People

Ph.D. Student RESEARCHERS

Nicholas Kakavitsas

Nicholas received the B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from UNC Charlotte in 2020 and the M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from UNC Charlotte in 2023. He has previous experience working with American Airlines as a A320 Fleet Engineer and with US Army Special Operations Command Unmanned Aerial Systems. For his senior design project, Nicholas helped develop a model of a flexure system from first principles using Lagrangian mechanics. He has served as both a teaching assistant and instructor of several laboratory courses at UNC Charlotte and mentored numerous undergraduate research students. In the ARSL, Nicholas is working on designing algorithms to enable wind field estimation and wind-aware path planning and control for autonomous quadrotors operating in urban environments. He has been with the ARSL since Fall 2021.

Dissertation Topic: Autonomous Quadrotors in Uncertain Disturbances: Control, Estimation, and Path Planning

Google Scholar

Dustin Sims

Dustin received the B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Mathematics from Texas A&M University. Before joining Texas A&M he served 5 years in the U.S. Navy in the engineering department aboard a submarine. He also previously completed an internship at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (JHUAPL) where he worked on spacecraft reentry systems development. At Texas A&M, Dustin was part of the prestigious Zachry Leadership Program and also conducted research in Mexico to help solve engineering challenges related to potable water. For his senior design project he helped design a reusable spacecraft capable of transporting 150 colonists and crew to the Jovian (Jupiter) system. He has been with the ARSL since Fall 2025. Dustin is pursuing research related to trajectory optimization of spacecraft. He has been with the ARSL since Fall 2025.

M.S. Student RESEARCHERS

Jeremiah Hill

Jeremiah is pursuing his early-entry M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering at UNC Charlotte. During the summer, he continues to work as an intern at Optima Engineering to perform modeling and simulation tasks and apply engineering standards related to commercial HVAC systems. At UNC Charlotte he was a teacher’s assistant for his sophomore design course and later a team lead on his pick-and-place robot project for his junior design course.  Jeremiah is also actively involved in the newly formed Astromechanics Student Club. He has been with the ARSL since Spring 2026.

Alumni

  1. Andrew McPartland, MS ME (2026). [thesis]
  2. Collin Hague, PhD ME (2025). [dissertation] Next Position: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.
  3. Alex Nikonowicz, MS ME (2025). [thesis] Next Position: Integer Technologies.
  4. Jacob Herbert, MS ME (2023). [thesis] Next Position: Teledyne FLIR.
  5. Michael Brancato, MS ME (2022). [thesis] Next Position: Draper Laboratory.

UNDERGRADUATES

The ARSL typically supports between 1-3 undergraduate students per semester along with several senior design teams and other undergraduate student organizations.

Interested in Joining the ARSL?

Graduate Students: We are currently seeking graduate students (MS or PhD) to join our group, especially graduating senior students from UNC Charlotte are encouraged to apply.

Please email awolek [at] charlotte.edu to introduce yourself and include an updated resume/CV and transcripts. Please read through our recent publications and research and indicate how you might contribute to lab research.

Learn more about applying to UNC Charlotte here:
M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Mechanical Engineering at UNC Charlotte

Undergraduate Students (UNC Charlotte): Students conducting research in the lab should be highly motivated and able to work independently. Strong candidates will have the following qualifications: (i) GPA near 3.5 in an engineering or computer science major, and (ii) upper class ME students preferred who have completed courses in Dynamics I or Dynamics II with a “B” or better, and (iii) enrolled in technical electives related to robotics, controls, aerospace engineering. Students with a strong interest in pursuing a graduate degree (Ph.D. or M.S. degree) or who are currently enrolled in the early-entry masters program are especially encouraged to apply. UNC Charlotte students please apply by emailing me.

High School Interns: The ARSL does not mentor high school students at this time however we encourage you to consider the Camps on Campus program during the summer where we have previously organized aerospace-themed week-long camps.