Matthew R. Voigt

I’m a graduate student at the University of North Dakota (UND),
pursuing a Master of Science (M.S.) in Space Studies.  I have a
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Physics from UND and I’m currently
studying X-ray Bright Points (XBP) in the corona of the Sun by using
data from the Hinode spacecraft.

Some of the projects I've been apart of include: building rockets of
various different sizes for science and competitions.  I was the team
lead for a suborbital rocket payload that flew to an altitude of 117
km out of Wallops Flight Facility.  I’ve also been competing a NASA
competition called the University Student Launch Initiative (USLI).
As part of my Graduate Research Assistant-ship (aka how I get paid!) I
operate the University’s observatory.  We have three optical
telescopes and one radio dish.

I’m 25 years old with only about a year’s experience in online
simRacing.  iRacing is my first ‘racing’ experience, and I’m loving
every bit of it.  I’m no stranger to competing online in games.  I
played at a world-wide competitive level in a game called “Team
Fortress Classic “ (TFC for short) for nearly eight years.  My
competitive nature surely has rolled over into iRacing as I raced
towards a third (tied) place finish in the IMVA Formula Mazda league’s
inaugural season.

I’m currently teaching an introduction Space Studies class for
undergraduate students called “Introduction to Space Studies.”  I
spend roughly 6-7 hours for every lecture, preparing and developing
the lectures.  My first semester of was this last Spring (2010) and
I’m just now wrapping up the Fall (2010) semester.  My goal is to find
a faculty position at a four year university where I can conduct solar
research and build rockets but in the same time, focus on education in
the science field.