OLIVIER DE WECK: My name is Olivier de Weck. And I'm a professor here at MIT in the AeroAstro Department, also known as the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. And I've been in the department since 2001. And my passion is aerospace vehicle, anything that flies, airplanes, rockets, satellites. And it's been my passion since I was a kid.
So I grew up in Switzerland in the Alps. And the Alps, especially in the wintertime when it's a clear night, are amazing. You look up at the night sky. And you can see the stars. You can see the Milky Way. And as a kid, it really inspired me. I wanted to do something with stars. Initially, I thought I was going to be an astronomer. But then, I really liked building things. And so aviation, rockets, spacecraft really became my passion.
Later, I did my military service. And I worked on planes, flight operations, maintenance, repair, really learning planes in and out, the engines, the hydraulic system, the avionics, working with others and pilots to keep airplanes flying safely. And that really was the origin of my passion for systems engineering.
