Team

Meet our team of engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs.

Principal Investigator

Headshot.jpg

Thomas C. Underwood

Assistant Professor

Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics

The University of Texas at Austin

B.S. Nuclear Engineering & Physics, University of Florida, 2014
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2019
Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University

Tom Underwood is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and was a postdoctoral fellow in chemistry at Harvard University. His research lies at the intersection of plasma physics, fluid mechanics, and chemistry.  He is interested in understanding how the chemistry and dynamics of plasmas can be leveraged to address challenges in space, propulsion, and the synthesis of clean and environmentally sustainable fuels. He is a recipient of numerous distinctions including the AFOSR Young Investigator Award and the NASA Early Career Faculty Award.
Google Scholar | Curriculum Vitae 

Postdoctoral Researchers

Avijit Saha

Ph.D. RWTH Aachen University (2023)

 
 
 

Ph.D. Students

Minsoo Kang

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, (2025)

Varanasi Sai Subhankar

B.Tech+M.Tech Aerospace Engineering, IIT Kharagpur (2022)

 

Drue Hood-McFadden

B.S. Physics, UW Madison (2021)

Adrian Woodley

B.S. Physics and Mechanical Engineering, University of San Diego (2022)

 

Patrick Schools

B.S. Integrated Engineering, Washington and Lee University (2025)

Master’s Students

Ethan Hortsman

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, UT Austin (2023)

 
 

Undergraduate Students

Harsha RajeshUniversity of Texas Aerospace Engineering Class of 2024

Harsha Rajesh

University of Texas, Aerospace Engineering

Class of 2024

Noah Sell

University of Texas, Aerospace Engineering

Class of 2025

 
Patrick InsullUniversity of Texas Aerospace EngineeringClass of 2023

Patrick Insull

University of Texas, Aerospace Engineering

Class of 2023

 
Sankarsh RaoUniversity of Texas Aerospace EngineeringClass of 2023

Sankarsh Rao

University of Texas, Aerospace Engineering

Class of 2023

 
 

Alumni

  1. Charan Nallapareddy (2025, PhD) - Lam Research

  2. Ethan Horstman (2025, MS) - Aerojet Rocketdyne

  3. Harsha Rajesh (2024, BS) - Stanford PhD

  4. Jacob Neal (2024, Postdoc) - Blue Origin

  5. Keshav Prathivadi (2023, MS) - Boeing

  6. Sankarsh Rao (2023, BS) - MIT Aero/Astro PhD