Hyperloop at VCU: Meet the Dream Team

Hyperloop at VCU team at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California.
Hyperloop at VCU Team at SpaceX competition in Hawthorne, California

Get to know the leaders of the team that’s making VCU history! Click on each team member's name for more information.

Arthur Chadwick

Year: Rising junior
Major: Mechanical engineering
Team role: President, project manager
Hometown: Powhatan, Virginia
Hyperloop fun fact: Liked 3D printing so much that he also became the team’s 3D printing lead
Personal fun fact: Has always loved the design process and building great teams for projects
Brendan Fisher

Year: Rising junior
Major: Mechanical engineering
Team role: Vice president, mechanical co-lead
Hometown: Short Pump, Virginia
Hyperloop fun fact: Joined Hyperloop to apply classroom theories in a hands-on project
Personal fun fact: Is a Washington Capitals fan
Tyler Brayton

Year: Rising senior
Major: Mechanical engineering
Team role: Pod design lead
Hometown: Glen Allen, Virginia
Hyperloop fun fact: Has been working with five of the team members since he was 14 years old
Personal fun fact: Proud to be a “rabid Ohio State Buckeyes football fan”
Radha Kapadia

Year: Rising junior
Major: Marketing
Team role: Marketing lead
Hometown: Glen Allen, Virginia
Hyperloop fun fact: Everyone assumes she is an engineer
Personal fun fact: Loves to immerse herself in different cultures and so far has been to 26 countries
Samantha Kaputa

Year: Rising junior
Major: Criminal justice
Team role: Treasurer/Fundraising
Hometown: Alexandria, Virginia
Hyperloop fun fact: Is part of the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Hyperloop team
Personal fun fact: Owns a ball python
Jay Khandpur

Year: Rising senior
Major: Mechanical engineering
Team role: Mechanical team member 
Hometown: Vienna, Virginia
Hyperloop fun fact: Always calls Ralphie, the official Hyperloop mascot dog, “Fluffy”
Personal fun fact: Likes to create animations in his free time
Matthew Kozak

Year: Rising junior
Major: Computer engineering
Team role: Controls co-lead (hardware)
Hometown: Chesterfield, Virginia
Hyperloop fun fact: The license plate on his car reads "VCU LOOP"
Personal fun fact: Helps film and edit the award-winning Chalkboard Sessions, which presents mini-concerts at the university’s WVCW radio station.
John Naylor

Year: Rising junior
Major: Computer science
Team role: Controls co-lead (software)
Hometown: Winchester, Virginia
Hyperloop fact: This is his first experience with embedded systems programming
Personal fact: Loves traveling to different universities for hackathons; also does calligraphy in his spare time
Harrison Powers

Year: Rising junior
Major: Accounting
Team role: Fundraising lead
Hometown: Powhatan, Virginia
Hyperloop fun fact: Is already planning the fundraising campaign for next year
Personal fun fact: Until recently, was the sole delivery driver for Powhatan’s Pizza Hut
Partick Welch

Year: Rising senior
Major: Mechanical engineering
Team role: Mechanical co-lead
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
Hyperloop fun fact: Team calls him “Dad”
Personal fun fact: Has one child and another on the way