By Kelsey Kendall
Morgan Gendel, a handful of Old ֱ University engineers and an astronautics scientist huddled around what looked like a large rubber-like pillow with a thick Kevlar canvas pinned to it. A large pendulum stood just behind them, and Gendel pointed to it and asked if the pillow would be able to withstand a “clonk” from the device.
He’s not an engineer like many of the people around him. Gendel is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Communication & Theatre Arts teaching screenwriting, whose professional background includes a long-standing career in writing for television — including the Hugo-Award-winning “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode “The Inner Light.”
What he’s working on now also sounds like something from science fiction.
Gendel is the founder and CEO of Planetary Shelter, a company developing what he describes as “bouncy houses” that can be used as blast bunkers for the military, housing for people displaced and homeless and even for shelters on far off planets — perhaps one day, at least.
Planetary Shelter is working with Michael Seek, Ph.D., an associate professor in engineering technology whose expertise is in cold-form steel and concrete, to develop these shelters as part of a Department of the Air Force Small Business Technology Transfer award of $1.8 million. The connects businesses and entrepreneurs to research institutions to develop their technology and help them commercialize their innovations.
The structures, called Haboliths, are made by packing on-site soil into flexible shells made from materials like the Kevlar the team is testing. The granular compression, or soil jamming, inside the shells creates a concrete-like stiffness that makes these igloo-shaped bunkers solid enough to withstand blasts and gun fire but are still flexible enough to absorb some of the impact to protect the service members inside from traumatic brain injuries.
He got the idea after hearing about how NASA was looking into 3D printing a lunar bunker, though that would require bringing a lot of heavy equipment to the moon. As a child, he had seen some houses being built by creating wooden frames and then filling them with cement so when the frame is knocked away, the cement stays to create the rooms and main structure for the home.
Gendel just tweaked that same concept, substituting flexible composite formworks for the wood frames and local sand or regolith, which is another word for moon dirt, for the cement. Without the need to transport extra materials, Haboliths are a lightweight foldable solution to building safe places for those who need it.
“I love that we’re doing things that are going to save lives or reduce traumatic brain injuries for service men and women. That’s a great way to get started,” Gendel said, adding that he hopes to take it further. “I want people to know this is ultimately a humanitarian company.”
The possibilities do not stop with the stars. With more than 123 million people forcibly displaced around the world, according to , he saw a need here on Earth the Haboliths could help address — a higher number than when he had first started work on his innovation.
Before Gendel sends the Haboliths out into the world and universe, he has to make sure they work. That is where Old ֱ University and its expert engineers come in. Thirty percent of the grant money Planetary Shelter received goes to support the University’s collaboration with the company as it prepares prototypes for the Air Force.
Kevin Leslie, associate vice president for innovation and commercialization, said these kinds of collaborations open doors for all involved, creating “ripple effects” through the University and industries.
“The partnership between Old ֱ University and Planetary Shelter highlights the multifaceted value of industry collaborations,” Leslie said. “Students and faculty are gaining critical funding and research experience while contributing to a humanitarian project that could have far-reaching impacts.”
It’s a partnership that is a “win-win” for both Gendel’s company and the University.
“What I love about ODU is you have students who are really, really eager to get a foot in the door,” Gendel said.
He’s found talent and determination amongst his students. When he needed support for Planetary Shelter, he turned to them.
Hannah Moore ’24 and JaVaughn Davis ’25 both took classes with Gendel and later started working with him.
Davis found a team environment where he can learn and grow in his film making skills, he said. He has always dabbled in content creation for social media platforms, but now he is getting the chance to learn how to develop content for a client.
“It’s not like I’m being shot down at all — I’m being encouraged, and it’s a really satisfying feeling because I’m usually my only feedback,” Davis said.
Moore works with the CEO and television writer, assisting with some communications work for the company and helping with the new TV show he has in development. She sees the position not just as a great opportunity to make connections within the TV and film industry, but a chance to be involved in something that could one day make a difference in people’s lives.
“It can impact a lot of people in a beneficial way, and I think just from that standpoint alone, it’s just like ‘wow,’” she said. “It’s one of those things where you can look into the future and envision how this can be such a great thing if we continue to have the right people around us and garner the right support.”
Back in Kaufman Hall where the team has set up their workshop, Dr. Seek and other engineers are working on the fine tuning of the concept to ensure the materials used are strong enough to protect service members in dangerous combat situations — which is the primary goal under this Small Business Technology Transfer award — and later provide safe, comfortable housing to those who need it.
Ideas like this require a lot of minds working together. Gendel has sought out working relationships with experts who can help “a TV guy with an idea.” He connected with Robert Moses, Ph.D., now Planetary Shelter’s chief technology officer and a 33-year NASA veteran, establishing a partnership with an expert in space exploration and planetary surface resource usage. Gendel credits Dr. Moses with helping the company receive the grant necessary to move Haboliths forward.
Dr. Seek is doing the same, bringing in a wide range of perspectives to this project, by including not just his colleagues but engineering students from the graduate to undergraduate levels.
“It’s a lot of players, and a lot of problems to solve,” Dr. Seek said. “We’re trying to bring in every resource we have here.”
Graduates in the Ph.D. program might be working with the mechanics of the structures, and master’s students could help with testing and production. Dr. Seek said some undergraduates might be tapped to help with some of the testing, and a senior capstone class could help work through any problems or auxiliary parts to the project.
With all these moving parts, Gendel says it is a bit like being a TV show runner again. There are budgets and people to manage to work toward a shared vision. Only in this project, he is working with engineers instead of writers and producers. And instead of sci-fi entertainment, he is working toward something that could bring safety and comfort to people on Earth and in space.