May 9, 2000 – December 22, 2024
Matthew David Elmer
An Aggie who loved his family, friends to the moon and back
Matthew Elmer was raised in Pleasanton, Texas, where he was active in tennis, drumline and soccer throughout his time in high school before graduating as his class’s valedictorian. At Texas A&M, he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in aerospace engineering and a minor in computer science as a Brown Foundation scholar. Matthew was a second-year master’s student in the Prometheus lab, which focuses on spacecraft navigation.
Matthew’s mother, Laura Elmer, said he was always interested in learning how things worked and was determined to achieve his dreams.
“He was adventurous,” Laura said. “He had so many interests growing up … he was in so many different activities and so, so successful. He was a young man who was always kind and who would always help his friends out.”
Matthew was involved in research with manned spaceflight and helped develop the software necessary for landing astronauts on the moon. He worked with CACI in Houston for two summers and interned at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
“He was always determined from the time he was young, launching rockets with his brothers and his dad, that that’s what he wanted to do,” Laura said.
Matthew was devoted to his family and friends and exemplified all Aggie Core Values, his mother said. His generosity and compassion were evident through his volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity, the Special Olympics, and Miracle League baseball. He individually designed and 3-D printed letters of the alphabet and numbers for his younger brother who has a cortical visual impairment (CVI) to use on a lightbox as no appropriate ones were commercially available.
“His teachers respected him, he had respect for other people,” Laura said. “Certainly there’s selfless service.”
Matthew’s older sister, Sarah Elmer, MD ‘19, ‘23, saw a side of Matthew that flourished outside of academics. He loved cooking, hot sauce and working on his car, which she said led to moments of awe from their extended family.
“He was literally one of the smartest people I’ve ever met,” Sarah said. “That kid loved to learn … one of his favorite things to do outside of school was cars. … One Thanksgiving, after a little while, people were like, ‘Where’s Matthew?’ And they peeked their heads outside and he’s, hood open, on his car doing some maintenance.”
Matthew interned with Odyssey Space Research and was interested in supporting the Artemis program within NASA. As an aerospace engineer, Matthew contributed to the software used today in the Artemis II and Artemis III projects.
“His yearning for knowledge and commitment to doing things right — and for the right reasons — was inspirational and infectious,” Gary Turner, Ph.D, with Odyssey Space Research, wrote about Matthew. “His presence made everyone around him a better engineer. Matt is the only intern to have hacked NASA’s Flight Sciences Lab (inadvertently). The particular incident had to do with a new Python package, which he applied in an unexpected way and unwittingly took exclusive control of the system. No damage was done, but it demonstrated that his coding abilities were truly exceptional.”
Matthew himself wrote about overcoming adversity in his valedictorian speech.
“It is up to you whether you dwell on the past and let it dictate your future or make the most of the present and create your future,” Matthew wrote. “If you don’t have plans you’d better make some, and if you do have plans you’d better get ready to change them. But no matter what happens, always, always, always keep your head up and make the best you can of your situation.”
Matthew’s dedication to his work allowed him to achieve a legacy in space exploration at Odyssey Space Research. His mother recalled his coworkers speaking about Matthew coding while he ate lunch, focusing on solving the most pressing issues.
“I remember the whiteboards filled with diagrams and equations as Matt and I hammered out the details of the foundational architecture of the new system over the first 2-3 weeks of his internship,” Turner wrote. “As the initial author of so much foundational code, his name will remain attached to tools that will, in all likelihood, still be in use long after we have landed the next generation on the surface of the moon.”
Sarah saw the impact Matthew had on his family and those around him.
“The type of person he was day-to-day, the way he conducted himself around his peers and coworkers embodied leadership,” Sarah said. “In the way that he modeled himself as somebody who you really look up to. Not just how accomplished he was academically … it goes far beyond that.”
His sister, Katie Franklin ‘14, gave Matthew’s eulogy at his celebration of life service.
“When you’re born a dreamer, with high hopes and even higher expectations for yourself, it can be really difficult to see in yourself what is clear to everyone around you,” Franklin said. “After situations like this, people always ask the family, ‘What do you need?’ or ‘What can I do to help?’. My answer to that: love your people. And when you see the good in someone, speak it. Speak it not only to your family and to your friends, but also to your coworkers, your students, your neighbors, to the stranger you pass in the grocery store. When you see good in someone, speak it, because people need to hear those words.”
Editor’s note: If you or anyone you know is struggling, please know that help is available 24/7. Visit 988lifeline.org or call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
