SpaceX, Aerospace veteran joins Ole Miss to connect engineering with industry
Darin Van Pelt, a 2001 mechanical engineering graduate, has returned to the University of Mississippi as director of engineering engagement, focusing on industry engagement for the School of Engineering. He’ll also be working closely with the Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME).
Van Pelt spent more than 18 years working in aerospace engineering. Most recently he co-founded ABL Space Systems, a company that develops rockets for the small satellite industry. Before that, he spent nearly a decade with SpaceX, which designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft.
His initial focus will be on enthusing industry about what Ole Miss students and faculty have to offer. In turn, he’ll find out what industry needs from newly hired Ole Miss engineers. He will work to increase the university’s role as a driver of economic development.
Van Pelt wanted to use his experiences in engineering to better connect the university and its students with companies involved in industry, from aerospace innovators to shipbuilders.
“I think the biggest thing I enjoyed in my latter time at SpaceX and when founding ABL was the chance to influence and mentor,” said Van Pelt, a Long Beach native. “The most impressionable point in a young engineer’s time is at school. This position is very enabling – trying to be a connector and creating new opportunities for the engineering students and faculty we have here.”
Dave Puleo, dean of the School of Engineering, highlights that “connecting with industry is important for the School of Engineering and CME to fulfill our missions. We need to prepare engineers and computer scientists to join the 21st-century industrial workforce, develop new technologies that are manufactured for societal benefit and contribute expertise to assist with industry-relevant problems.”
And, finally, Van Pelt is excited about being back in Oxford. “People say, ‘the Ole Miss family and community.’ It’s real. There is a sense of family here, and I’m excited to help it grow.”