Points of Interest: >Department News >Scholarship Recipients >Professor Spotlight >Projects and Research >Alumni/Student News >Society Updates Inside this issue: Winter 2010/2011 Edition The Cutting Edge Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department Newsletter Highly motivated: Team conducts experiments on zero-gravity flight During the week of Sep- tember 27 through October 1, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Department professors Dr. Daniel R. Kirk and Dr. Hector M. Gutierrez led a team of Flor- ida Tech students to Hous- ton, Texas, to fly experi- ments on the ZeroG research aircraft for the NASA Facili- tated Access to the Space Environment for Technology (FAST) program. Out of 52 applicants for the program, only 17 teams were selected, of which 10 were university teams, including Purdue, Cornell and Stanford. The research project was dedicated to studying the behavior of liquid dynamics in reduced gravity to mimic the behavior of rocket pro- pellants in a space environ- Mechanical Engineering doctoral student Ran Zhou experiences weightlessness aboard the ZeroG research aircraft for the NASA Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology program. Ran and other Florida Tech students con- ducted a research project on the behavior of liquid dynamics in reduced gravity. Zero-Gravity Research 1 AIAA Scholarship 2 ASME Scholarship 2 Yarosh-Wiles Scholarship 3 Dr. Lee receives NSF Grant 4 Professor named ‘the best’ 4 Alum works for Air Force 6 ASHRAE Student Chapter 7 ASME Student Chapter 7 Continued on Page 3 ...
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Points of Interest:
>Department News
>Scholarship Recipients
>Professor Spotlight
>Projects and Research
>Alumni/Student News
>Society Updates
Inside this issue:
Winter 2010/2011 Edition
The Cutting Edge Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering Department Newsletter
Highly motivated: Team conducts experiments on zero-gravity flight
During the week of Sep-
tember 27 through October
1, Mechanical & Aerospace
Engineering Department
professors Dr. Daniel R.
Kirk and Dr. Hector M.
Gutierrez led a team of Flor-
ida Tech students to Hous-
ton, Texas, to fly experi-
ments on the ZeroG research
aircraft for the NASA Facili-
tated Access to the Space
Environment for Technology
(FAST) program. Out of 52
applicants for the program,
only 17 teams were selected,
of which 10 were university
teams, including Purdue,
Cornell and Stanford.
The research project was
dedicated to studying the
behavior of liquid dynamics
in reduced gravity to mimic
the behavior of rocket pro-
pellants in a space environ- Mechanical Engineering doctoral student Ran Zhou experiences weightlessness
aboard the ZeroG research aircraft for the NASA Facilitated Access to the Space
Environment for Technology program. Ran and other Florida Tech students con-
ducted a research project on the behavior of liquid dynamics in reduced gravity.
Zero-Gravity Research 1
AIAA Scholarship 2
ASME Scholarship 2
Yarosh-Wiles Scholarship 3
Dr. Lee receives NSF Grant 4
Professor named ‘the best’ 4
Alum works for Air Force 6
ASHRAE Student Chapter 7
ASME Student Chapter 7
Continued on Page 3 ...
Page 2 MAE Department Newsletter
Projects and Research
Florida Tech Part of New FAA Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood recently announced that the
Federal Aviation Administration has
selected New Mexico State University
in Las Cruces, NM, to lead a new Air
Transportation Center of Excellence
for Commercial Space Transportation.
The center is a partnership of acade-
mia, industry, and government, devel-
oped for the purpose of creating a
world-class consortium that will ad-
dress current and future challenges for
commercial space transportation.
Florida Institute of Technology is a
core university of the center. The Flor-
ida Center for Advanced Aero-
Propulsion, a partnership of Florida
universities, is also core to the center.
FCAAP-involved institutions include
University of Florida, Florida State
University and University of Central
Florida.
Other key supporters who will be
integral to the center’s success include:
Space Florida, the NASA Kennedy
Space Center, the NASA Glenn Re-
search Center, Virgin Galactic,
SpaceX, Qinetiq North America/
Analex, Florida Turbine Technologies,
the International Space University and
Starfighters.
“The Obama Administration is
committed to making sure the U.S.
remains the world leader in space de-
velopment and exploration,” said Sec-
retary LaHood. “This new center un-
derscores that commitment, and will
ensure that the commercial space com-
munity can meet our current and future
space transportation needs.”
The Obama Administration recently
released its new National Space Policy,
which recognizes opportunities and
advancements in commercial space
transportation and lays out specific
ways to use commercial capabilities.
“Commercial space flight is ready
to play a greater role in the nation’s
space program,” said FAA Administra-
tor Randy Babbitt. “Universities work-
ing with industry partners will fuel the
research necessary to help keep us in
the forefront of both technology and
safety in space.”
The research and development ef-
forts at the new center will include four
major research areas: space launch op-
erations and traffic management;
launch vehicle systems, payloads, tech-
nologies, and operations; commercial
human space flight; and space com-
merce (including space law, space in-
surance, space policy and space regula-
tion).
The FAA will enter into 50-50 cost-
sharing cooperative agreements to es-
tablish the partnerships, with plans to
invest at least $1 million per year for
the initial five years of the center’s op-
erations.
NMSU Las Cruces will lead a team
of colleges and universities throughout
the country. Other core universities
participating include: Stanford Univer-
sity, New Mexico Institute of Mining
and Technology, University of Colo-
rado at Boulder, and University of
Texas Medical Branch.
Congress authorized Air Transpor-
tation Centers of Excellence under the
Federal Aviation Administration Re-
search, Engineering and Development
Authorization Act of 1990. This legis-
lation enables the FAA to work with
universities and their industry part-
ners to conduct research in environ-
ment and aviation safety, and other
activities to assure a safe and effi-
cient air transportation system. With
the establishment of this center, re-
search will extend to cutting-edge
technologies and infrastructure for
private human spaceflight and orbital
debris mitigation.
The United States’ space program
has three sectors — civil, military
and commercial. The FAA’s Office
of Commercial Space Transportation
is responsible for licensing, regulat-
ing and promoting the commercial
sector space industry.
Since the office was created in
1984, the FAA has issued licenses
for more than 200 launches, has li-
censed the operation of eight FAA-
approved launch sites known as
spaceports, and has helped ensure
that no loss of life or serious injury
has been associated with these ef-
forts. For more information on
FAA’s commercial space transporta-
t ion act ivi t ies , visi t h t tp: / /
www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/
news_story.cfm?newsId=11559.
The FAA has established eight
other centers of excellence, focusing
on air cabin environment, noise and
emissions mitigation, airport pave-
ment technology, operations re-
search, advanced materials, aircraft
structures, airworthiness assurance,
and general aviation.
For more information about the
FAA Centers of Excellence program,
visit the web page at http://
www.faa.gov/go/coe.
Download a .pdf copy of this newsletter and more on the Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering section of the College of Engineering Website: http://coe.fit.edu/mae
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