Ilce Mizimak
Aerospace Engineer Specializing in Product Design
About Me
Dedicated and ambitious fourth-year Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering, pursuing a minor in Product Design through the Iovine and Young Academy and a master's in Engineering Management. With a hands-on, project-oriented approach, I am passionate about exploring the complexities of flight and space systems, driven by a desire to bridge theoretical knowledge with practical application.
Specializing in manufacturing and design, I thrive on tackling real-world engineering challenges, particularly in aircraft and spacecraft design, recovery systems, and infrastructure manufacturing. My experience spans collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, where I leverage strong communication and problem-solving skills to turn innovative ideas into tangible solutions.
I am deeply committed to pushing the boundaries of aerospace technology and continuously expanding my expertise in dynamic, cutting-edge engineering projects. I seek opportunities that allow me to contribute meaningfully to the advancement of aerospace technologies, while refining my skills in technical design and manufacturing processes.
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Projects
Elevated Launch Fixture (E.L.F.)
This project expertly navigated the complexities of amateur rocket rails, conducting a meticulous analysis of statics to guarantee optimal stability and structural resilience. Notably, it achieves a balance of compactness with swift assembly. ELF represents a paradigm shift in launch fixture design, seamlessly integrating cutting-edge engineering principles that are both analytically tested and experimentally proven.
As the design architect of ELF, I seamlessly blended innovative solutions to previous designs, contributing to the evolution of aerospace engineering. This project taught me the importance of communication between design engineers, structural engineers, and manufacturing engineers in a professional environment.
Recovery Bay Camera Fixture
This project showcases a GoPro fixture, which will soon be validated for flight in Aftershock, a projected record-breaking vehicle to reach space flown by USC RPL. The motivation of this project was to have a camera record footage of ejection at apogee to provide our team information on what our shock cord may experience in space, along with the opening forces on our parachute. The design and prototype process showcases both ease of integration and mass optimization, with a final mass of .06 lbs! This is much lighter than any COTS fixture and took a total of 10 minutes of manufacturing time on a water jet. Testing validity will include pressurization testing, structural integrity testing, and vacuum testing to simulate any forces foreseen in flight.
Recovery Bay Testing Fixture
This was my first large project in the Rocket Propulsion Laboratory. The goal was to design and manufacture a volume-testing fixture to minimize the recovery bay space. This design has capabilities of increasing size in the forward and aft sections, which would be the case and the nosecone on a flight vehicle. Prior to this fixture, the manufactured recovery bay volume was chosen based on an Excel data sheet with all components within the bay. The tool is very important in both validating the volume needed for the bay and testing new recovery systems prior to an integrated case being ready. I was part of the design, manufacture, and testing team for this project.
Pad Construction and Rebuilding
This project aimed to enhance the structural integrity and integration ease of the USC RPL thrust stand. Previous static fires revealed a critical failure in the existing construction, preventing us from torquing the stand to the pad within acceptable tolerances. An anomaly investigation revealed that the prior team overlooked essential principles of concrete, particularly its brittleness and inadequate resistance to rotational forces. We then researched industry techniques and optimized a correction for our use—this featured epoxy to establish a chemical bond between the concrete and metal anchor walls. The corrective measure proved successful when we subjected the stand to the firing of the most powerful amateur motor globally, achieving a thrust of 10,000 lbf. This not only rectified the rotational resistance issue but also demonstrated the stand's capability to withstand extreme forces, marking a significant advancement in the project's success.
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