Meet the Team

Brent Utter
Faculty Advisor

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Hometown: Burlington, VT

Engineering Interests: Smart Materials, Design, Mechatronics

When not teaching students modern Design Optimization or studying novel applications of Shape Memory Polymers with his thesis students, Professor Utter can often be found shredding new trails while mountain biking at the slopes of his local parks.

Lafayette Page
Benjamin Gersten
Website Manager, Designer

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Hometown: Fremont, CA

Engineering Interests: Robotics, Prosthetics, Auto mechanics

When not debating philosophy with his peers, you can often find Benjamin at home by the ocean sailing, surfing, or practicing his photography. Other times, he'll often be at the gym rock climbing or in the kitchen perfecting new recipes for friends and family.

LinkedIn Page
Rithika Raghav
Facilitator, Designer

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Hometown: Princeton, NJ

Engineering Interests: Materials Science, Product Management

Rithika continuously aspires to bridge the gap between customers and engineers to deliver inclusive and life-changing products for all. Outside of this, you can often find her listening to podcasts, traveling, or taking long walks.

LinkedIn page
Jem Baker
Process Validation, Designer

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Hometown: Bloomsburg, PA

Engineering Interests: Design, Controls Systems

Jem's main hobby is sitting down, which he accomplishes in two ways: the classic choice of at his desk playing videogames or watching movies, and also the infinitely more fun and rewarding seat of a whitewater kayak. Jem also enjoys cooking, eating, lifting, and occasionally snowboarding.

Maddie Barto
Team Coordinator, Designer

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Hometown: Camp Hill, PA

Engineering Interests: Mechatronics, Hydrodynamics, System Modelling

Most of the time Maddie's schedule is packed with her Leadership Education Internship, leading community discussions as a peer mentor in Pards Against Sexual Assault, or rowing up the Lehigh River as the President of the Crew team. In her rare free time she is listening to her carefully crafted playlists while cooking or is finding any excuse to spend time outside.

Jake Schwartz
Budgeting, Designer

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Hometown: Port Washington, NY

Engineering Interests: Robotics, Design, System Modelling

Apart from studying at college, Jake loves to explore the cities around him while having fun and socializing with his friends. When he's looking for something mellow, he likes binge-watching movies and playing video games on his PC.  He also is on a quest for the best cup of tea (and typically has some during our design meetings).

Kyle Goodwill
Scheduler, Designer

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Hometown: Gainesville, VA

Engineering Interests: CNC Machining, Transportation Systems, Dynamics

With his artistic mind, Kyle often spends his free time on the Lafayette quad and around his local parks drawing on his sketchbook, choosing both to practice landscape studies or purely drawing from his imagination. At other times, he puts his energy into breaking Personal Records with the Lafayette Swim Team and competing with his friends.

Oscar Jopp
Logo Artist, Designer

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Hometown: Baldock, UK

Engineering Interests: Aeronautics, Mechatronics, Manufacturing, Testing

Oscar, living life in the fast lane, can often be found biking around campus or participating with the Track & Field team. Fueling his creative mind, he takes time to relax and find inspiration by traveling and practicing his photography and astronomy. Once inspired, he returns home to compose new music or meet with friends to create the next popular App. 

LinkedIn Page
Eric Kraushaar
Process Validation, Designer

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Hometown: Suffern, NY

Engineering Interests: Robotics, Mechanical Design

With his inquisitive nature, Eric spends a lot of time traveling locally and abroad. He loves to push himself in skiing black diamonds and improving his tennis game. At home, Eric periodically entertains his roommates with his piano skills.

Keegan Martin
Facilitator, Designer

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Hometown: Cranford, NJ

Engineering Interests: Manufacturing, Prototyping, Teamwork

Always full of energy, Keegan loves to hike in his local wilderness to find new camping spots. He is always ready to provide some comedic relief and light-hearted spirit to his friends with his endless stream of jokes and general "tom-foolery."

Will Murphy
Idea Generation, Designer

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Hometown: Pasadena, CA

Engineering Interests: Material Sciences

Will has an intense imagination, making him always excited to discuss science fiction with his friends. He often shrouds himself late at night in reading related books, online research, and the black hole of YouTube playlists.

José Pincay
Support, Designer

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Hometown: Bronx, NY

Engineering Interests: Manufacturing Processes and Optimization

José spends most of his time out at the sports fields, competing with his peers and pushing himself to new limits every day. When it rains or when he needs to relax, he can often be found playing video games with his friends instead.

Dennis Tanner
Idea Generation, Designer

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Hometown: North Chicago, IL

Engineering Interests: Flight, Biomimicry

Dennis has an unrivaled passion for flight, often taking him to the field to experiment with RC planes. When not practicing flying, he can often be found doing research on flight mechanics or playing video games. Whenever he has spare energy after that, he'll challenge some friends to a game of volleyball.