Lou Wood is a Ph.D. student in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, working in the BTZ Combustion Lab. Lou studied as an undergraduate in the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Their research experience includes implementing neural-network based computer vision for tactile robotic grippers at MIT CSAIL and testing bio-inspired micro-UAV models with RUASRT in Melbourne, Australia. At MIT, they were heavily involved in the Solar Electric Vehicle Team, which designs and races street-legal high-efficiency electric passenger vehicles across the US. Lou enjoys getting their hands dirty making parts in the garage or machine shop and used their experience to co-lead a class teaching students in Bahrain engineering principles and manufacturing through an MIT international science and technology initiative.

Lou has interned at the launch start-ups Stoke Space and Relativity Space, working as a design engineer on engine development programs for reusable rockets. They hope to deepen their understanding of the fundamental phenomena underlying propulsion and power systems through their Ph.D. studies to bring more efficient and clean combustion systems into reality.

Outside of academic and professional life, Lou enjoys hiking, rock climbing, spinning fire, and improvisational cooking. They have a personal goal of trying to learn various craft skills, so far including blacksmithing and embroidery. Lou is excited to connect with and learn from entirely new communities at Georgia Tech and in Atlanta.