My name is Benjamin Murkis. A senior at Livingston High School (NJ), I built my first rocket when I was 8. It never made it off the ground, but my passion for rockets did. Since then, my skills have improved significantly! Today, I am the Co-Captain of the Livingston High School Rocketry Team. We participate in the American Rocketry Challenge every year.

Since discovering rockets, I've turned my home into a launch pad. I have designed, built, and flown countless high-power rockets, from two-stage to dual-deployment capable rockets. I also designed and produced my own rocket motor. It was made with PVC pipes and packed with fuel whose chemical formula I devised. 

In order to make my rockets go higher and faster, I am always taking classes and working with new building partners. So far, the most helpful classes I've taken outside of school have been Robotics through Columbia's SHAPE summer engineering program, the Johns Hopkins CTY Aerospace Engineering summer program, and Introduction to Engineering at Embry-Riddle. Through my personal rocketry projects I have also achieved the bronze, silver, and gold levels of the National Association of Rocketry's NARTREK rocket engineering program, as well as an associate certificate from the Onshape CAD platform. 

In the future, I would like to be an Aerospace Engineer pioneering the low-emission fuels and propulsion systems critical to environmental sustainability and expanding space travel.  I'm currently creating a hybrid rocket engine that will be more powerful and efficient than my previous solid fuel motors.

Rocketry is the ultimate team activity. It takes countless kinds of different expertise to put humans into space. That is why I am dedicated to growing the Rocketry community. 

Please take the time to read my projects page. I'd love to hear your ideas. I hope you will pay attention to the events page I've created, I hope to see you at one of our gatherings. I hope you will reach out to me with any questions or messages.

Thank you so much for reading!