SEPT 2009

In this issue:
1. HONORS AND RECOGNITION
2. COMINGS AN GOINGS
3. SPACEFLIGHT TRAINING FOR NEWMAN, WAGNER
4. iPHONE DRONES
5. RESEARCHERS GROW NANOTUBES MINUS SIDE EFFECTS
6. THIRTY AEROASTROERS, NO WEIGHTING
7. MONARCH MAKES FINAL LANDING
8. HANDS-ON SATELLITE DEVELOPMENT CLASS PLANNED
9. MARS BIOSAT PROJECT BIDS GOODBYE
10. AA CLUBS OFFER GREAT OPPORTUNITIES
11. GIANT LEAPS DVDS ON THE WAY
12. '09 CHEM HYGIENE PLAN REQUIRED READING
13. MITWEETS FROM AEROASTR0

Nick Roy

1. Honors and recognition

The National Academy of Engineering has selected Professor Nick Roy as one of "eighty-eight of the nation's brightest young engineers" to take part in its Annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium this month at the University of California, Irvine. According to NAE President (and former MIT President) Chuck Vest, "The U.S. Frontiers of Engineering program brings together a diverse group of this country's most promising young engineers, and gives them a forum to discuss multi-disciplinary ways of addressing the issues that will carry us into tomorrow's economy."

Qiqi Wang


David Mindell

2. Comings and goings

Welcome to Assistant Professor Qiqi Wang who comes to AeroAstro from Stanford. Qiqi works in the area of computational engineering. Among other things, he is an expert in the use of adjoint methods for uncertainty propagation in simulations of unsteady fluid flows. He is also a private pilot. Please stop by 33-408 to say "hello."

Another welcome: to David Mindell, Director of the Science, Technology, and Society Program, who has changed from a dual appointment in STS and ESD to a dual appointment in STS and AeroAstro, consistent with his current interests and research directions. His office is E51-185F.

Also, we welcome Dr. Rafael Palacios, visiting assistant professor from the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spain, hosted by John Hansman.

Professor Alan Epstein retired from MIT at the end of July and will continue with Pratt & Whitney where he has been serving as VP for technology and environment. Alan started with the department as an undergrad 43 years ago.

Professor Hamsa Balakrishnan has changed from a dual appointment with ESD to a full time appointment in AeroAstro. We welcome the opportunity to benefit even more from Hamsa's contributions to the department.

AeroAstro faculty on sabbatical this year are Larry Young (fall only), Raul Radovitzky, Zolti Spakovszky, and Mark Drela. Professors Karen Willcox, Hamsa Balakrishnan and Nick Roy are on family leave this fall.

New postdocs are: Stephen Lukachko and Aleksandra Mozdzanowska, with Ian Waitz; Douglas Allaire, with Karen Willcox; Julian Rimoli, postdoc associate with Raul Radovitzky.

And, we welcome Alison Pita who is assisting Professors Williams, Leveson, Roy, and Marzouk. Alison's husband is Dr. Claudio Pita, a postdoc with Raul Radovitzky.

Dava Newman


Erika Wagner

3. Spaceflight training for Newman, Wagner

Professor Dava Newman and lecturer Dr. Erika Wagner are among a dozen scientists, students and educators who have been selected to undergo National AeroSpace Training and Research/Southwest Regional Institute suborbital flight training. "Essentially, Dava and I were selected to go through a flight training course that would prepare us for conducting science on Virgin Galactic or one of the other new commercial vehicles," says Wagner. "Think of it as suborbital payload specialists, with much less training than the typical NASA route."

4. iPhone drones

The Humans and Automation Lab has cooked up a new iPhone app: controlling UAVs. According to a Wired article,"HAL’s bot-wrangling app sends GPS coordinates to the robot, which navigates around using its own, built-in sense-and-avoid capabilities. Along the way, the bot can stream video or snapshots back to the iPhone." Professor Missy Cummings, who directs the lab, told Wired, "Our philosophy is that humans have important jobs they need to do, and should not worry about low-level housekeeping, telling a UAV to go from point to point.” Go to the video.

5. Researchers grow nanotubes minus side effects

Carbon nanotubes — tiny, rolled-up tubes of graphite — promise to add speed to electronic circuits and strength to materials like carbon composites, used in airplanes and racecars. A major problem, however, is that the metals used to grow nanotubes react unfavorably with materials found in circuits and composites. But now, an MIT team led by AeroAstro Professor Brian Wardle has shown that nanotubes can grow without a metal catalyst. The researchers demonstrate that zirconium oxide, the same compound found in cubic zirconia "fake diamonds," can also grow nanotubes, but without metal's unwanted side effects.

Brian Wardle in his lab.

The study was published in the August 10, 2009 edition of the American Chemical Society's online journal. More info on the MIT News site.

6. Thirty AeroAstroers, no weighting

Thirty students, faculty, and staff. A Boeing 727-200 called "G Force One." And, a swath of airspace 100 miles long by 10 miles wide. Add to these a pilot trained to fly in 10,000 foot roller coaster-like parabolas and you get one incredible research opportunity. With support from Massachusetts Space Grant, NASA, ESA, and others, MIT students took to the Florida skies this summer to study the effects of reduced gravity. Experiments ranged from studying how microgravity can be used to improve the nanostructural characteristics of aerogels to how Lunar-g affects the way astronauts perceive slopes and distances on the surface of the moon, a critical task for future exploration. Students examined deployment dynamics of a solar panel for an orbital debris tracking satellite, the first flight of a novel air-ionizing propulsion system, and multi-environment functionality of biosatellite habitat systems. ZERO-G Corp., which operates these flights out of airports across the country, was co-founded by Course 16 alums Peter Diamandis and Byron Lichtenberg. - Erika Wagner

Monarch on display at the Museum of Science

7. Monarch makes final landing

For nearly 25 years, the Monarch aircraft has hovered above the heads of millions of visitors to Boston's Museum of Science. On August 25, the venerable AeroAstro-built human-powered plane made its last descent — via a tether — to the museum floor, to make way for new display. Assisting in the removal and dissassembly was Professor Mark Drela, a member of the crew that built Monarch, which, in 1984, won the Kremer World Speed Competition Prize for making the first human-powered flight around a 1500-meter course in under three minutes.

Mark Drela guides Monarch as it is lowered from display

Before removal, Monarch team members determined the plane's plastic skin had deteriorated significantly over the decades to the point where it could not be saved intact - even a light dusting causes it to crack and split. Significant parts of the craft have been saved by the MIT Museum, and one wing section has made its way to the AeroAstro Hangar. Companion MIT human-powered aircraft Daedalus 87 and hydrofoil Decavitator remain on display at the Science Museum.

8. Hands-on satellite development class planned

Pending approval, a special graduate (16.898) and undergraduate (16.681) class will involve students in the hands-on design, building, and testing of the CASTOR satellite (formally called OSMV). CASTOR is being developed under the Air Force Office of Scientific Research's University Nanosatellite Program. For more information about the satellite, visit the MIT Satellite Team Web site. For more info about the course, email Professor Dave Miller at millerd@mit.edu.

An interesting related article appears on the Lincoln Lab Web site.

9. Mars Biosat Project bids goodbye

A student project, begun in 2001, that had hoped to earth-orbit mice in simulated Mars gravity, has been retired. Current economic pressures coupled with changing NASA priorities are cited as the reasons the organizers are closing the Mars Gravity Biosatellite Program. The project did see many successes during its eight-year run including educating more than 600 students about aerospace engineering, space life sciences, and program management; pubishing papers and presentations, testing hardware; and earning numerous awards.

10. AA clubs offer great opportunities

AeroAstro clubs offer excellent opportunities for activities with peers who share common interests and enthusiasm. Students are welcome to contact any of the organizations listed below. Some of the groups also welcome department alumni, staff, and faculty.

One of the newest groups is the Women's Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Coordinator Sameera Ponda says that the WGA3 "is a group for graduate women in Aero/Astro at MIT. Its objective is to build a community and encourage relationships between graduate women in aerospace engineering, women faculty in Aero/Astro, and women throughout MIT."

AA Clubs are:

• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT Chapter
  
• Flying Club
  
• Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics
  
• Intramural Sports
  
• Mars Society
  
• Rocket Team
  
• Satellite Team
  
• Space Elevator Team
  
• Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
  
• Women's Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics

The MIT Flying Club at its '08 fly-out to Keene, NH.

If you're interested in organizing a new group or club, visit the MIT Association of Student Activities Web site. Also, AeroAstro Student Services Director Barbara Lechner will be glad to assist you.

Jack Schmitt (l.) and Chris Kraft appear on the Apollo Symposium DVD

11. Giant Leaps DVDs on the way

Those who enjoyed AeroAstro's fantastic Giant Leaps June celebration of the Apollo moon landing, and those who weren't there but wish they could have been, will be pleased to learn that a video highlights DVD of the Symposium has been produced and will be distributed in the next few weeks to all in the department with the 2008-2009 department annual publication AeroAstro. A multi-DVD set will also be available, by request, that includes the entire Symposium, the Robert Seaman's Memorial event, and the special video productions commissioned for both. There are also a number of videos related to MIT's role in Apollo available on TechTV.

And, if you can't get enough Apollo, you might want to check out the recently released iPhone app "Apollo 11: the Game." (Thanks to Philllip Cunio for the heads-up.)

12. '09 Chem Hygiene Plan required reading for researchers, supervisors

The 2009 Chemical Hygiene Plan is now posted on the AeroAstro Environment, Health, and Safety Web page. Researchers and lab supervisors are required to read the plan and certify that they have done so by completing and signing the online form, also located on this page.

AeroAstro is committed to providing a safe environment. Together with the Environment, Health, and Safety Office, we promote environmentally responsible practices, reduce our environmental impact, and protect the community's health and safety within our workspaces.

13. MITweets from AeroAstro

Don't wait for your enews and emails — keep up with AeroAstro news as it happens — follow the department at mitaeroastro on Twitter!

If you know of events, honors, activities, or other information you'd like to see in the next issue of AeroAstro enews, please send to wlitant@mit.edu — we'd be pleased to include your submissions.

Catch the latest AeroAstro news on Twitter.

© 2009 MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. All rights reserved.