UAH senior design students develop new water supply system for Nicaraguan village through Engineers Without Borders

Electrical engineering senior design students at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) recently designed an automated chlorine dispenser to upgrade the water supply for a village in Sabana Larga, Nicaragua.

UAH aerospace engineering doctoral candidate Swarnalatha Kumar receives Amelia Earhart Fellowship

Swarnalatha Kathalagiri Vasantha Kumar, who is pursuing her doctorate in aerospace engineering at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), has received an Amelia Earhart Fellowship from Zonta International, a leading global organization of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy.The $10,000 fellowship is awarded annually to up to 30 women worldwide who are pursuing doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences.

Aerospace engineering student Amber Porteous named Brooke Owens Fellow

Amber Porteous, an aerospace engineering senior from Mobile, Ala., slated to graduate in May, has been selected to receive the Brooke Owens Fellowship. The student is the second Brooke Owens Fellow from The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System, in the past two years, joining 2022 Fellow Megan Jordan.

WVU space robotics research helps Mars rovers find their footing 

West Virginia University scientists have developed a way for extraplanetary rovers to use nonvisual information to maneuver over treacherous terrain. This will help to prevent future losses of expensive equipment like that of the Martian exploration rover Spirit, which ceased communications after its wheels became trapped in invisibly shifting sands in 2010.

New wind sensor uses smart materials to improve drone performance

Engineers have designed and successfully tested a more efficient wind sensor for use on drones, balloons and other autonomous aircraft.These wind sensors – called anemometers – are used to monitor wind speed and direction. As demand for autonomous aircraft increases, better wind sensors are needed to make it easier for these vehicles to both sense weather changes and perform safer take-offs and landings, according to researchers.

Chula Engineering Student Team Wins Runner-up Award at Spaceport America Cup 2022

A big round of applause to members of the Chulalongkorn University High Altitude Research Club – CUHAR from Aerospace Engineering (AERO), Chula International School of Engineering, who represented Thailand at the Spaceport America Cup 2022.

Alabama student satellite group shifts gears to ABEX mission to keep up with NASA

The Alabama Space Grant Consortium’s statewide, university student-built cube satellite project is shifting gears to ABEX, the Alabama Burst Energetics eXplorer, after its drive to be the first student-built Cubesat to leave low Earth orbit (LEO) was derailed when NASA dropped secondary payloads from the Artemis II flight.

Developing Digital Twins for Improved Hurricane Prediction

UT’s Oden Institute will lead an interdisciplinary research project to develop a computational “digital twin” framework for storm surge modeling in the Gulf Coast that bridges the gap between multi-physics simulations and knowledge discovery through artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies.

UTEP, UT Austin, UT System Join U.S. Space Force Partnership

The University of Texas at El Paso and The University of Texas at Austin signed agreements with the U. S. Space Force to provide advanced research and workforce development for the newest branch of the U.S. Armed Services. The University of Texas System signed an umbrella Memorandum of Understanding with the Space Force as part of the comprehensive agreement.

Tracking melting points above 4000 degrees Celsius

A materials engineer at the University of California San Diego is leading the development of a new research platform for studying high-performance materials, in particular new materials that melt above 4000 degrees Celsius (C). UC San Diego nanoengineering professor Kenneth Vecchio is leading the project, which is funded by a new $800,000 grant from the US Office of Naval Research (ONR), through the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP).

Missouri S&T among winners in NASA’s BIG Idea Challenge

The success of NASA’s future plans to explore and inhabit the moon may depend in part on research by university students, including a team of seven from Missouri University of Science and Technology who have won a grant from the space agency to develop a way to remove lunar dust from power-producing solar cells.The Missouri S&T team is one of seven university-affiliated groups to be selected for funding through NASA’s Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge.

Rotating Detonation Engine test-fired for first time at UAH’s Johnson Research Center

A Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE) has been test-fired for the first time at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System. RDEs are a tantalizing engineering concept that could be transformative for rocket propulsion

DOE-funded UAH directed plasma research may advance pulsed fusion propulsion systems

A professor at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) has been awarded a one-year, $98,930 grant by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for plasma research that could advance pulsed fusion propulsion for spacecraft.

Bone breakthrough may lead to more durable airplane wings

Cornell researchers have made a new discovery about how seemingly minor aspects of the internal structure of bone can be strengthened to withstand repeated wear and tear, a finding that could help treat patients suffering from osteoporosis. It could also lead to the creation of more durable, lightweight materials for the aerospace industry.

Aerospace engineer receives grant to make origami structures in space

Xin Ning, assistant professor of aerospace engineering at Penn State, is applying the ancient folding art of origami to reconfigurable, multifunctional materials that could be used to build structures in harsh environments, such as outer space. His work was recently recognized by the Applied Mechanics Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

From Immigration Battle to Outer Space, Rutgers Student Makes Long Journey

Becoming an astronaut is challenging for anyone, but for School of Engineering senior Marissa Navarro, that dream was complicated by an eight-year fight to stay in the United States. Find out how she got the attention of NASA’s Mars 2020 deputy surface phase lead, Diana Trujillo, and how she is one step closer to reaching her goal of becoming an astronaut someday.