Next semester, a rocket club will be added to the long list of clubs the University of Rhode Island offers to cater to the interests of its students.
Joseph Jacobs, sophomore mechanical engineer and German major, has been working this past semester to get the club on its feet.
“We’ve been recognized by the senate, and right now I just have to get the financials done,†Jacobs said. “My goal for this semester is to get the financial stuff done, find an area to work, and get the group information updated on the website. So then next semester I can really have the group take off.â€
Once all the paperwork is filed, Jacobs plans to have a club where anybody can come to build rockets and launch them off on the weekends. He hopes to eventually start entering the rockets in competitions around the area.
Jacobs said he had always had an interest in rockets, eventually wanting to specialize in it in his career with an idea for doing aeronautical down the road. This interest and the future in rockets have led him to try and begin the club.
“I took a class in high school, aeronautics, and I’ve always been interested by it, NASA and space travel,†Jacobs said. “When I saw October Sky, I really got into it. And I started to watch documentaries. When I looked at the club programs, no rocket club was available and last semester my buddy was like why don’t you start a club so that’s what happened.â€
To join the club, you do not have to have any prior knowledge of rockets or even understand them. Of the current 21 members, some are engineers, including a Ph.D. student, but there are also many people from different disciplines. Â
Jacobs said he hopes this club will teach a lot of people the basics of rocketry and make them realize it may be something they want to do in the future.
To get in contact with Jacobs and the rocket club, email [email protected].