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Publication of the Minnesota Space Grant ConsortiumSummer 2000Index
Last modified on August 7, 2000 © 2000 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota |
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U-Grad Symposium 2000 Augsburg Bemidji State UniversityThe 1999-2000 Annual MnSGC Undergraduate Student Research Symposium was held at Augsburg College and Bemidji State University in April. The Symposium held on April 14, 2000 at Augsburg College in Minneapolis began with registration, poster setup, and introductions. The highlight of the evening was the student research-paper presentations and student research-poster presentations, following the presentations was dinner and closing comments. The student participants at Augsburg College were: Sarah Boswell, Ryan K. Cobian, Mauris de Silva, Jake T. Kern, Matthew S. Lang, Aaron Rendahl, Wendy Christensen, Matt Klatt, Taher Omar, Marc Tollefson, and Kathryn Zurick. The Symposium held on April 19, 2000 at Bemidji State University began with the featured presentation “Is There Life on Mars?” given by Dr. Kathie Thomas-Keprta, Senior Staff Scientist/NASA Johnson Space Center. Kathie is a woman of significant scientific accomplishments and one who has been on the cutting edge of new science. Kathie studied chemistry and obtained degrees from the University of Illinois and Texas Women’s University. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Astrobiology at the University of Houston while working as a Senior Principal Research Scientist in Transmission Electron Microscopy at NASA/SSC in Houston. Kathie has had a prolific publishing record and lists nearly 150 abstracts, papers, and extended abstracts, of these 50 are from peer reviewed journals. Kathie is also notably known as the co-leader on the NASA study of the nano sized fossils purported to be found on an Antarctic meteorite that originated from Mars. Dr. Thomas-Keprta has won numerous awards including: NASA Exceptional Scientific-Achievement Award, Distinguished Texas Scientist Award, and Women in Aerospace Outstanding Achievement.
In addition to the featured presentation, there was a conference presentation by Dr. David Atkinson titled “Exploring Space, the Cassini Mission.” Dr. David Atkinson is a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Idaho but is currently working at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. on a two-year appointment in the Education Division. Dr. Atkinson obtained his undergraduate degrees from Whitman College and Washington State University, his Masters degree from Stanford, and his Ph.D. from Washington State. He educational fields of knowledge are astronomy, physics, and electrical engineering. As a scientist he has been an investigator or co-PI on over 10 NASA projects. Dr. Atkinson’s most recent project is the Cassini Doppler Wind Experiment that measured winds on Titan (Saturn’s largest moon.) Dr. Atkinson has won both the NASA Outstanding achievement award and the NASA Exceptional Scientific-Achievement Award.
Following the speakers were student research presentations. The students involved in this symposium were: Philip Chrysler, Jill Thompson, Katrina Neckuty, Jaime Leeper, William Caddy, Diane Mason, Christa Nordlum, Brandy Toft, Alvin Aus, Deborah Davis, Margaret Ricke, Shannon Moseman, Travis W. Ludwig, Aurora F. Clark, Donald Shelley, Luke Probst, Jason Helgeson, Amy Funk, and Lyle Wallin. Augsburg College
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“Mighty Machines the Size of Mites: The Science and Technology of Micromachines” Dr. David Bishop, Head of Micromechanics Research Department of Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies, gave the Sverdrup Lecture to an audience of 500 at Augsburg College Monday, April 17, 2000 |
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The 3rd annual Space Science Across the Curriculum Conference was held at the new science museum March 13, 2000. Over 100 K-12 teachers attended. Keynote speaker Dr. Rick Shope from JPL gave an address on “Mission to Mars.” Shope pictured here talking to 3rd graders at Brimhall School in Roseville, MN.
The challenging setting in which military missions are flown demands both high levels of performance and a high degree of robustness from the aircraft. In addition, military aircraft are required to fly through a wide range of speeds and altitudes causing their dynamics to change significantly during flight. This inherent demand for robust performance together with the presence of varying dynamics is the primary motivation for the current research on multivariable, gain-scheduled control techniques. The aim of this project is to flight test modern controllers which are designed explicitly to address the issues of stability, performance, and robustness of a time-varying system.
The F/A-18 Systems Research Aircraft (SRA) at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center serves as the test-bed for this research project. The flight test which will take place in the Class B flight envelope, which comprises of a mach range of .35 to .7 and an altitude range of 15 to 32 thousand ft. Using Linear, Parameter-Varying (LPV) techniques, separate multivariable gain-scheduled controllers are designed for the longitudinal and the lateral-directional axes of motion. The objective is to synthesize LPV controllers that achieve the same level of flying qualities as the current F/A-18 SRA flight controller. Time simulations of the longitudinal LPV designs were performed at NASA Dryden in a high fidelity simulator; the results show that the LPV designs achieve similar performance to that of the current flight controller.
Crucial to the success of this project is the correspondence with people at NASA Dryden. In order to implement the LPV controllers into the F/A-18 SRA simulation software, a full week was spent at Dryden working with several engineers. Prior to flight test, another trip must be made to implement the LPV controllers into the SRA flight hardware and perform hardware-in-the-loop testing.
The grant to conduct this work was awarded by NASA Dryden Flight Research Center of Edwards, California. Dr. Dick Lind and Mark Stephenson serve as the contract managers at NASA Dryden, while I, Joseph Muller, am working under the supervision of Professor Gary Balas at the University of Minnesota.
STREAMS- Summer Team Research Altitudes in Math and Science. June 9-11, 2000. Contact Dr. Julie Larson (Chemistry) (218) 755-2791.
Solway Rocket Shoot - May 19, 2000. Contact Deb Davis (218) 755-2782. See new website at: www.vax1.bemidji.msus.edu/~space.www/indes.html.
The Indiana Council of Teachers of Math is sponsoring a workshop for K-12 teachers focusing on the NASA Mission Mathematics curriculum August 3, 2000. For information contact Rick Callan at k3dm@aol.com.
Space Science Across the Curriculum Conference Choose from a number of concurrent sessions which link aerospace and space science across your curiculum to physics, the arts, math, geography, and technology. Mark your calendar for March 10, 2001. Contact: Minnesota Science Museum (651) 221-9444.
Watch for upcoming events sponsored by the SSU planetarium on the SSU website at: www. southwest.msus.edu/planetarium.htm. Contact: Dr. Ken Murphy (507) 537-6175 for details.
Tech Learning Academy for K-12 teachers August 7- 9, 2000. Arlington High School, St. Paul. Contact: Christie at (612) 706 0901 Ext. #100.
STEPS 2000- Science, Technology & Engineering Preview Summer camps for girls 7-12. 4 one-week camps beginning June 25. Contact: Dr. Susan Marino (612) 624-1317 or the MnSGC Office (612) 626- 9295.
C3 Camps - Career Choices & Computing for girls. Contact: Dr. Susan Marino (612) 624-1317.
$$$ - Enhancement Grant funding available for K-12 projects available through MnSGC. Deadlines: October 1st/April 1st. Call: (612) 626-9295 or visit our website at: www.aem.umn.edu/other/msgc.
“Universe in the Park” through the University of Minnesota’s Astronomy Department and the Minnesota State Park system. Evening presentations of 30 minutes each scheduled for O’Brien State Park beginning 7/1, 8/4, and 9/1. Afton State Park presentations on 7/2, 7/30, and 9/2. Presentations begin at 8:30 pm. See the website at: http://astro.umn.edu.
“Visualization of Fluid Motion” workshop for high school teachers offered at the U of Mn August 24, 2000 from 9 am - 3 pm. Professional development credit from U of MN available. Free for teachers. Offered by Dept. of Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics. For more information contact the MnSGC Office at (612) 626-9295 or the AEM Dept. at (612) 625-8000. See website: www.aem.umn.edu.
The regional meeting of the Midwest Regional Space Grant Consortia was held in February at the Chicago Embassy Suites Hotel. A snow storm unfortunately prevented 1/2 of the participants from attending. Prominent speakers were Dr. Terry Flower (WebQuester), Dr. Jeanine Gregoire and Dr. Brad Blue (K-12 Sessions), Dr. Randi Quanbeck (Informal Education), and Dr. Bill Garrard (Undergraduate Education).
| Kate Aschenback ~ | University of St. Thomas |
| Alberto Baez ~ | University of Minnesota |
| Katherine Bestul ~ | University of St. Thomas |
| Sarah Boswell ~ | Bethel College |
| Ryan Cobian ~ | Augsburg College |
| David Ebner ~ | University of St. Thomas |
| Eric Euteneuer ~ | University of Minnesota |
| Loren Gragert ~ | University of St. Thomas |
| Richard Johnson ~ | University of Minnesota |
| Todd Klein ~ | University of St. Thomas |
| Amy Lowell ~ | University of St. Thomas |
| Keith Ludwig ~ | University of St. Thomas |
| Brian Naslund ~ | University of Minnesota |
| Michael Preiner ~ | University of St. Thomas |
| Kirsten Quanbeck ~ | University of Minnesota |
| Travis Sandland ~ | Macalester College |
| Maria Sieve ~ | Augsburg College |
| Carl Tape ~ | Carleton |
| Shane Tysk ~ | University of St. Thomas |
| Jon Waataja ~ | University of St. Thomas |
| Julie Zogg ~ | University of Minnesota |
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Minnesota Space Grant Consortium
Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics
University of Minnesota
107 Akerman Hall
110 Union Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
