Finding a place in Australia’s centre for space
Allan Dias was born in Brazil and, after his father received a job offer, he found himself moving to China during high school.
With a fascination for flight and a knock-back from the Brazilian Air Force, Allan had to really consider his future career path.
“I was looking for an opportunity to explore my passion for flying while also being able to interact with other international students,” said Allan. “Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics was just that place.”
Studying a Bachelor of Aircraft Design and Engineering, Allan graduated with a thesis in Computational Aerodynamic Optimisation. And, just as rewarding, he met his now wife during the course.
With the couple both working in the industry, together they looked to the opportunities available to them to decide what was next.
Allan reflected, “While there are lots of possibilities for foreigners in China, it was important for us to think about where we wanted to contribute and develop our skills. We considered the US, but the growing industry in Australia really appealed to us. We wanted to participate in the evolving space industry and grow with it.”
Growth is important to Allan. After landing in Australia in 2019, he took on a master’s degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Adelaide and developed rockets for Jarmyn Enterprise Space (JES).
Soon after completion of his degree, he, and his wife, joined ATSpace at the same time, with Allan working as an Aerospace Propulsion Engineer.
Of his role at ATSpace, Allan offered, “My day-to-day depended on which phase a project may have been in. It might have been brainstorming ideas for a concept, or drafting, coding, prototyping, assembling or modelling rocket trajectories.”
Passionate about the space industry and the opportunities it provides, Allan was asked what advice he would share with others considering the industry.
“Adelaide is really the centre of space in Australia. There is a growing base industry here and it’s so amazing to be able to grow with it,” he said.
“Aerospace is a big field and there is a diverse range of paths available to anyone that is considering it,” added Allan. “For many people, I think space can feel very intimidating, especially when there are companies doing incredible work right in your backyard, like atomic energy and plasma propulsion. But there are so many opportunities and it’s more accessible than many people think.”
With growth in his sights again, and proof that the space industry in Adelaide can provide that opportunity, Allan recently joined entX Limited as a Space Systems and Design Engineer. His new role sees him working on designing and qualifying a radioisotope heating unit that’s targeted for use in lunar and deep space missions.
While that sounds like no mean feat, Allan laughed as he said, “Sometimes space and defence can sound scary, but the work we do is for the greater good and about connectivity. Keep your eyes out for the opportunities because there really is space for everyone in space.”
