Simon is a first-year PhD student in the MLDS Lab. He graduated in 2023 with a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and in 2025 with an M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from ISAE-SUPAERO, France. After spending his final master’s semester at UMD completing his thesis, he joined the MLDS Lab to pursue his PhD.

During his bachelor’s studies, Simon specialized in structures and composite materials before developing a strong interest in astrodynamics and machine learning during his master’s, where he worked on trajectory optimization under state uncertainty in the CR3BP. At UMD, his research so far has spanned conformal prediction with PINN-based gravity models, machine learning for characterizing sub-centimeter debris particles from plasma solitons, and deep Koopman methods for finding near-linear representations of motion in the CR3BP. Most recently, he is exploring using joint embedding predictive architecture (JEPA) to predict how uncertainty evolves in dynamical systems, with a focus on astrodynamics applications.

Outside the lab, Simon enjoys outdoor adventures, challenging himself in various sports, traveling, and discovering new cuisines. One of his adventures famously left him stranded at a remote Norwegian bus stop during a rainstorm.