The S&T Academy of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineers announced the recipients of its senior design awards at the 30th annual induction ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.
Senior Design Leadership Awardees
Mina Khalilzadeh Fathi
Mina Khalilzadeh Fathi is a mechanical engineering Ph.D. student at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Her research focuses on autonomous guidance, navigation, and control of satellite formations in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, using learning-enabled prediction and model predictive control for safe, efficient differential drag control. She has served as a teaching assistant for six semesters, supporting 23 senior design teams and mentoring around 120 students on industry-sponsored projects with partners including Honeywell FM&T, Orscheln Products LLC, Sandia National Laboratories, and others, and her mentorship was recognized with Missouri S&T’s Graduate Mentorship Award in 2023. In Spring 2025, Mina served as the Lead Teaching Assistant for ME4761 Senior Engineering Design, coordinating 5 industry-sponsored teams and supporting 116 students. Her leadership in this role was recognized with Missouri S&T’s Graduate Leadership Award (2025). She previously earned first place in the AIAA Individual Aircraft Design Competition for an unmanned aerial system. Mina aspires to lead autonomy advancements for distributed spacecraft missions such as Starling, Synthetic Aperture Radar, ISR missions at NASA Ames Research Center.
Dr. Tunay Turk
Dr. Tunay Turk is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Saint Louis University, where his research focuses on computational thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) simulations of permafrost soil. He also serves as an instructor for the Mechanics of Solids course. Dr. Turk completed his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology in December 2024. His doctoral research centered on the development and optimization of a novel metal additive manufacturing process known as laser-foil-printing (LFP), involving process optimization, sensor embedding, thermal simulations, and infrared monitoring. Throughout his academic career, Dr. Turk has earned multiple accolades, including the Senior Design Mentorship Award in both 2022 and 2024, and first-place honors for Best Paper/Presentation at the Intelligent Systems Center Annual Research Symposium in 2021 and 2024. During his Ph.D., he served as a graduate teaching assistant for the Mechanical Engineering Senior Design course for six semesters, mentoring a total of 76 senior design students and serving as the lead teaching assistant, overseeing course operations and providing guidance to students and faculty.
Senior Design Mentorship Awardees
Cody Nieters
Cody Nieters is a graduate student in aerospace engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, originally from House Springs, Missouri. A Distinguished Military Graduate and NFCU ROTC All-American finalist, he is currently continuing his military career as a UH-60 Blackhawk flight school student with the Missouri Army National Guard. Cody has gained hands-on industry and technical experience through the Boeing–S&T Cooperative Services Program, a role with AMERICAN SYSTEMS supporting aerospace and defense projects, and graduate work within Missouri S&T’s mechanical and aerospace engineering department. He has also been supported by the Steve & Julie Moss Promise and Opportunity Scholarship and the Dietrich Family Scholarship. After completing flight training and returning to the St. Louis area in 2026, Cody plans to pursue a career with The Boeing Company while continuing his service as a Blackhawk pilot.
Garrett Weiner
Garrett Weiner is a recent graduate in aerospace engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology, originally from Godfrey, Illinois. During his studies, he worked under Dr. Phillip Mulligan performing research in additive manufacturing, ballistics, and energetic systems. Garrett gained hands-on experience with aerospace component manufacturing through an internship with Sandia National Laboratories and his current full-time role as a product engineer at the Kansas City National Security Campus. As a student-athlete, Garrett earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors in 2023 and 2024 and was named to the GLVC’s Baseball Academic All-Conference Team. He recently completed his master’s degree in aerospace engineering and aims to grow his career as a project lead within the defense sector while continuing to expand his technical expertise.