Meet AeroFly' s Team



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The Founders

Gordon Niva, Ph.D.

Chief Executive Officer and
Chief System Engineer

Dr. Niva, a former Boeing executive, has nearly four decades of experience in ICBM and missile defense system engineering and was instrumental in managing advanced technology R&D and business ventures generating billions in revenue. He is also the CEO/CTO of mySmartHome, an IoT company specializing in innovative sensor technology, which he and his wife Susan founded in 2012. The company became profitable within three years. Dr. Niva serves as an independent consultant, a member of SDSU's Entrepreneurial Advisory Board, and a mentor to young entrepreneurs. He holds degrees in Engineering Physics, Chemistry, and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics. An SDSU Distinguished Engineer, he retired as a Colonel after 30 years in the Army National Guard. Gordon and Susan are avid runners and trekkers, completing 40 consecutive Los Angeles Marathons, climbing Kilimanjaro and trekking Patagonia.

Marco Ciarcià, Ph.D.

Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer

Dr. Ciarcià is an Associate Professor at Colorado State University, specializing in UAS, robotics, and spacecraft guidance. He earned an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Università degli Studi di Palermo and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University. From 2010 to 2015, he was a National Research Council Fellow, contributing to U.S. Air Force-sponsored spacecraft proximity maneuver projects. Dr. Ciarcià has taught various engineering courses and advised numerous capstone projects focused on electric multirotors. Since 2020, he has been a member of the AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Technical Committee. He secured $150,000 in NASA funding to develop multirotors for human transportation.

Todd Letcher, Ph.D.

Co-founder and Chief Designer

Dr. Letcher, an Associate Professor at South Dakota State University, focuses on additive manufacturing, experimental mechanics, and design thinking. After earning his BS at SDSU and completing his M.S. and PhD at The Ohio State University, he joined SDSU's faculty in 2012. He teaches design-centric courses, overseeing 40-50 student projects annually, and is Associate Director of the South Dakota Space Grant Consortium. Dr. Letcher has led aerospace projects, including NASA challenges, securing $115,000 in prize money with ongoing successes.

Engineering & Technology

AeroFly's team of young talented and motivated engineers is the heartbeat of innovation and excellence. The Team brings  knowledge in the latest technologies, and creativity  with dedication to every challenge.
The team members have proved their powerful collaborative spirit participating, as South Dakota State University Team, to several competitions and challenges, scoring at high levels.  Each member contributes with fresh unique expertise that form a powerful workforce for problem-solving, high fidelity modeling,  and original products manufacturing. They commit fearlessly to turn complex ideas into elegant, practical solutions, always within deadlines. Their work not only drives success, it also inspires everyone around them to aim Ad Astra. 


Liam Murray, M.S.

Business Development Lead
Aero-Mechanical Engineer

Liam received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2025 and he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the same field from SDSU. His research focuses on advanced autonomous control schemes for coupled payload transport on the Moon. He leads AeroFly’s strategic business development, and contributes proficiently on finding partnership initiatives. 
He is an expert of advanced software tools —such as Project CHRONO DEME, ANSYS, MATLAB, and NVIDIA Isaac Sim. He applies this expertise to NASA SBIR-funded research and several competitions and challenges.


Carter Waggoner, M.S.

Aero-Mechanical Engineer

Carter received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2025, specializing in static screw conveyor optimization, from SDSU. He brings extensive experience in mechanical design, fabrication, and manufacturing, having successfully led NASA SBIR-funded projects and participated in numerous NASA lunar design competitions, including the Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, Big Idea Challenge, and RASC-AL. Carter’s expertise spans from 3D CAD modeling in SolidWorks to designing robust, modular mechanical systems suited for challenging environments like the lunar surface.


Allea Klauenberg, B.S.

Aero-Mechanical Engineer

Allea is a Mechanical engineer currently completing her M.S. at SDSU, with graduation expected in Fall 2025. She specializes in ISRU resource extraction, focusing on lunar regolith processing technologies. Allea has contributed to several NASA-funded projects, including the SBIR program, Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, RASC-AL, and NASA Blue Skies. With experience in mechanical design, prototyping, and systems integration, she brings a strong foundation in regolith handling and extraction system development, along with a deep commitment to advancing sustainable space infrastructure. 


Dylan Stephens, M.S.

Aero-Mechanical Engineer

Dylan received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2025 from SDSU where he also will pursue his PhD in the same field. His research, spanning DEM simulations and many-objective genetic-algorithm optimization, supported a Phase I NASA SBIR and participation in multiple NASA rover competitions. He has advised senior design teams and utilized modeling and simulation software including STAR-CCM+, Project CHRONO DEME, ANSYS, MATLAB, SolidWorks, and Creo to bridge high-fidelity modeling with hardware validation. 


Alex Schaar, M.S.

Aero-Mechanical Engineer

Alex received his M.S.  in Mechanical Engineering in 2025 from SDSU, specializing in designing automatic control schemes powered by infrared motion tracking. He brings multiple years of university competition experience, including a 3rd place finish in the 2024 NASA RASC-AL Competition, as well as advised finalist teams from SDSU to the 2025 NASA Blue Skies competition, and the 2025 RASC-AL finals.  

Braxton McGrath

Mechanical Engineer

Braxton is completing his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at SDSU, with graduation expected in Spring 2026. He brings extensive experience in 3D CAD modeling using SolidWorks, as well as in component fabrication and testing. These skills were matured through active, hands-on contributions to team-based university competitions, including 2025 NASA RASC-AL and the Big Idea Challenge, where he collaborated selflessly to develop and refine innovative engineering solutions.

Valued Interns

AeroFly LLC acknowledges the invaluable contributions of our former interns, whose dedication was instrumental in establishing the Lab, building the first aircraft, organizing the office, and flying the early quadrotor prototypes. We would not be where we are today without their efforts.

Rylan Lipetzky

Avionics Engineer & Pilot


We appreciate Rylan's intern services as a rotorcraft engineer and pilot.

Daniel Messerli

Avionics Engineer


We appreciate Daniel's intern services as a rotorcraft and payload engineer.

Information Technology

Anna Pizzolo

IT Manager

Anna brings to AeroFly decades of experience from the ever-evolving world of web technologies. From logistics and banking to tourism and precision agriculture, she has crafted, or helped to craft, software and web tools across a diverse spectrum of industries, platforms and devices. She has worn many hats as a consultant —graphic designer, developer, team leader, Java analyst, project architect, grant-proposal advisor — always with a toolkit full of programming languages and a digital mind wired for building sleek, scalable systems from the ground up.