Eric MacLennan is a PhD student in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN. After his Space Grant internship in the 2010-2011 academic year he was awarded a summer internship position at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, through the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. His REU experience led him to become interested in studying asteroids. After graduating NAU in 2012 he became a graduate student in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he is currently working towards his PhD. Recently, he co-authored a paper entitled "Cohesive forces prevent the rotational breakup of rubble-pile asteroid (29075) 1950 DA", which was published in Nature. His current research involves understanding the processes that generate and alter asteroid regolith.