ProtoPod

Recorded live at IREC 2026, this episode of ProtoPod features Roberto Rodriguez of Blue Origin and Joshua Kaufman of Mercury Space Systems for a conversation about aerospace careers, hands-on engineering, and life after university.   YouTube version: https://youtu.be/tRp4NKAc6mo  

Today, we’re joined by Adam Trumpour, founder of Launch Canada, the organization behind Canada’s biggest student rocketry competition.   Adam’s spent years in propulsion and aerospace engineering, and now he’s helping build a pipeline of engineers who are learning rocket science by actually launching rockets.

In this episode of the ProtoPod, Jordan sits down with Paul Ziadé, Co-Founder and CEO of North Vector Dynamics, a Canadian aerospace and defense technology company building next-generation capabilities in areas like counter-drone systems, air defense, autonomy and hypersonic technologies.   Paul shares his journey from academia into the fast-moving world of defense tech, and offers a candid look a...

Today on the ProtoPod, we’re joined by Kevin Sloan, Director of the University Rover Challenge. For nearly two decades, Kevin has helped build one of the most impactful hands-on engineering competitions in the world. For more information on this year's competition, visit: https://urc.marssociety.org/ For more information on ProtoSpace Mfg, visit: https://protospacemfg.com/  

Today on the ProtoPod, we’re joined by Ashton Meginnis, Head of Space Systems at AstroForge. AstroForge is a startup focused on building spacecraft to chase down asteroids—and ultimately mine them.   To learn more about AstroForge: https://www.astroforge.com/ To learn more about Protocase & ProtoSpace Mfg: https://www.protocase.com/   & https://protospacemfg.com/  

In this episode, we’re joined by Jim York from Elliott Machinery to talk about metrology, GD&T, and why so many engineering drawings break down in the real world.  

Today on the ProtoPod, we’re joined by Fernando Romero — a turbomachinery repair engineer at Sulzer, co-founder of Iron Age Audioworks, and the mind behind All About Turbo. Fernando lives in the real world of keeping critical machines alive — and he’s also the kind of engineer who goes home and builds beautiful hardware for music studio.

On today's episode, we’re joined by Karthik Gollapudi, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sift.   Sift is building the telemetry backbone for mission-critical systems — helping aerospace, robotics, and defense companies make sense of massive streams of real-world data.   We’ll talk about innovation at the intersection of software and hardware — and what it takes to build infrastructure for...

On today's episode, we’re joined by Dave McQuinn from Allen-Vanguard.   Dave has spent nearly two decades developing technologies designed to stop improvised explosive devices and protect people in some of the most challenging environments in the world.   We’ll talk about engineering under pressure, rapid innovation in the field, and what it takes to design systems that literally save lives.

In this episode, we’re joined by Jarrod Barker, founder of RealSimGear. Jarrod started the company while training for his private pilot’s license, frustrated by the gap between great flight sim software and unrealistic hardware. What began as a personal project has grown into a global brand bringing realistic avionics hardware to pilots everywhere. To learn more about RealSimGear, head to their we...

In this episode, we’re joined by Caleb Vainikka, founder of Cove Design.   Caleb helps startups turn ideas into manufacturable hardware — and he’s outspoken about the difference between ‘just a CAD model’ and real engineering.   We’ll talk about bias toward action, sketching as a superpower, and what it really takes to design products that can actually be built.”

Today on the ProtoPod, we’re joined by Jim Jarvis, the Range Safety Officer for the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association and the International Rocket Engineering Competition. Jim plays a critical role at IREC — overseeing safety on the range and helping ensure that hundreds of student-built rockets can fly safely, successfully, and responsibly.

What happens when artificial intelligence moves beyond generating pixels and starts understanding physics? In this episode, we sit down with Steven Gay (CEO) and Jakub Cech (CTO), the co-founders of Mode Maison. Operating as an independent research lab, Mode Maison is at the bleeding edge of physics-based simulation, material science, and AI. They aren’t just building better visuals—they are devel...

When a company hits the $5M to $50M growth phase, tacit knowledge and fragmented systems become the ultimate anchors. Issac Hicks, founder of Autonomi, joins the ProtoPod this week to discuss how to bridge the gap between complex operations and intelligent automation.   We dive deep into the "build vs. buy" dilemma, the danger of automating undefined processes, and how Issac’s background in aerona...

On this episode of ProtoPod, host Jordan Rose welcomes Richard Sumnall, Founder of RackFalcon and a veteran of global security leadership. With 20 years of experience across Europe and North America — including senior roles at Cloudflare, Palo Alto Networks, and Uber — Richard shares deep insights into physical security, privacy-first technology, and what it really takes to protect critical infras...

In today's episode, Jordan is joined in-studio by longtime friend and colleague Brett Kelly — Technical Director at 45Drives and one of the key architects behind 45Drives' open-source storage platforms. Brett’s been instrumental in shaping the Storinator and Stornado lineup of storage products, the Direct-Wired Architecture, and the company’s approach to high-performance, open-source storage. Jord...

This episode of ProtoPod features Eric Turkington, Chief Product Officer at Rain Stella Technologies, joining us from Abu Dhabi to discuss how RST is transforming healthcare across the Middle East & Africa. Eric shares how Rain Technology and Stella Technology merged to form a unified platform delivering voice-enabled AI, EMR solutions, health information exchange, and surgical workflow automa...

On this episode of The ProtoPod, we’re joined by Joe Cavazos — embedded electronics designer, spacecraft avionics architect, and founder of HoustonMicro. With nearly 40 years across NASA, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, and more, Joe has helped build avionics and FPGA systems for the Orion spacecraft, ISS communications, and mission-critical test equipment. Joe shares how he approaches complex hardwar...

In this episode of The Protopod, we sit down with David Hagan, founder and CEO of QuantAQ, the company transforming air quality monitoring with high-accuracy, Internet-connected instruments designed to be affordable, scalable, and reliable. David shares how he launched QuantAQ straight out of his MIT PhD, why starting with scientific rigor sets his team apart, and how rapid iteration has fueled th...

Today’s guest is Tom Mikolyuk, Mechanical Engineer and early team member at Chiplytics, a Seattle-based startup that’s making the world’s electronics safer by testing chips using a groundbreaking technology called Power Spectrum Analysis. Tom joined Chiplytics as their very first intern — and went on to become their first full-time hire. Since then, he’s helped lead hardware development, product d...

In this episode, we’re joined by Jason Sicotte — Vice President of Global Product and Engineering for AMFT. Jason has spent more than three decades driving innovation in materials science, spring technologies, and product design across automotive, aerospace, and industrial sectors. We’ll talk about how AMFT is engineering resilience into their supply chain, what ‘global yet local’ manufacturing lo...

Today on the ProtoPod, we’re excited to welcome two student leaders from UGA Rocketry — Brooklyn Schnupp and Parsa Novin. As part of the University of Georgia’s student rocketry team, Brooklyn and Parsa competed in the International Rocket Engineering Competition earlier this year, which is the world’s largest intercollegiate rocket event. They’ll be sharing what it’s like to lead a student rocket...

On today's episode, we have Gladys Wong, co-founder of Domatic, a company reinventing how buildings are wired and smart systems deployed. Gladys leads the strategic vision, making smart buildings easier, safer, and more efficient. Also joining us is Josh Horne, Domatic’s technical and hardware lead, who takes the vision and makes it real in the field. Between them, they’ll unpack how Domatic combi...

On this episode, we’re joined by Olivier Lamarre, a Ph. D. student at the University of Toronto’s STARS Laboratory, where he focuses on advancing planetary rover autonomy. Olivier has collaborated with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and co-founded the McGill Robotics Mars Rover Team, leading them to multiple podium finishes at international competitions. This month, he is joining our friends at...

In this episode, Jordan chats with Fred Schenkelberg, an internationally recognized authority in the field of reliability engineering. Fred is the founder of FMS Reliability , where he works with organizations around the world to reduce product risk and boost reliability through smarter design and testing. He’s also behind Accendo Reliability , an online learning platform for reliability professio...