From Berks to the moon

Matthew Woods, a senior mechanical engineering major who began his studies at Penn State Berks, is part of the Penn State Lunar Lion Team, which is attempting the first-ever University-led mission to the moon.Woods’ role in the Lunar Lions Team is the additive manufacturing lead, working with 3-D printing, an innovation he discovered in the Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Center while he was a student at Penn State Berks.At University Park this past semester, he used a 3-D printer to help construct the Lunar Lion Team's first rocket engine. The team hopes to launch a rocket in 2016 and inspire a new wave of incoming students.For his work on the Lunar Lion Team, Woods received the Boeing Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Junior Award, a recognition given to high achieving mechanical engineering students with an interest in aerospace.The Lunar Lion Team, which signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA and is funded by donations, is competing for the Google LunarX prize, which involves cash awards for successful efforts in robotic space transport.