Matt Petersen has been interested in space since he was a child. He likes to tell people he saw the landing on the moon, but he was only three at the time it occurred so he does not remember much. He decided after his first semester in college that he wanted to change majors from Computer Engineering to Mechanical Engineering where he moved from Milwaukee following a professor to the University of Alabama in Huntsville to pursue the dream of working in the space industry. After graduation, he began work for a NASA subcontractor, on Shuttle payloads as a mass properties engineer. When the Shuttle contract expired, Matt moved to Wichita, Kansas to pursue aerospace engineering. After receiving his MBA there, he moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma where he worked as an engineer specializing in thrust reversers and engine nacelles. He held Cubmaster positions for a local Cub Scout Pack and where he currently mentoring students in STEM programs. Matt resides in Tulsa with his wife and two children. He is an avid reader of science fiction.