Joseph Martino — Aerospace Engineer

BUILDING

I work onHybrid Rockets

Remus on Ostia — static fire, simulated

About

Engineer & Builder

I'm Joseph, an aerospace engineering student at Georgia Tech. I build hardware: rocket motors, the stands that hold them, and drones.

In 2024 I founded NEAL Aerospace. It's now a 15-person team with $30,000 in backing, a hybrid motor in development, and a static-fire stand we designed and built. I'm president and propulsion lead: the injector, the nozzle, the feed path, and the analysis that says they hold.

I'm on the hardware team of Artificial Intelligence in Aerospace, a 25+ engineer organization building the Voron autonomous drone. My part is the airframe and the mesh network the drones talk over.

Technologies

SolidWorksAnsys (FEA / Fluent)MATLABSimulinkPythonNumPy / SciPyLabVIEWGD&TRF / Mesh Networking
$30k+
Funding Secured
15
Engineers Led
Dec 2027
Graduating
The Exhibition

Selected Work

Three builds, documented the way they happened: the reasoning, the trade-offs, and what each one taught me.

Photorealistic render of the Remus hybrid motor: 316 stainless combustion chamber, graphite nozzle and bolted injector flange
Exhibit 01In Development

Remus

A nitrous-fed hybrid motor built around a 3D-printed fuel grain, made to be fired and understood.

MATLAB · Ansys Fluent · P&ID

Read the project
Photorealistic render of Remus mounted on the Ostia static-fire stand: motor in its clamp on a linear rail, thrust plate and gusseted base
Exhibit 02Built & Validated

Ostia

The modular static-fire stand that holds the motor, takes its thrust, and records the burn.

SolidWorks · Ansys Workbench · DAQ

Read the project
Photorealistic render of the AIA quadrotor: carbon fuselage, four rotors, three-axis gimbal camera and landing gear
Exhibit 03In Development

Voron

An autonomous drone system built end to end, from airframe and digital twin to the policy that flies it.

RL · Digital Twins · EO/IR · Mesh Networking

Read the project

Experience

Leadership and hardware roles across propulsion and autonomous systems at Georgia Tech.

2024

NEAL Aerospace

Founder / President & Propulsion Lead

Atlanta, GA · 2024 – Present

A few students who wanted to build a rocket became a 15-person engineering organization with $30,000 in funding and vendor support that I secured. As president I run the program. As propulsion lead I own the motor's injector, nozzle and feed path: design, CFD and FEA, and the static-fire test requirements.

  • Injector, nozzle & feed-system design, CFD/FEA
  • Program leadership, funding & vendor relations
  • Static-fire test requirements

2026

AI in Aerospace

Hardware & Mesh Networking

Artificial Intelligence in Aerospace · 2026 – Present

A new student organization of 25+ engineers building the Voron drone: real airframes, digital twins, reinforcement learning, EO/IR perception, and mesh-networked flight. I'm on the hardware team, building the airframes and the wireless mesh that links them.

  • Voron autonomous drone program, 25+ engineers
  • Airframe design, build & integration
  • EO/IR sensor & flight hardware integration
  • Radio comms & self-healing mesh network

2027

Education

BS Aerospace Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology · December 2027

Expertise

Skills

A hands-on toolkit spanning design, simulation, propulsion, and software: from CAD models to static-fire test data.

  • CAD & Design

    SolidWorks part & assembly design, GD&T, and design for manufacturing.

  • Simulation & Analysis

    Ansys FEA & Fluent, CFD, and MATLAB / Simulink modeling and trade studies.

  • Propulsion Hardware

    Pressure vessels, nozzle retention, injector plates, hydrostatic testing, and PDR/CDR.

  • Software

    Python, NumPy, and SciPy for sizing models, data reduction, and test analysis.

  • Test & Instrumentation

    LabVIEW, DAQ, load cells, thermocouples, test planning, and V&V.

  • Manufacturing

    CNC machining, lathe, waterjet, and 3D printing for rapid fabrication.