ESP Biography



DANIEL KOLANO, Columbia sophomore studying Mech E and CS




Major: Computer Science/Mech Eng.

College/Employer: Columbia University

Year of Graduation: 2021

Picture of Daniel Kolano

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I like rockets. More specifically I like rocket engines since they make big fireballs. I am currently the chief engineer for Columbia Rocketry and last year I designed, built, and tested a 400 lbf nitrous-oxide/paraffin wax hybrid rocket engine. I am currently working on designing a small regeneratively cooled liquid rocket engine and working on a new, bigger and better hybrid engine for the Columbia Rocketry program. I look forward to sharing my enthusiasm for rocket engines with all of you.



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

E747: Intro to Rocket Propulsion in Splash Fall 2018 (Oct. 28, 2018)
From the first Saturn V to the recent launch of the Falcon Heavy, people have always been awed by the enormous fireballs that propel these massive structures into space. In this class we'll be going over the the science and engineering that goes into the design of these rocket engines. The first half of class will be devoted to understanding the physical design of rocket engines, including the various types of rocket engines, turbopump cycles, cooling systems, propellant choice, nozzles, injectors, tanking systems, and more. The second half will be devoted to the physics and thus mathematics that are essential to the design of rocket engines. Depending on the class' interests, we may go over topics such as de Laval nozzle flow, the full engine thrust equation, combustion chamber cooling, injector dynamics, and more.