Lily Coffin

I graduated from Caltech in December 2024 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a focus in Aerospace Engineering. During my time at Caltech, I supplemented my education in mechanical engineering with extracurricular geology research and coursework. In February 2024, I received a $150,000 grant from the NASA BIG Idea Challenge for my original concept for a lunar landing pad alternative called PILLARS, and then managed the project with a team of 40 students. I am looking forward to pursuing more opportunities to study planetary geology and space science in graduate school, with a focus in field geology.

As an undergraduate at Caltech, I participated in Cosmochemistry data research in the lab of Dr. Geoff Blake, geology sample preparation in the Bucholz and Sessions Labs, quantum materials vacuum system engineering with Dr. Joe Falson's lab, and lead an undergraduate research grant for the NASA BIG Idea Challenge under the advisement of Soon Jo Chung. I have developed skills in leadership, teamwork, scientific communication and grant writing, mechanical design, scientific sample preparation and contamination mitigation procedures, data science, python and matlab programming.

I completed a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology. 

Relevant Coursework: Mechanics and Materials, Thermal Science, Fluid Dynamics, Control and Dynamical Systems, Space Engineering, Multidisciplinary Engineering, Applied and Computational Mathematics for the Physical Sciences, Regional Field Geology of the American Southwest, Earth as a Planet