Scholar Stories: Haughn Views Aerospace, Pole Vaulting as One and the Same
2/21/2018 11:20:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Features
Continuing the popular series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Prairie Farms.
By Austin Turner
Playing with Legos and pretending to be an astronaut were more than just childhood pastimes for Kevin Haughn, a pole vaulter on the University of Michigan men's track and field team. They were the early signs of what ultimately would become his career.
Haughn always had an interest in airplanes and rocket ships, but his interest stemmed further than most children. Now a senior majoring in aerospace engineering, Haughn was never able to throw away these early obsessions.
"My whole family told me to be an engineer because I always excelled in math and I really liked Legos," Haughn recollected. "I decided on aerospace because I have always liked rockets and the idea of being an astronaut. When I went to the Air Zoo as a kid, I was always in awe when seeing the fastest plane ever built. I always wanted to build something like it."
Though it has been many years since Haughn first discovered the Air Zoo in Portage, Michigan -- the city where he is originally from -- he has not forgotten about how mesmerizing it was. His fascination has only increased since he was younger, and he has used these memories to help guide his research at U-M.
"I am actually working on a project right now doing research on the morphing tail of a small avian-inspired UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles)" Haughn explained. "I am working with how the tail will change shape during flight, basically mimicking birds."
It is clear that Haughn's passion for aerospace runs deep, as made clear by his "simple" explanation of his research.
"My design is a plane-form morphing device that widens and narrows, which is a mechanism that birds use for stabilization and in order to perform maneuvers," Haughn explained. "I have already developed an overlapping slats design, which I 3D printed. Soon, I am hoping to put it into a wind tunnel to see how the aerodynamic loading will change up the efficiency of the system."
Got all that?
Haughn's dedication to research does not detract from his focus on pole vaulting. He thinks they go hand-in-hand.
"There is something about flipping upside down and seeing how high in the air I can get that I love about pole vaulting," said Haughn. "I figure if I am going high in the sky in my sport, then I might as well study about being in the sky in school, too."
Interestingly, Haughn might not be the only pole vaulter that sees the correlation between his studies and the sport. Every other pole vaulter on the roster is also enrolled in the School of Engineering, and Haughn has a theory as to why.
"I definitely think there is a link," he explained. "There is obviously a lot of physics that go into vaulting. Shean Conlon [volunteer assistant coach] likes to get in-depth with the technique and the physics behind the vault. He likes having us nerds so he can explain it to us. It makes sense that way because then we can start to think about the movement of energy."
Pole vaulter Kevin Haughn is enrolled in the School of Engineering, and has a passion for aerospace as evidenced by his research into the tails of unmanned aerial vehicles.
The overall similarities between he and his fellow "nerds," in addition to their interest in each other's success, is what makes the team so special.
"We are one of the most supportive teams that I have ever been a part of," he said. "It has come to the point that when I have time outside of class and vaulting, I am still hanging with the pole vault group. Everyone is just really supportive of one another."
The tight bond that he has with his teammates is also what keeps him positive even when trying to balance a busy academic and athletic schedule.
"We are such a tight-knit group that the time I spend here is my favorite time of the day," Haughn said. "It is kind of my release. Sure, I spend a lot of time studying, as well, but I never find myself feeling like I need an outlet somewhere else. Pole vaulting is enough of an outlet for me."
Haughn was recently accepted into the Ph.D. program at U-M, where he plans to continue to do aerospace research after graduation. As for what happens after, Haughn has bigger plans.
"I come from a family of teachers, so I was initially thinking of going down the road of teaching," he explained. "Once I came to college, I started to think I would want to be a professor, and that is where I found the Ph.D. route. I would love to be a professor at a university someday. But maybe not until after going to space, because that would be really cool."
No matter what Haughn plans to do next, the sky is the limit.
Or in this case, outer space may be the limit.
Players Mentioned
