MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics Department
enews Vol 3, #7
April 2006

In this issue:

1. Awards and recognition
2. Job openings
3. Green light for Space Logistics Phase II
4. AA competes in Design-Build-Fly contest
5. Alumnus Richard Hardy endows new fellowship
6. SPHERES arrives at ISS
7. Devotion display for Drela
8. Seamans' autobio now online
9. Student group news
10. Cummings comments feature in Air & Space Mag
11. Deshpande invites Ignition, Innovation Grant proposals
12. News RSS now on Aero-Astro web

1. AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

The University of Pretoria presented Aero-Astro head Professor Wesley L. Harris with an honorary Ph.D. degree on April 26. Harris was cited “for his contributions as a leader of the civil rights movement and for his scholarship at the highest level.” In honoring Harris, the U. Pretoria stated, “Professor Harris endured great social isolation to excel as a black scholar, but his activism was well-balanced with his academics. Although his stellar academic record earned him the envy of most of his white classmates, he motivated and convinced his fellow black learners that in a hostile environment they could still achieve academically at the highest level. In this regard, he is an international and outstanding role model for the youth of South Africa in general, and to the engineering students of the University of Pretoria in particular.” Congratulations to Professor Harris.

Professor Larry Young alerts us that earlier this month he “made the podium” by finishing third in his age group in Giant Slalom at the US Masters Alpine Ski National Championships. And, he didn't break anything.

2. JOB OPENINGS

The Environmental Design Space is on the hunt for a Research Engineer. Responsibilities include assessment and application of a suite of computational aircraft design tools, leading development of a fidelity management system, close collaboration with graduate students and other researchers, and interaction with industry partners. Requirements: Ph.D., along with technical skills in the area of aerospace system design. Familiarity with the basics of aircraft and engine conceptual design is desired, along with strong computational skills and the ability to learn new design tools. Excellent teamwork, oral communication and written communication skills are essential. Resumes to: amaynard@mit.edu by June 1, 2006

3. GREEN LIGHT FOR SPACE LOGISTICS II

Professor Oli de Weck writes, “I am happy to report that NASA has chosen to exercise its option for Phase II of the Space Logistics Project (http://spacelogistics.mit.edu). Phase II goes from April 29, 2006 to February 28, 2007 and is valued at $776k.” Professor de Weck says there is an additional, currently unfunded, option 2 for terrestrial analog research, specifically, an expedition to the Arctic where extraterrestrial conditions can be simulated, valued at $224k if the additional funds can be found. This brings the total contract value to $2.4 million. MIT PIs for the project are Professor de Weck and Professor David Simchi-Levi of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The project is developing an integrated planning, simulation and optimization capability for future interplanetary exploration logistics (SpaceNet). There are about 15 students and staff working on this from AA, CEE and ESD.

4. AA COMPETES IN DESIGN-BUILD-FLY CONTEST

Three Aero-Astro 16.821 student teams successfully competed in the AIAA/Naval Research Laboratory/Cessna Design-Build-Fly competition http://www.ae.uiuc.edu/aiaadbf/ in Wichita this month. Nearly 40 other school teams from around the U.S., Canada, Turkey, and Israel were represented, and our teams took 11th, 21st, and 25th places. Our 11th place team's plane crashed on its first flight attempt –in a heroic effort, the team rebuilt the entire fuselage overnight and rejoin the competition on Sunday. The students represented the department well, particularly considering that this was MIT's first attempt in the competition in several years. Thanks to Col. John Keesee for filing this report. Col. Keesee, along with Col. Pete Young, Professors Earll Murman and Dave Miller, and Paul Bauer, were there to support the students.

5. ALUMNUS RICHARD HARDY ENDOWS NEW FELLOWSHIP

Through the substantial generosity of Aero-Astro alumnus Richard Hardy (1958) and his wife, Linda, the department has established the Linda and Richard Hardy Fellowship. This endowment will support, in perpetuity, our most talented graduate students. Department head Professor Wes Harris says that these resources greatly strengthen the department, and help us achieve our mission to educate the future aerospace workforce and to undertake the research to support industry competitiveness. Initially, the expendable resources for the first three years will be allocated to a faculty member and a student who are interested in lightweight structures for aircraft and launch vehicles. Following this period, the fellowship will be awarded in conjunction with our other department fellowships, to outstanding incoming or continuing students.

6. SPHERES ARRIVES AT ISS

After launch aboard Progress 21P on Monday April 24th, 2006, the first Aero-Astro Space Systems Lab, http://ssl.mit.edu/, SPHERES satellite has reached the International Space Station. Docking occurred on April 26, the crew unpacked the hardware the following day. As we go to press, the SPHERES team is finalizing the software to be delivered to NASA April 28, for use during the first test session, scheduled for Fri May 19. The team will be busy for many weeks, reports SPHERES team member Dr. Alvar Saenz-Otero as they prepare for a second test session on Fri May 26th and beyond. Read more at http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/mini-satellites.html

7. DEVOTION DISPLAY FOR DRELA

An Aero-Astro enews source reports that on April 7, Unified students put on a spontaneous display of their fondness for Professor Mark Drela - on the day of fluids quiz, no less. The students arrived wearing T-shirts emblazoned with an alpha on the front (angle of attack), and, on the back, a drawing of Professor Drela tearing his shirt open to reveal an alpha symbol atop the word "Airdrela." A revealing photo is posted at http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/img/flyingdrela.jpg

8. SEAMANS AUTOBIO NOW ONLINE

Professor emeritus Robert Seamans' autobiography, Aiming at Targets, can now be read online at http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4106/sp4106.htm. Dr. Seamans, a former Aero-Astro Department Head and MIT Dean of Engineering, was associate and deputy NASA administrator during much of the 1960s. He has been Secretary of the Air Force, the first administrator of the Energy Research and Development Administration, and president of the National Academy of Engineering. Aiming at Targets is a wonderfully readable account of his life and work, full of telling anecdotes, and includes a substantial section on his time at NASA. Dr. Seamans also expanded upon his time at NASA in his more recent monograph Project Apollo: The Tough Decisions, available for download at http://history.nasa.gov/monograph37.pdf

9. STUDENT GROUP NEWS

The MIT Mars Society http://web.mit.edu/mars/ is holding its annual Boy Scouts Space Exploration Merit Badge Workshop on Saturday, April 29. Shannon Dong, of the society, says, “We’re expecting around 70 scouts for this event. Among the activities include a guest lecture by (former astronaut) Prof. Jeff Hoffman; rocket launching on the fields; classes on history of unmanned space exploration, history of human space flight, and physics of rocketry; and design exercises for a Mars base and an unmanned mission.” Any questions, comments, or eager volunteers, are welcome to email ms-officers@mit.edu.

Elizabeth Jordan invites all AA graduate students, staff, and faculty to GA^3’s (Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics) 3rd annual Wine & Cheese Social on Thursday May 4th, from 5-7 p.m. in the Mezzanine Lounge of the Student Center. She also notes that the final GA^3 lab seminar of the semester, hosted by TeLAMS, will be May 9 at 4 p.m. And, there will be a social hour with GAME (Graduate Association of Mechanical Engineers) May 18th from 6-8 p.m. at the Thirsty Ear. For more information about GA^3 and upcoming events visit http://web.mit.edu/ga3/www/

10. CUMMINGS COMMENTS FEATURE IN AIR & SPACE MAG

Professor Missy Cummings and her Humans and Automation Lab are prominently featured in the April/May issue of Smithsonian Air & Space magazine. In the article “Son of Apollo,” which discusses the next generation of lunar lander, Professor Cummings discusses the glass cockpit she envisions for the new craft. The article reads, in part, “'If the system is designed right,' says Cummings, ‘anybody, anywhere, anytime should be able to control the lunar lander. The operator wouldn't even have to be on board. You do not need 1,000 carrier landings or the Right Stuff to be a good lunar lander pilot.’” Read the entire article at http://www.airandspacemagazine.com/ASM/Mag/Index/2006/AM/soap.html

11. DESHPANDE INVITES IGNITION, INNOVATION GRANT PROPOSALS

The Deshpande Center has asked Aero-Astro enews to spread the word that the May 8 deadline is approaching for its Ignition and Innovation grants pre -proposals. Ignition Grant funding — up to $50,000 per grant — “targets projects focusing on novel, enabling, and potentially useful ideas in all areas of technology.” Though it might enable only exploratory experiments and proof of concept, an Ignition Grant might position projects to receive further funding, such as an Innovation Grant, to take a concept to full development. Innovation Grants — for as much as $250,000 —“keep the innovation process on track and moving forward.” They're meant to benefit projects that have progressed beyond their earliest stages — projects that have established proof of concept and identified an R&D path and IP strategy. Ultimately, each grant will help a project build a package to bring to venture capitalists or companies that might invest in its technology. More info at http://web.mit.edu/deshpandecenter/grants.html

12. NEWS RSS NOW ON AERO-ASTRO WEB

With the addition of an RSS feed from the News Office to the department Web site, Aero-Astro articles from the MIT News Office Aero-Astro site now automatically appear on our Department Web site news page http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/news/index.html. RSS (which stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary – take your pick) is group of XML based Web-content distribution and republication (syndication) formats primarily used by news sites and blogs. It allows for automated publication of summaries and information. Thanks to Phyllis Collymore for her assistance in setting this up.

CONTRIBUTE TO THE E-NEWS

Please share your news with the rest of the Aero-Astro community by contributing to the e-news. Awards, events, new research - it's all of interest. Send your suggestions to wlitant@mit.edu.