Featured Biographies

Samuel Michael Renz

University of Maryland

Samuel (Sam) Renz is a first-year M.S. student in the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center under the guidance of Dr. Inderjit Chopra. Sam received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland in 2025. Sam participated in the 42nd Annual Student Design Competition and led the UMD undergraduate team's winning design, Draco. Sam's current research project is in the development and testing of a manned solar-powered quadrotor helicopter, called Solar Gamera, facilitating student engagement in vertical flight design challenges. This summer, Sam will shift gears toward experimental research of the compound helicopter configuration to study its performance at high speeds. After graduate school, Sam wants to work on structural design in the rotorcraft or wind energy industries, and down the line, Sam wants to work in academia, advising research and teaching students.