Kyron Saunders

Kyron Saunders is a 2026-2027 Self Memorial Scholar pursuing a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering. Kyron earned his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Kansas with distinction and departmental honors in 2026, along with the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award from the Aerospace Engineering department in Spring 2026. During his time as an undergraduate at KU, Kyron served as president of the KU chapter of Sigma Gamma Tau, the American Honor Society in Aerospace Engineering, since 2025, and was a manufacturing co-lead for Jayhawk Aero Design (JAD) for the 2025 and 2026 competition years. Kyron was also an Undergraduate Research Fellow from Spring 2025 to Spring 2026, conducting research under Dr. Cheng Huang at the Computational AeroPropulsion Lab (CAPL), where he developed post-processing routines for aerodynamic and combustion CFD simulations. His research was supported by the ARISE program in Spring 2026, and he has been awarded funding through the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) for Fall 2026. Kyron intends to continue his research in computational fluid dynamics with particular emphasis on reduced-order modeling for aerodynamic design applications under Dr. Cheng Huang and Dr. ZJ Wang, and its integration with advanced guidance, navigation, and control systems under Dr. Shawn Keshmiri. After completing his Ph.D., he hopes to contribute to the research and development of high-performance aerospace systems.