Eric Dollinger will complete his degree in Electrical Engineering at University of Notre Dame in May 2020. As a member of the Notre Dame Rocket Team, Eric has been putting his skills to work by perfecting the rocket’s air braking payload. In 2018, the team placed 10th out of 60 university teams and won the Educational Outreach Award in the NASA Student Launch Competition.
Eric reports on his work with the rocket team, “In my junior year, I served as a design team lead, while this year I serve as Vice Captain and work as a member of the payload team for my senior design project. This year’s payload goal is to design a payload vehicle to exit the rocket after landing and retrieve a ground sample similar to the way Mars rovers would collect samples. We’ll have test launches throughout the spring leading up to a trip to Huntsville Alabama in April.”
“The Rocket Team has also provided a lot of professional growth through mentor programs with alumni and corporate sponsors at companies such as Boeing and UTC, and has also allowed me to grow as a mentor by serving as a lead and participating in educational events we host at local Boys and Girls Clubs for example,” Eric adds.
During his time at college, Eric has completed two internships. In the summer of 2018, he interned with Procter and Gamble in Cincinnati working on manufacturing improvements for their paper products—Bounty, Charmin, and Puffs. In the summer of 2019, he interned with GE Aviation in Grand Rapids where he worked on test development for flight computers.
Eric recently accepted a position with Boeing in Seattle, Washington, where he will be working on electrical power and motor control systems. “The role will focus on product development for new commercial planes yet to be announced as well as rotations in manufacturing support. The position is a great fit for my interests and will allow me to rotate early in my career, as well as continue to serve as a mentor to the ND Rocket Team through Boeing’s sponsorship of the team,” Eric explains.
“It’s pretty cool that my position will be focused a lot on control systems which directly relates to my GFF program working in a controls lab for the summer, which really puts into perspective how much experiences like the GFF program can help form interests and skills early on that can shape career paths like mine,” Eric adds.
We are excited for Eric and wish him much success at Boeing!