Model Rocket Design
& Flight Testing
Led a Salem High School team through model rocket design, construction, and test flights. Used flight observations to evaluate stability and guide design changes.
Project detailsIowa State University
Clay Watney
Aerospace Engineering & Physics
I'm interested in designing and testing the hardware that makes space missions possible, from instruments that study planetary atmospheres to systems that bring samples home.
Selected work
Model Rocket Design
Spartan Robotics
Team 5724
Tested competition robots with mechanical and electrical teammates. Helped prepare the robot at the 2018 FIRST Championship in Detroit and later led the programming team.
Project detailsEngineering interests
I'm drawn to work where an instrument or a piece of hardware makes a new kind of mission or observation possible.
- Planetary instruments
- Measuring atmospheres, looking for signs of life, and collecting samples that can be studied on Earth.
- Spacecraft and habitats
- Designing and testing hardware for landers, space stations, and habitats, including systems that could use resources on the Moon or Mars.
- Exoplanet observation
- Using space telescopes and starshades to image planets directly and learn about their atmospheres.
About me
I'm an Iowa State undergraduate and a STEM Scholar and First Cyclones Scholar. I came to aerospace through model rocketry and mechatronics, where I got experience building hardware and tracking down problems during testing.
Iowa State University
B.S. Aerospace Engineering, primary degree
B.S. Physics, Standard Physics track
Target graduation: May 2031
Manufacturing Skills Institute
Manufacturing Technician Level 1 (MT1)
Manufacturing Specialist (MS)
Get in touch
I'm looking for summer internships and undergraduate research in spacecraft design, scientific instrumentation, and hardware testing.
claywat@iastate.edu