RPL ADMINISTRATION
BORA GURSEL - PRESIDENT
Mechanical Engineering - Class of 2023
Bora joined RPL back in 2019, starting off in the New Member Project. After a successful launch with his team he transitioned onto the Phoenix structures team where he was closely involved with the design and development of the internal support structure. He joined the admin team in 2021 as the vice president finance where he managed fund distributions for project development as RPL’s transitioned back to on site activities. As President, he is excited to realize the completion of RPL’s multi-year Phoenix project and foster greater connections between RPL and the broader community of students, alumni, and industry partners.
KYLAN ZHAO - VP INTERNAL
Mechanical Engineering - Class of 2023
Kylan has been with RPL for three years and he considers the time he’s spent with the team to be an integral part of his educational and professional development. He has been involved in structural design and development of critical systems and will be serving RPL in a dual role as our Phoenix structures co-lead and vice president internal. Kylan is looking forward to seeing the efforts of his team come to fruition during the upcoming launch.
EMILY DEBOER - VP EXTERNAL
Mechanical Engineering - Class of 2024
Emily first joined RPL in her search for a place to build, design, and fly rockets and has been with us for two years now. First as a member of our propulsion team and now as our incumbent propulsion lead, Emily is no stranger to tackling the most complex challenges inherent to rocketry. Also serving in a dual role this year as our propulsion lead and Vice President External, Emily is excited to be leading our amazing community of engineers in preparation for the Phoenix launch.
ADITYA SHAH - VP FINANCE
Mechanical Engineering - Class of 2023
Adi joined RPL’s Phoenix structures his freshman year, driven by his passion for rocketry and space exploration. He greatly values RPL’s emphasis on applying and building on conceptual materials for real-life applications. As RPL enters the fabrication and assembly stage of the Phoenix rocket, we are lucky to have Adi as our Vice President Finance to oversee putting the proverbial shoves in the ground.
BLAKE ANDERSEN - VP SAFETY
Aerospace Engineering - Class of 2023
Blake joined RPL’s new member project during his first year, successfully completing the project and then transitioning to the Phoenix recovery subteam. He admires RPL’s dedication to making rocketry accessible for all and cares about making sure everybody can be safe while having fun pursuing their passion. In that respect, RPL is thankful to have Blake as our Vice President Safety as we look towards a safe and successful launch this academic year.
JAY BUENSUCESO - WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT LEAD
Cognitive Science Machine Learning - Class of 2023
Jay started with RPL’s Phoenix Structures subteam to get involved with a hands-on team based project within collegiate rocketry. Since then he’s been involved in many things he never expected to learn such as composite manufacturing. As RPL moves towards the launch window for Phoenix, we’re grateful to have Jay as our Website Development Lead to document this amazing journey for our friends and partners.
RPL CHIEF ENGINEERS
Zachary Cadieux - Phoenix Chief Engineer
Mechanical Engineering - Class of 2023
Zach started off with RPL during his first year and has been a part of the Phoenix project since its inception. First as a structures engineer and then as a structures lead, Zach has been deeply involved in the design and integration of all Phoenix subsystems with the internal and external structures. This year as our Chief Engineer, Zach is looking forward to seeing almost four years of hard work blast off to 45,000 feet.
Cambria Helene Adams - NMP Chief Engineer
Structural Engineering - Class of 2023
Cambria joined RPL in 2019, beginning with a wildly successful New Member Project and an accompanying launch out in the Mojave Desert. She transitioned onto the Phoenix structures subteam, working on internal structure and integration with propulsion systems before moving on to join propulsion. After leading the Phoenix propulsion subteam for a year and its accompanying Fawkes engine development cycle, Cambria will now take on one of the most important roles on RPL as Chief Engineer of the New Member Project. She is excited that her journey in RPL has come full circle as she leads the team that she first started on almost four years ago and forges the next generation of RPL members.