, and Indigenous high-school girls as they study for their AP Computer Science exams. She is also active within the Science Olympiad club. In her free time, she enjoys reading any books she can get her hands on, caring for her 40+ houseplants, and exploring the Nichols Arboretum with some great Ann Arbor bubble tea. She is incredibly thankful to the scholarship committee for the opportunities becoming a 1931E scholar has offered her.
Kira Woodhouse
Sidharth is a senior from Lexington, Massachusetts studying Aerospace and Computer Science. He is very passionate about planes, rockets and space exploration. After graduation, he hopes to work at SpaceX to make space travel as common as modern-day air travel. Sidharth is also part of the MASA rocket team, working on aerodynamics, structures and avionics. He is also a part of the A2SYS research laboratory, where he works on design, analysis and control of new aircraft designs. Outside of school, Sidharth enjoys running, cooking and photography. He is also an aviation fanatic and planespotter, and has a photo catalogue of airplanes from around the world.
Sidharth Anantha
Gina Kittleson is a Masters student in Civil Engineering and Intelligent Systems from Ohio. She is a graduate student researcher in the Digital Water Lab run by Dr. Branko Kerkez where she studies acoustic profiles of pipes in the D.C. Water wastewater treatment facility. During this summer she presented at the Borchardt Conference and the WEF IWA/IPE Conference. She looks forward to presenting at the WaterMatex 2023 Conference this fall. During her undergraduate degree at UM, she was the construction lead on the Concrete Canoe Team, a volunteer with Books for a Benefit, and a Women in Science and Engineering Residency Program (WISE RP) alumna. Outside of school, Gina loves baking, ballet, and gardening.
Gina Kittleson
Hanna Chen
’31E Class of 2025
Caroline is a junior from Chapel Hill, North Carolina studying Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering with a minor in Electrical Engineering. On campus, she is the Chief Engineer for Michigan Electric Boat, a project team that is working to build a fully electric 21 foot racing boat. She is also a member of Cost Assistance for Resilient Engineers, Quarterdeck society, and a Departmental Ambassador for Engineering 110 classes. Last summer she interned at Newport News Shipbuilding and looks forward to continuing to gain engineering experience in a shipyard. Outside of school she enjoys running, cooking, and watching Michigan sports.
Caroline Kahwari
Anna Klinger
Marisa is a junior from Marine City, Michigan, majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Physics and the International Minor for Engineers. On campus, she is involved in Michigan Baja Racing, on which she serves as the Sponsor Outreach and Team Recruitment Lead. In addition to Baja, Marisa is a member of Cost Assistance for Resilient Engineers, Pi Tau Sigma, and the Engineering Honors Program. Last summer, Marisa had the opportunity to work on a controls project in Berlin, Germany. She applied LQR controller principles to a self-balancing robot, beginning with modeling and simulation of state variables and completing the project with code implementation. In the future, Marisa plans to stay an extra year at the University of Michigan for her Master’s in Automotive Engineering. Upon graduation, she hopes to work for a racing team as a race engineer. Outside of class, Marisa enjoys playing volleyball and tennis, hanging out with friends, and going to football and hockey games.
Marissa May
Caleb Qui
Marshall Vielmetti is a sophomore from Milwaukee, Wisconsin studying Computer Science with a minor in Electrical Engineering. He is currently the Vice President of the 31E Scholar Society. Over the summer, he worked at Menet Aero as a control systems intern, and is still involved on a part-time basis. At Menet, he worked on projects including the development of a custom brushless motor controller, and most significantly the implementation of a patented GPS denied navigation system. At Michigan, he was previously a part of MASA, but is looking forwards to joining MRover as part of the software branch this year. In his spare time, he is part of Michigan’s Alpine Ski Team, where he is the Sophomore Representative, and has made it to every home football game. Away from school, he enjoys spending time in the outdoors, playing the piano, and mountain biking.
Marshall Vielmetti
Hey! I am Jason and also the Treasurer for 31E this year. I am a 3rd year computer engineering major and someone who enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and music!
Jason Yu
Marcella is a junior from West Bloomfield, Michigan studying Industrial and Operations Engineering and minoring in Public Policy. Her long term goal is to pursue a career in intellectual property law. This past summer she began an independent research project on gene drive patents and led summer sessions of Michigan’s Recreational Tennis Club (Rec Tennis). Marcella is the Student President of 1931E and Secretary of Cost Assistance of Resilient Engineers (CARE). Through both positions, she communicates closely with the ’31E Scholarship Committee, Alumni network, and current Scholars. Through CARE, she actively works to raise money for emergency financial need engineering students. She is a member of the Engineering Honors Program and is DEI Chair of their student advisory board. She additionally is Vice President of Rec Tennis and leads sessions three times a week throughout the school year. In her free time, she enjoys walking her dog and spending time with friends and family.
Marcella Zarouk
’31E Class of 2026
Alyssa Budweg is a second-year undergraduate student from Northville, MI, majoring in Biomedical Engineering. This summer, she worked on the Multidisciplinary Design Program Research Fellowship at Michigan while continuing her work on the Adaptive Design Team, developing parametric models predicting bone morphology to aid the development of safer transportation and equipment. During the school year, Alyssa continues her research on the Adaptive Design Team as a sub-team lead. In addition to her academics and research, Alyssa, an accomplished tap dancer, is a member of RhythM Tap Ensemble where she enjoys expressing creativity at local performances. Alyssa is an active member of Society of Women Engineers where she enjoys helping to support diversity in engineering. Working part time at the M Den with fellow Wolverines has brought Alyssa a new level of appreciation for the University of Michigan’s unique culture and enthusiastic spirit, in addition to meeting fellow students, faculty, and alumni. Outside of academics, research, and Michigan extracurriculars, Alyssa enjoys figure skating, traveling, and spending cherished time with her friends and family.
Alyssa Budwig
Jade Freidlis
Jacob Robins is a second-year engineering student from Chicago pursuing degrees in Chemical Engineering and Computer Science. This past summer, he worked at the CME Group, the largest futures exchange in the world, as a Software Engineering Intern. On campus, he is part of the Min Research Lab where he leads a project investigating a new type of nano-surface for targeted drug delivery. Jacob helped start Organic Chemistry Bootcamp at Michigan, a program seeking to make Organic Chemistry education more accessible and is also a substitute lab instructor for Organic Chemistry. He is also part of the Alpha Epsilon Delta pre-medical honors society and is a licensed EMT in the state of Michigan. In his free time, Jacob enjoys playing pickup basketball, going on hikes, and seeing friends and family.
Jacob Robins
Samantha Staudinger is an undergraduate from Menlo Park, California, majoring in robotics engineering with minors in electrical engineering and music. Her long-term interest is researching the intersection between robotics and biotechnology. Sammie is currently a machine learning researcher in the Computational Nanostructure lab at Michigan, continuing a project on optimizing parameter chains of phase-fields from the summer. In addition, this summer she represented Michigan robotics as an Ambassador for Citizens for Space Exploration in D.C., and had her paper about expanding the accessibility of Covid-related biotechnology published in the Undergraduate Journal of Public Health. On campus, Sammie enjoys teaching as an Instructional Aid for Introduction to Robot-Human Systems, serving on the leadership team for Robotics Undergraduate Student Council, and is a member of the M-STARX exoskeleton project team. In her free time, she loves to play piano in East Quad lobby and run with her MRun family.
Sammie Staudinger
Lillian Trudeau is an undergraduate student from Norwalk, CT studying Industrial and Operations Engineering with a minor in Computer Science. This summer she studied abroad through Michigan in Paris, France. Additionally, she took online courses at home after the program and worked at Fleet Feet and as a nanny. On campus, commitments include the Society of Women Engineers, Pi Sigma Epsilon professional business fraternity, and Alpha Phi. She plans to recruit for investment banking and quantitative finance this upcoming year for future internships and post-graduate opportunities. She enjoys spending time with her friends, being outdoors, and running.
