Dr. Pernicka graduated in 1990 with his Ph.D. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue. After graduating he joined the San Jose State University as an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering. During the summers of 1991 and 1992, he worked as a member of the technical staff at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. In 1996, he became the Director for Project Spartnik at San Jose State University and continued leading that project until he left the university in 2001. Beginning in 2001 he was employed by Missouri S&T (then UMR) as an Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering where he founded the Space Systems Engineering Laboratory. His research interests include astrodynamics, orbital mechanics, spacecraft design, satellite attitude dynamics, dynamics and controls. His courses include AE 3613, AE 5614, AE 6614 and the AE 4790/4791 senior design course sequence.

Mitch is a Senior Research Electronics Technician with the Missouri S&T Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department. He provides electronics and software design support to any research project within the department which requests it.