Name: Kris Atkins

UMR connection: Aerospace engineering student, president of the UMR Advanced Aero Vehicle Group

Claim to fame: Helped lead the AAVG to second-place finishes in two national competitions in 2004

Favorite thing about the AAVG: Designing and building something with my own hands and then watching it perform the way it was intended.

The Great American Hero: Neil Armstrong. He was one of the first men to walk on the moon. He’s the man.

Best movie I’ve seen lately: Sin City. It’s pretty funny, well written, and has good actors. It’s different in a good way.

Favorite comfort food: Anything with a lot of sugar normally makes me feel good.

One day I would like to meet ... Jessica Alba. She's hot. Enough said.

So, having a diet named after you just isn’t enough, eh? Kris’s lifelong ambition is “to work for NASA and become head of a major project that somehow significantly improves technology. Maybe I’ll get something named after me.

Favorite motivational quote: “Do it or else.”

Greatest fear: Spiders. Why do we need those things?

Greatest annoyance: Roaches. I wish the spiders and roaches would kill each other

A lot of people don't know that UMR is ... Not a completely dead town. You can find fun if you look hard enough.