Chip Bollendonk (MechEngr'17, MS'17)
2026 Alumni Engagement Medal Recipient
Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering Recipient
Chip Bollendonk graduated from CU Boulder in 2017 with his BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering and a minor in leadership. He works at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at CU Boulder, where he designs and builds spaceflight instruments to enable cutting-edge space, earth and climate science. Prior to his time at LASP, Bollendonk worked in consulting and contributed to various missions including United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan, Blue Origin’s New Glenn and Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser. He is a passionate CU Boulder alum and previously served on the CU Alumni Association Board of Advisors, in addition to mentoring senior design teams for many years. Most recently, Bollendonk has joined the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering as an adjunct lecturer, where he enjoys bringing important course concepts to life by leveraging a decade of engineering design and analysis experience. Bollendonk spends his free time running, telemark skiing, playing in a band and working on vintage MG cars.