River Spencer

Background

About River Spencer

Howdy! I'm currently a Senior Aerospace Engineering student at Texas A&M University, finishing my undergrad in Spring 2025 and pursuing my PhD starting in Fall 2025 at The University of Texas at Austin. Ever since I was a kid, I knew that I wanted to work in the Space Industry. This passion led me to an internship at the Johnson Space Center working on NASA's Orion Spacecraft. This opportunity has allowed me to hone various skills as an engineer as I am constantly working with some of the sharpest minds in the country. Since entering into the aerospace engineering field I have had a fascination with Aircraft Design. Because of this, I joined the SAE Aero Design team at Texas A&M as a member of the Aerodynamics, Stability and controls Sub-team for the Regular Class plane. This team is a place for me to nurture many technical skills and learn how to function in an extremely fast paced environment. The TAMU SAE Aero team are 5 time consecutive champions at the SAE Aero West competition in the Regular Class competition. This year, we are switching to Advanced class for a new challenge to push us even further. Additionally, I believe it's important to always be growing my engineering skills through unique experiences, so I began doing research in the Advanced Vertical Flight Lab under Dr. Benedict. I led the design of a test stand modeling a Hybrid-Electric powertrain for VTOL application and I'm currently working on a Mortar Launched UAV prototype to develop a high fidelity simulation model. I currently am an assistant to Dr. Demblon on the GoSwift project. This project is in collaboration with engineers and researchers at NASA Langley and Boeing. I am working to model and help with various other task on a deforming panel on an F-15 Fuel Pod. These research projects have allowed me to develop strong CAD, coding, design and manufacturing skills not taught in the classroom. Furthermore, I expanded my knowledge due to mentorship with more experienced Engineers. Thank you for visiting my page. I'm open to positions in the Aviation, Space, and Defense industry.