Alex Patrick Zimmer is currently a distance learning student in The University of North Dakota’s Space Studies graduate program. Prior to this endeavor, Alex began courses in 2010 at Kettering University, or the old “General Motors Institute”. While there, Alex was fortunate enough to utilize Kettering’s co-op education program, graduating in 2015 with almost three years of full-time engineering work experience, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He completed his mechanical engineering thesis on the topic of creating and developing automotive seat frames out of plastic, instead of the previously used steel. This is an important topic in the automotive industry, as his results proved that a greater level of performance and weight reduction can be achieved with a plastic design.
Alex’s engineering career began at Takata Holdings Incorporated; an automotive safety system manufacturer. In this position, he had the opportunity to spend two years on Takata’s team dedicated to producing safety products for The Ford Motor Company. His responsibilities included analyzation and development of current and prototype seatbelt and airbag systems. In addition, he worked within testing groups to validate and examine how these systems functioned, along with their reliabilities. Following this, Alex obtained an engineering position at ABC Group, which supplies plastic products to various companies, especially those in the automotive field. He still holds this position today, where his responsibilities include development of interior automotive products, such as center consoles and various trim components. In the past, Alex was able to work with the company to obtain funding and guidance for his Kettering University thesis project. Alex’s time at ABC Group thus far has taught him immensely about the types and characteristics of different polymers. In addition, he has learned extensively about the processes and tricks used to mold these plastic materials.
Alex is currently 24 years old and resides in Birmingham, Michigan. Some of his hobbies include modeling and painting kits, attending music concerts, stargazing and astrophotography, restoring and riding motorcycles, maintaining and racing gas powered remote control cars, and playing video games, especially rocket and space simulators. Throughout his whole life, Alex has always shown a keen interest in figuring out how things work; which posed a huge issue for his mother growing up, as she would often walk in on a household appliance being completely disassembled. This interest led him at an early age to the space studies field, where some of the greatest questions to be answered and the largest problems to be solved continue to present themselves to us on a regular basis. In the future, Alex hopes to graduate from The University of North Dakota with a master’s of science in Space Studies and obtain an engineering position at any space-related organization, especially NASA.

University of North Dakota Space Studies courses completed thus far:
• SpSt 501 – Survey of Space Studies I
• SpSt 502 – Survey of Space Studies II
• SpSt 512 – Human Factors in Extreme Environments
• SpSt 542 – Risk Management of Space Organizations
• SpSt 551 – History of the Space Age
• SpSt 570 – Psychology of Extreme Environments
University of North Dakota Space Studies course currently enrolled in:
• SpSt 500 – Introduction to Orbital Mechanics
• SpSt 521 – The Planet Mars
• SpSt 595 – Space Studies Capstone