I'm Declan — a first-year Electrical Engineering student at the University of Cape Town, with a track record of building things that actually fly.
I led a team of seven to design, build, and program a student payload currently on a month-long mission aboard the International Space Station. Before that: a suborbital rocket payload, two high-altitude balloon launches, a thermoacoustic engine, and a satellite ground station — all before finishing high school.
I've represented South Africa at two international physics tournaments (IYPT in Sweden, Hellenic YPT in Greece), won multiple Eskom Expo gold medals, and hold a licensed amateur radio callsign: ZS1DEX.
My work sits at the intersection of embedded systems, space hardware, and experimental physics. I write firmware, solder boards, crunch data, and occasionally send things to space.
University of Cape Town (UCT) — BSc(Eng) Electrical Engineering, 2026–2029 (Expected). First-year student pursuing a professional degree in Electrical Engineering.
Parklands College High School — National Senior Certificate, 2020–2025. Graduated with 7 Distinctions including Physical Sciences, Digital Electronics, Information Technology, and Pure Mathematics. Completed IEB Further Studies Mathematics and Further Studies Physics.
Led the design, construction, and programming of a student-developed payload selected for a month-long mission aboard the International Space Station. The payload conducts a vibrational analysis experiment aimed at predictive maintenance for systems in space — monitoring structural vibration signatures to detect early-stage mechanical anomalies before failure occurs. Managed the full project lifecycle: schedules, system integration, verification testing, and compliance with stringent spaceflight requirements. Led a team of seven students through design review cycles and pre-flight qualification.
Led a team designing and programming a payload for a NASA-operated high-altitude balloon mission (2025) aimed at validating vibrational analysis techniques ahead of the ISS mission, then collected and analysed in-flight vibration data across ascent, float, and descent phases, comparing algorithms for sensitivity, noise tolerance, and computational overhead. This built on an earlier solo-built payload flown on a NASA-operated balloon in 2023, built around MaxIQ chips, operating under extreme cold, low pressure, and intense UV radiation.
Led the South African team at the International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT) in Lund, Sweden. Designed and constructed a precision mechanical system demonstrating how anisotropic frictional forces and rotational inertia produce net vertical displacement of a magnet on a spinning rod. Subsequently appointed as a juror for the South African Young Physicists' Tournament (SAYPT).
Experimentally investigated the Zeeman effect using a low-pressure sodium lamp within a strong external magnetic field. Represented South Africa at the Hellenic Young Physicists' Tournament, achieving a Top 3 overall placement. Awarded a Gold Medal and Mayor's Award at Eskom Science Expo, an International Silver Medal at the Hellenic Young Physicists' Tournament, and a R40,000 Wits University Electrical Engineering Bursary.
Programmed and deployed a TinyGS ground station — part of a global network of amateur LoRa receivers that decode telemetry from small satellites. Designed and installed a custom radio antenna system optimised for the TinyGS constellation's communication bands.
Designed, built, and tested a thermoacoustic engine converting thermal gradients into acoustic power with no moving mechanical parts. Awarded Best in Category, Gold Medal, and the PERT Award at Eskom Science Expo.
Designed, built, programmed, and flight-qualified a scientific payload for the Phoenix 1C suborbital sounding rocket, instrumented with accelerometers, temperature sensors, and humidity sensors. Conducted the launch at Arniston test range and performed post-flight data analysis to reconstruct flight dynamics.
Languages: C/C++ (primary), Python, Zephyr, MATLAB, Delphi, x86 assembly, RISC-V.
Embedded systems platforms: ESP32, Arduino, Nordic nRF series. Embedded systems skills: RTOS fundamentals, IoT systems, I2C/UART/SPI communication protocols, embedded systems architecture, sensor integration.
Data & analysis: NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, MATLAB, SDL2 for custom visualisations.
Tools & workflow: Git & GitHub, PlatformIO, Microsoft Suite, Google Suite.
Email: declan@declansaul.com. Location: Cape Town, South Africa. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/declansaul.
Open to embedded systems & hardware projects, space/aerospace engineering opportunities, research collaborations, and interesting builds and experiments.