JULY 28, 2025 — Testing the aerodynamics of rockets in a Mach 7 wind tunnel that emulates the extreme speed of a spacecraft’s descent back to Earth is a highly anticipated assignment among students working in the UTSA Hypersonics Lab.

The task helps to advance the quest for sleeker spacecraft designs and seamless landings. But the rewarding work and fun doesn’t stop there.

Select students also get to work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a multiprogram research laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., managed by a nonprofit entity for the Department of Energy. The lab employs a world-class supercomputer to run simulations and discover whether their modeling of physics matches what’s happening in the wind tunnel.

Kevin Posladek, a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering, began his work in the Hypersonics Lab working under advisor and lab director Christopher Combs, the Dee Howard Endowed Associate Professor in Aerodynamics in the UTSA Department of Mechanical Engineering. He later joined the Graduate Research Program at Oak Ridge.