Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Passes Several Milestones

by Howard Benedict

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation has passed several milestones since the last edition of this newsletter. Jim Lovell has replaced Alan Shepard as president and chairman; the Astronaut Hall of Fame has been expanded; 24 additional astronauts have been inducted, and two schools have been added to our scholarship roster, raising the total to 17.

The value of each scholarship has been increased from $7,500 to $8,500, which means this year the foundation is making awards totaling $144,500. And when those checks are mailed in August, the total amount of scholarship money provided by the foundation since 1986 will surpass $1 million - $1,009,200 to be precise.

The expanded Astronaut Hall of Fame was dedicated October 4, with Walter Cronkite as master of ceremonies and 29 Mercury, Gemini and Apollo-era astronauts attending. It was probably the last great gathering ever of this many of the pioneering space travelers.

During the ceremony, Shepard, the only president and board chairman the foundation had had since its formation in 1984, retired from both positions and turned the gavel over to Apollo 13's Lovell, who had been vice president and vice chairman. Alan's retirement marked the end of an era which saw the foundation, originally the Mercury Seven Foundation, grow from a struggling start to the solid organization it is today. During that time, total scholarship money awarded annually has risen from $7,000 to $144,500.

The two schools added to our scholarship roster are the University of Kentucky and North Dakota State University. They were selected by Dr. Harvey (Al) Miller, chairman of our Scholarship Committee after extensive study of schools with a tradition of producing significant numbers of scientists and engineers. The choices were approved by the Scholarship Committee and the Board of Directors.

I also want to thank Lisa Beeson and the other Scholars who have worked with great purpose and enthusiasm this past year in establishing the Astronaut Scholars Honor Society. Everything they have accomplished so far - forming a Board of Directors, creating a Web site, holding electronic meetings via the Internet, setting short- and long-term goals, and writing an innovative Vision Statement - are most impressive. Their effort will result in an organization that will forge a lasting bond among present and past Scholars and between them and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

1998 Astronaut - Scholar Meeting and ASHS Annual Meeting

In May 1998, the third annual Astronaut - Scholar Meeting will be held in Orlando. The astronauts and scholars who have participated in past meetings know that a fun and memorable time will be had by all. Each year, the event has been expanded with additional opportunities for Astronaut Scholars to meet each other, meet the astronauts, and participate in other activities, such as a tour of the Kennedy Space Center. Details and a photo from the 1997 event are shown elsewhere in this magazine.

This year, in addition to two opportunities to meet the astronauts, an event at Kennedy Space Center, and other social activities, the first annual meeting of the Astronaut Scholars Honor Society (ASHS) will be held. All current and past recipients of the Astronaut Scholarship (formerly known as the Mercury Seven Scholarship) have been invited and encouraged to attend. Please see the article on ASHS, elsewhere in this magazine, for more information.

1997 Astronaut - Scholar Meeting

During the first weekend in May 1997, nineteen Astronaut Scholars and their guests came together in Orlando for a whirlwind of events. They were treated to a VIP tour of Kennedy Space Center (KSC), a night on the town in Orlando with dinner and a visit to Disney's Pleasure Island nighttime entertainment complex, and a luncheon meeting with eight astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs at the beautiful Peabody Orlando resort hotel.

The VIP tour of KSC consisted of a walk-through of the mammoth vehicle assembly building transfer aisle, tour of the Air Force Museum outdoor rocket and aircraft display, tour of the blockhouses used during the Mercury program redstone rocket launches, closest possible drive-by tour of a space shuttle launch pad, visit to the new Saturn V center, visit to the Mercury 7 monument site, and a tour of the U. S. Astronaut Hall of Fame / U. S. Space Camp complex.

The tour was graciously hosted by Mr. Charlie Buckley, former chief of security at the Kennedy Space Center during the early astronaut programs, and Ms. Sue Dickinson, an environmental engineer at NASA. Their combined commentary throughout the tour added to the experience, especially Charlie's remembrances of historic and little-known events during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs as well as the antics of the Mercury 7 astronauts.

That night, the Scholars met for dinner and then visited Disney's Pleasure Island, taking in music, comedy, and dancing at several nightclubs.

The following day, the Astronaut Scholars, their guests, the astronauts, and other distinguished members of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation were able to meet and mingle during a reception and luncheon. It was quite a thrill for everyone, scholars and astronauts alike, to meet each other. The Scholars were able to meet their heroes and ask the questions that they had wondered about for so long. The astronauts were able to witness, first hand, the high level of talent and intelligence as well as congeniality of the Astronaut Scholars. It was fantastic to see evidence of the good work that the Foundation is doing, as the Scholars were able to tell their benefactors in person what the scholarship has meant to them. It served as inspiration to continue the scholarship program and support alumni activities to ensure personal involvement of our scholarship winners in the future of the Foundation.

As much fun as we had, one of the best aspects of the 1997 meeting was the opportunity for scholars to meet each other, discuss common technical interests, and network. For more information, see the articles, "Amazing Accomplishments" and "Astronaut Scholars Honor Society", elsewhere in this magazine.

Astronaut Scholars Honor Society

A new organization has been formed, called the Astronaut Scholars Honor Society (ASHS). It is the alumni association of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF), and membership includes all current and past recipients of the Astronaut Scholarship (formerly known as the Mercury Seven Scholarship). So, if you have ever received the scholarship, you are now a lifetime member of the ASHS. Members are known as Astronaut Scholars.

The ASHS was born in May 1997 when 19 current and past scholarship recipients traveled to Orlando for the opportunity to meet several Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronauts. The astronauts and other members of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation were so impressed with the individuals who attended and their long list of accomplishments that a total of $14,000 was pledged to enable the scholars to continue their association with each other and with the Foundation.

With the help of Henri Landwirth (ASF Board of Directors), the new organizations name was created. Then, officers and an ASHS Board of Directors was appointed by Lisa Beeson (ASF Board of Directors and Astronaut Scholar) from the group of scholars who have been actively involved with the Foundation. Quarterly ASHS Board of Directors meetings have been held via the ASHS Web site chat room. You can read more about that in the article about the web site elsewhere in this magazine.

Briefly stated, the ASHS was established by the ASF to ensure Astronaut Scholar involvement in the ASF with the purpose of generating funds and volunteerism so that the work of the ASF will continue into perpetuity in accordance with the originally stated goals, guidelines, and objectives of the ASF.

It is the belief of the ASF that Astronaut Scholar contributions and personal involvement are necessary to ensure the future existence of the ASF and to ensure that the scholarships will continue to be awarded. The ASHS is a means of accomplishing this. The ASF is also interested in expanding its influence on science and technology in America. The ASHS will provide a source of ideas for expanding this influence.

A Mission Statement, Vision Statement, 1997-98 Objectives and Budget, and other information have been forwarded to Astronaut Scholars. If you would like more information, please contact Lisa Beeson, ASHS President. Other officers are: Tony DeLia - Vice-President and Derek Lang - Secretary/Treasurer. The Board of Directors includes the officers as well as the following Directors: Preston Bates, Larry Bradley, Debbie Fairbrother, DeLynn Louth, John O'Quinn, Matt Tripi, and Matt Young.

New and Improved ASF and ASHS Web Sites are Launched

A team of four Astronaut Scholars, Tony DeLia (University of Central Florida, 1989-1991), Larry Bradley (UCF 1993-1994), Brian Mathason (Penn State 1993-1994), and Travis Terry (UCF 1995-1996), have begun developing a new and improved World Wide Web site for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF), and are creating a new site for the Astronaut Scholars Honor Society (ASHS). The new Astronaut Scholarship Foundation site is now available at http://www.AstronautScholarship.org/. The Astronaut Scholars Honor Society site can be found at http://www.AstronautScholars.org/.

We hope that the new sites will increase exposure to the scholarship and perhaps attract future sponsors. It is also our hope that the web site can be a vehicle for scholar interaction and participation. It is our goal to form a strong network of Astronaut Scholars.

Current content of the ASF site includes the Foundation Background and History, Scholarship Program Description, Astronaut Speakers Bureau, Astronaut Scholars, ASF Newsletter, Astronaut-Scholar Annual Meetings, U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame/U.S. Space Camp, and Related Links.

The ASHS site contains pages for the Society Background and History, Opportunities, Sounding Platform, Upcoming Events, Help ASHS, and the Astronaut Scholars Web Chat.

For those who want to give back to the Foundation, check the ASHS site for projects that need volunteers under "Help ASHS" and "Opportunities." If you wish to get more involved with ASHS, go to the "Upcoming Events" page. You can also voice your opinions at the ASHS "Sounding Platform." Use our on-line chat service to meet and interact with other Astronaut Scholars - it's a great way to network.

Through on-line meetings, the web support and design team are continually working to improve these sites. Future plans include having individual biographical pages on each astronaut and Astronaut Scholar, photos and descriptions of Astronaut - Scholar Annual Meetings, and entertaining interactive features.

The web team would like to hear your comments on the new sites. Please feel free to send an E-mail message to Tony DeLia or Larry Bradley, and let them know what you think. Also, we would like to hear from all Astronaut Scholars who have E-mail addresses and/or web pages. It would help us keep in contact with all 95 (and growing) of you!

On-Line Chat Sessions

All Astronaut Scholars, astronauts, and other members and friends of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation are invited to attend on-line chat sessions with other scholars, astronauts, and friends at the ASHS Web Chat Room.

Then, follow the instructions. Pre-established times will be announced by E-mail. If you have not sent your E-mail address to Lisa Beeson, please do so! We hope to schedule guest appearances by astronauts in the future.

Only a Plane Ticket Away from Space

Plane ticket to the moon? A pleasure cruise to Mars? Are these dreams ludicrous? Some governments and private companies do not think so. In fact several are putting their money where their dreams are. While traveling to distant galaxies may still be far in the future, space tourism is receiving increased attention here on Earth.

The idea of space tourism is not new - it is but the latest aspect of human space flight. What would people do in space? In 1961, the first American ventured into space. In 1969, astronauts landed on the moon. Since 1981, the U.S. Space Shuttle has been used as a flying laboratory for space research and materials processing. The 1980's National Aerospace Plane was intended to fly people from New York to Tokyo by traveling through space. Later this year, the initial modules of an international space station will be placed in space. For over a decade now, Japanese construction companies have had grandiose plans for building hotels in space.

NASA and the Space Transportation Association have just released their report, "General Public Space Travel and Tourism." The report summarizes the findings of a workshop designed to define a vision for future space travel and tourism. Participants included travel and tourism business leaders; hotel architects, airline and business leaders, insurance interests, aerospace entrepreneurs and technical experts, and space health and medical experts. They addressed several issues:

• Passengers, crew, life support and insurance considerations
• Regulation certification, legislation, policy and environmental issues
• Financial, economic, business planning, and market considerations
• Initial ground facilities, space tourism theme parks and other orbital trip "precursor" considerations
• Research and technology development requirements and use of existing space assets.

While vision and plans are necessary, several small companies and tourist agencies are already plotting a course for public access to space. Zegrahm Space Voyages is offering suborbital trips for $98,000 and Space Adventures (Shuttle astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson, advisor) for $90,000. Other companies include Advent Launch Services, Interglobal Space Lines, Inc., and SpaceX (Skylab astronaut Ed Gibson, president). Public surveys indicate that 40-70% of people would like to travel beyond the realm of Earth.

The bottom-line conclusion was that public space travel and tourism was a viable venture and those steps to foster the development of this industry can be taken now. This was reaffirmed by the National Space Society who characterized it as no longer a matter of whether space tourism is feasible, but rather how long will it take?

As part of this year's ASF Annual Meeting, astronauts and scholars will have an opportunity to discuss the prospects and challenges for future public space travel and tourism.

Chair of a Virtual Physics Department

Tony DeLia, University of Central Florida, 1989-90, 1990-91

Tony DeLia is approaching the beginning of the end of his Ph.D. research in Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and The Florida State University Physics Department. The portion of his current research which will find its way into his thesis deals with Quantum Magnetism: effects of the quatum mechanical phenomenon of spin on the electromagnetic properties of materials. His work involves developing coding innovations to improve the way quantum magnets are modeled in computer programs; studying the effects of impurities on magnetic correlations and spin configurations; and investigating the coupling of spins through the energy spectra of various configurations of chemical bonds.

Other research topics include mathematics, where he continues his search for a general framework for constructing path integrals, a powerful tool of mathematical physics; cosmology, where he has been assisting in fleshing out a highly speculative but engaging alternative to current Big Bang theories and developing his own speculations on a possible explanation for the relationships of the Universe's physical constants; and finance where he has been attempting to determine the efficacy of quantum statistical mechanics as applied to asset allocation models.

Tony has also accepted a faculty position at Thomas Technical Institute, a school in nearby Thomasville, Georgia. At TTI, he has taken oversight responsibilities for the physics and physical science courses and is in the process of forming a new standard for the physics classes and laboratories. As his role and duties have expanded he has begun to receive correspondence from publishers and scientific equipment vendors addressing him as Chair of the Physics Department! Now if only such a department existed. This might be Tony's next recommendation!

Between his Ph.D. research and assuming the role of physics program director at a small college, Tony has had little free time but has managed to coordinate the construction of the foundation of the ASF and ASHS web sites. He looks forward to developing these sites with the other members of the ASF/ASHS Web Support and Design Team.

Volunteer opportunities

Astronaut Scholar volunteers are being sought to help carry out the mission of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation and Astronaut Scholars Honor Society. Please contact Lisa Beeson at the E-mail address or telephone numbers listed on page 2 if you are interested in doing any of the following:

• Assist with writing and preparation of this Astronaut Scholars magazine.
• Assist with coordination of the annual Astronaut - Scholar Meeting.
• Assist with fund raising for Astronaut Scholar activities, especially the annual meeting. NOTE: This may include sending letters to and/or personally contacting corporations, non-profit foundations, and individuals. It may also include working with travel companies, such as airlines, hotels, and rental car agencies, to obtain discounted or complimentary travel for Astronaut Scholars to attend the annual meeting.
• Write press releases about activities of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation and Astronaut Scholars Honor Society.
• Contact technical society journals and newspapers from our colleges and universities to arrange for publication of our press releases and articles about Astronaut Scholars.
• Presentation of the Astronaut Scholarship to next years recipient at your alma mater.

Scholar Wants to be an Astronaut on the First Manned Mission to Mars

Belinda Marchand, Purdue University, 1996-97

Belinda Marchand graduated in May of 1997 with a B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. That same month, she hired on as a permanent employee of the Boeing Company, under the Phantom Works division in St. Louis, MO. Since August of 1997, Belinda has been on an educational leave of absence to pursue her M.S. and Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics under the guidance of Professor Kathleen Howell at Purdue University.

During her last year as an undergraduate student, Belinda was team leader of her senior design team which won a design competition sponsored by Lockheed-Martin. The project was to design a manned mission to Mars. She shared her duties as a team leader with her responsibilities as aerocapture trajectories design specialist. This award was a great accomplishment in her undergraduate career.

As a M.S. thesis student, Belinda's area of interest is in the field of dynamics and controls, in particular astrodynamics. Her graduate research interests are the restricted three-body problem in interplanetary mission design, and dynamical systems theory.

As a graduate student, Belinda has been involved with the AAE department as a teaching assistant in courses like Aeromechanics, Dynamics and Vibrations, and Optimization in Aerospace Engineering. With this new experience, Belinda has considered the possibility of pursuing a teaching career later in life. Her long term goals for the moment are to finish her Ph.D., pursue a career at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Goddard Space Center or the Aerospace Corporation, and later on become one of the astronauts in the first manned mission to Mars which she hopes will happen within her lifetime.

F-22 Testing Continues

Preston Bates, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1986-87

Preston Bates is an engineering specialist at Lockheed-Martin Corporation in Marietta, GA serving as the fatigue test coordinator for the Air Forces newest tactical fighter plane, the F-22 Raptor. This past year has been a busy one, conducting trade-off studies for various schemes of test loading, holding a program review with the Air Force, and beginning construction of the fatigue test airframe. In addition, as part of the test team, he participated in the loads calibration test for the first flying Raptor. Below, he gives us an update on whats going on with the aircraft.

Presently, the first F-22 Raptor, tail number 4001, is sitting on the ground at Edwards Air Force Base in California, getting ready to leave its nest and take to the skies. A multi-year flight test program will prove that the fledgling can both fly and fight like a true hunter. After the first successful flight from Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, GA on September 7, 1997, many people wonder what is taking so long for the craft to regain its presence in the air. What they dont know is that the plane has already "flown" to the every point in the sky it expects to reach in the flight test program -- while in the experimental ground test hangar. Hundreds of engineers, technicians, and mechanics at Lockheed have been working very hard to prove that the airframe is structurally capable of sustaining the high maneuver loads for which it was designed.

After the first flight, the aircraft entered a structural modification phase that incorporated improvements to the airframe to accommodate higher design loads that were derived after the plane was initially under construction. Subsequently, a structural proof test and loads calibration test was done in the month of December. The test conditions were chosen to represent the most severe loading on the wings, tails, and fuselage the plane will experience during the flight test program. Preston was one of five test officers working 24 hour shifts, 7 days a week responsible for leading the engineering team to make sure nothing on the plane would break while the test lab was loading the airframe. The test program was an enormous success, finishing ahead of schedule.

After the ground tests, the plane was partly disassembled so that it could be transported by C-5 to Edwards. During this time, an inspection of the horizontal tails revealed that their beauty was only skin deep by detecting several disbonds and failed sections of honeycomb core which had to be repaired. Extensive repairs to the tails have been completed and both tails have recently been proof tested to ensure their structural integrity for the duration of the flight test program. Once they arrive at Edwards, they will be mated to the aircraft and the F-22 Raptor will take to the skies once again. The first flight is planned for sometime in May.

Excellence in Chemical Research - As an Undergraduate!

Jessica LoDuca, University of Central Florida, 1996-97, 1997-98

Jessica has been an Astronaut Scholar since 1996 and was fortunate to meet several astronauts and other Astronaut Scholarship Foundation board members at the most recent Astronaut - Scholar Meeting and tour of Kennedy Space Center.

She is currently pursuing a bachelors degree in the Honors Chemistry program at the University of Central Florida. Jessica has recently had her undergraduate research report approved by the undergraduate research committee. The report studied the anti-tumor effects of plant extracts from the Azores on the human melanoma cancer cell line.

She was elected President of the Student Affiliates chapter of the American Chemical Society for the 1997-98 school year. Jessica is also trying to establish a chapter of Gamma Sigma Epsilon, a chemistry honor society, on campus. In Spring 1997, she was awarded a scholarship for undergraduate research. She plans to graduate in Fall of 1998, with honors.

Another interesting note about Jessica is a positive result of her attendance at the 1997 Astronaut - Scholar Meeting in Orlando. Her guest, Joshua Blomberg, secured a summer job with Westinghouse Electric Corporation after meeting a manager of the company at the Astronaut - Scholar luncheon. This organization has produced many outstanding side benefits to its scholars and other participants, above and beyond the scholarship awards.

New Opportunities in the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation and in Power Generation

Lisa Beeson, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1987-88, 1988-89, and 1989-90

Lisa has had a busy year. Last May, she was elected to the Board of Directors of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation - marking the first time that a past scholarship recipient has been given the great opportunity and honor of serving in this capacity. As a member of the Board and also the Scholarship Committee, she is striving to increase the involvement of Astronaut Scholars in all activities of the Foundation and is also contributing ideas for future events, fund-raising, and administration of the scholarship program. A key activity for Lisa has been organizing the annual Astronaut - Scholar meeting. Lisa also serves as President of the Astronaut Scholars Honor Society.

Just five days after her election to the ASF Board, Lisa was promoted to management at Westinghouse Power Generation. Her new title is Manager of Auxiliary Equipment Design, and she has responsibility for designing mechanical fluid systems for combustion turbines, steam turbines, and generators. Her group comprises seventeen engineers and five drafters who design about thirty-five different power plant systems, including fuels, emissions control, lube oil, fire protection, starting systems, instrument air, steam, hydraulic control, and various cooling systems. Power plant sizes range from 50 to over 600 megawatts (MW) electrical power output.

Lisa finds the work with ASF and her new job in engineering management very rewarding. Her work challenges include not only designing mechanical systems but also commissioning new system designs and troubleshooting technical issues in the field. She also enjoys helping to develop the careers and expanding the technical knowledge and experience of engineers who work in her group. Pending government approvals, her company, Westinghouse, will be merging with Siemens Power Company later this year, and Lisa will be involved in smoothly integrating the mechanical designs and design processes of the two companies.

Outside of work and ASF activities, Lisa enjoys landscape gardening, home improvement projects, and visiting the beach at Canaveral National Seashore as often as possible. She also plays wallyball and volleyball twice per week.

Structures on the Moon

Matt Tripi, Pennsylvania State University, 1996-97, 1997-98

Matt Tripi is a second time Astronaut Scholar at Penn State University who will graduate in May of 1998 with an Honors Bachelor of Architectural Engineering Degree, and a minor in Engineering Mechanics. He will have completed ten semesters of course work, 182 credits, and an undergraduate thesis. In addition, he will have completed three years of research in the area of fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) and construction materials.

As a research assistant, Matt has co-authored conference papers involving strain measurements in FRP structures using an optical technique named moiré interferometry. His research interests include composite material mechanics, material science, and high performance structures. He expects to be published in The Journal of Composites for Construction before graduating.

After graduation, Matt plans to continue researching composite materials and structures. He is currently deciding between Pennsylvania State University and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "It's a tough decision," he remarks, "both schools have a lot to offer."

"Ultimately, I would like to design structures on the moon! With our country's rekindled interest in lunar exploration, I hope that opportunities for civilians to visit the moon will soon evolve." Although Matt realizes that these opportunities may only exist in the distant future, he remains hopeful that such dreams as civilian space travel and human's lunar inhabitance will one day become reality.

Advancing the Capabilities of the Hubble Telescope

Larry Bradley, University of Central Florida, 1993-94

The past year saw Larry Bradley receive a master's degree in Astrophysics from The Johns Hopkins University. Currently, he is a graduate research assistant at the same institution working towards a Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Most of the past year Larry worked at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, located in Greenbelt, Maryland. He assisted in a variety of calibration tasks for the Servicing Mission Orbital Verification (SMOV) for a new Hubble Space Telescope (HST) instrument called the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS).

STIS is a second generation spectrograph operating in the visible, ultraviolet, and near-infrared wavelength regimes that greatly enhances HST's spectroscopic capabilities. It was installed in February 1997 during the second Hubble Servicing Mission (Discovery, STS-82). His work primarily focused on the internal calibration lamps aboard STIS. Some of these results were presented in a poster paper entitled "STIS Dispersion Solution Calibration and Accuracy" at the 191st Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January 1998.

Last month Larry acquired Hubble Space Telescope/STIS spectroscopic observations of the nucleus of a nearby spiral galaxy called NGC 5199. It is believed that a supermassive black hole lies at the heart of this galaxy. Larry and his advisor are investigating the physical conditions, such as temperature and electron density, and kinematics at the center of this galaxy. More HST/STIS observations of this galaxy are scheduled for December of this year, which will help them determine the mass of the central black hole by examining the stellar dynamics. Larry dreams of becoming an astronaut someday.

Outside of academia, Larry enjoys playing a variety of sports, including basketball, football, volleyball, and racquetball. Larry also sits on the Board of Directors for the newly formed organization called the Astronaut Scholars Honor Society (ASHS), an alumni association of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. He is also a member of the team designing new web sites for the ASF and ASHS. Specifically his focus has been on the new ASF site, developing much of its new and improved look.

Georgia Tech Scholarship Recipient Becomes Entrepreneur

Joel Odom, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1996-97

When 1996-97 Astronaut Scholarship recipient Joel Odom began his physics degree at Georgia Tech, he never thought that he would graduate and start a company of his own. "I figured that Id be going on to graduate school. What else would you do with a physics degree?" However, after a few years at Georgia Tech, he realized that things would end up more exciting than he ever realized; Joel and four engineering majors from Tech decided to found their own company. Juggernautics, LLC was the result.

"Its really tough starting a company," Joel says, "There are more complications than I ever figured that there would be, but the accomplishment of starting a successful business is well worth the trouble. Ive learned more in the last four months about how the world works than I did in four years of college."

Juggernautics primary business is in Computer, Electrical, and Mechanical engineering. The company is interested in designing, prototyping, and manufacturing the mechanical, electronic, and software systems required for automation. "With my physics background, I do a little bit of it all."

Past customers have included British Telecom and MCI, but what does the future hold for Juggernautics? "There are a bunch of exciting projects on our plate that range from machines to software packages. I cant talk about most of our work because were under nondisclosure. The best thing to do to keep up with the company is check out our web page." The address is www.juggernautics.com.

Ph. D. Candidate Leading the Way into Commercial Space Ventures

Derek Lang, University of Washington, 1996-97, 1997-98

Derek completed his course work at the University of Washington and continued his doctoral dissertation research on supersonic air-breathing engines. As part of this research, he modified and ran a supersonic wind tunnel to conduct his experiments. Watching some of his models fly out of the wind tunnel in thousands of pieces gave new meaning to "destructive testing." That not withstanding, some good science resulted in calibrating liquid crystals for measuring heat transfer in supersonic flow.

During the summer, Derek returned to Colorado Springs to carry on his research at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Highlights of the summer were horseback riding and catching trout and northern pike with his new float tube under the crescent moon in the middle of the Colorado plains. In his "off hours", Derek conducted tests in the Academy's Trisonic Wind Tunnel, and developed image-processing software to analyze heat transfer on missiles and space reentry vehicles.

Unforeseen circumstances led Derek to redefine his dissertation topic recently. His new topic is the study of wake structures in the plug nozzle rocket engines. This propulsion system is planned for use on the NASA X-33 Single-Stage-to-Orbit launch vehicle. The complex flow dynamics has many yet unanswered questions that directly impact engine performance.

This winter, Derek undertook some projects for Sea Launch and Boeing Commercial Space Company. One project was to help prepare their application to the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct commercial space launches. The project took Derek to Russia to meet with Sea Launch Partners on flight safety issues, and earned him a Certificate of Achievement award from Boeing for his support.

Earlier this year, Lisa roped Derek into being an officer for the Astronaut Scholars Honor Society. You'll probably hear some of the crazy ideas he's been proposing to the Board of Directors at this year's all-scholars meeting. But hopefully, some will come to fruition and make life a little more exciting as an Astronaut Scholar!

Astronaut Scholarship Launched a Career

Doug Adams, Purdue University, 1993-94

Doug Adams is currently a Ph.D. student at Purdue University under the guidance of Professor Sun. His area of research is structures and materials.

Doug is interested in pursuing a career in industry rather than academia. Nevertheless, his decision to pursue a Ph.D. was based on a personal goal he set for himself. Doug says that although having a Ph.D. might actually limit his options when working out in industry, he still wants to pursue it. As many graduate students, Doug believes that if he doesn't pursue a Ph.D. he might wonder why later in life.

His Ph.D. research is sponsored by the Army Research Office (ARO). The army is interested in constructing light weight armor that maintains the maximum possible ballistic resistance. Ceramic materials are ideal for this as they are extremely hard and less dense than steel; however, by nature they are also quite brittle which is a serious drawback. Doug's research centers on combining high strength high stiffness graphite composites with ceramics to maximize the ceramic's strength and toughness. In his group, they do quasi-static and dynamic testing of specimens in the laboratory to quantify the mechanical behavior. The results are dramatic as the composite-ceramic specimens have up to triple the strength of a pure ceramic.

Among his most recent accomplishments, Doug received the AIAA Jefferson Goblet Student Papers Award, the NASA Indiana Space Grant Consortium Fellowship, and the National Space Grant Fellowship in 1996.

Outside his research, Doug is also involved with the National Aerospace Engineering Honorary (Sigma Gamma Tau), the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) organization, and Purdue Pilots Inc. as he pursues his private pilot's license. He is also a member of the SEDS hybrid rocket project team.

After gaining a few years of experience in industry, Doug envisions himself starting his own business or working for a small company.

The meaning of the ASF award to him is better expressed in his own words:

"The ASF award was quite important to me. I'd say the greatest thing it did for me was to inspire me. Simply being associated with the Mercury Seven Foundation made me realize that all those space documentaries were about real events and real people and that I was in a position to be a part of it; to be a part of history, even to help write it. Aerospace is quite a demanding field and one that requires a certain dedication. I had an opportunity as an ASF recipient to meet the 5 surviving Mercury astronauts and to tour the Astronaut Hall of Fame in Florida. I can't imagine a better motivation to work hard and to succeed in a field that I enjoy. In retrospect, I'd say it sparked my career."

Optical Research will Lead to a Ph.D. within the Year

Brian Mathason, Pennsylvania State University, 1993-94

Brian is busy completing his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF). He has presented the results of his research in optical communications systems at three conferences this year (SPIE Aerosense, Optical Society of America Annual Meeting, and Optical Fiber Conference). Brian was also a recipient of a UCF Incentive Graduate Fellowship award. He expects to graduate within the year.

Brian recently spent some time consulting at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg MD. He modified a modelocked laser diode system to generate short optical pulses at a high repetition rate. These optical pulses will be used to generate ultra-short electrical pulses that will lead to improved impulse response characterization of electronic devices.

When Brian has some free time, he enjoys participating in his new addiction, roller hockey (hard to find ice in Florida).

Global Positioning Systems Promise More Conveniences for the Future

David Brandon Smith, North Carolina State University, 1997-98

David Smith is working toward a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering at NC State and is interested in global positioning technology, with possible application to intelligent transportation systems. He requested and was granted an opportunity to cross-train, outside of his job assignment in the photogrammetry unit at the NC Department of Transportation, to learn more about photogrammetric mapping and the underlying mathematics. He had the chance to work with the stereo plotters used as well as the computer program used for camera position triangulation.

While working at the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, David worked with streamflow hydrograph derivations on multiple self-chosen storm systems. Given the opportunity to research a large amount of data, David was able to have a good grasp on rainfall runoff / streamflow relationships.

Originally from Hickory, North Carolina, David is described as having a friendly manner, excellent sense of humor, and proactive organizational skills. He was chosen by his peers to serve as President of Chi Epsilon, the Civil Engineering Honor Society. He was nominated and then selected for the Astronaut Scholarship not only for his outstanding academic performance but also for his individual initiative and natural scientific curiosity evidenced in activities outside the classroom.

During Davids work at the Corps of Engineers, he developed new approaches for performing hydrologic modeling that were significant advances in the state of their practice. He has also been discussing an idea to investigate expanded roadside assistance services for motorists utilizing global positioning systems. He has already worked in engineering functions at three different levels of government while only a junior in college. He hopes to maintain close customer proximity in his future engineering endeavors, because he feels that "observing the reactions of the people you affect is the only way to measure your success or failure as an engineer."

David has a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

The Study of El Nino and Other Climatological Phenomena

Steve Vavrus, Purdue University, 1988-89

Congratulations to Steve Vavrus for completing his Ph.D. in Metereology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison last year! He is currently employed as a postdoctoral researcher in the Center for Climatic Research at the University of Wisconsin. His research focuses on how tropical climate may change as a result of increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Specifically, he is using atmosphere and ocean climate models in a pseudo-coupled manner to diagnose how El Nino-like patterns are forced and how they might change in a future climate.

His Ph.D. dissertation was titled Estimating the response of the sea ice-ocean-atmosphere system to paleoclimatic orbital variations using numerical models. Steve also has other publications to his credit in the field of meteorology. They can be found in the Journal of Climate and Limnology and Oceanography. The subjects of these papers are:

• Journal of Climate: Sensitivity of the Arctic climate to leads in a coupled atmosphere-mixed layer ocean model
• Limnology and Oceanography: Measuring the sensitivity of southern Wisconsin lake ice to climate variations and lake depth using a numerical model

While in school, his favorite classes have been interdisciplinary ones, which integrate meteorology, oceanography, and geology; most of these were climate-related classes. Steve is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi. He has also received a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship and a NASA Earth System Science Graduate Fellowship.

Outside of work, his favorite hobbies are bicycling, jogging, reading, cooking, and investing. Also, once a week he volunteers as the weather forecaster on a community radio station in Madison, Wisconsin.

On a personal note, Steve was married on February 7 of this year to Susan Swanson, who is a doctoral student in geology and geophysics at the University of Wisconsin. Congratulations again! Steve also reports that he has a cat named Desmond who is a "real cutie."

Instructing Others in Aerospace Engineering

Matthew Szolwinski, Purdue University, 1992-93

Matt Szolwinski is currently working towards his Ph.D. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (AAE) at Purdue University under the guidance of Professor Farris. His area of expertise is aircraft structures. He expects to complete his Ph.D. by the end of the Spring semester, 1998.

His current research efforts are focused on linking manufacturing process parameters and subsequent tribological and fatigue performance of riveted aircraft joints. This research has targeted the micro-mechanical modeling and experimental mechanics of the wear and contact fatigue damage phenomena associated with frictional or fretting contact.

In recent years, Matt has been awarded both a National Science Foundation (NSF) fellowship and a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate fellowship by the Department of Defense. While at Purdue, he has also received the departmental "Purdue Forever" fellowship.

During his years as a graduate student at Purdue University, Matt has also been involved with the AAE department as a teaching assistant. In particular, for the past three years he has been teaching one module of the introductory course to aerospace engineering. He has enjoyed this teaching experience and is currently seeking an academic position. He hopes to continue his teaching and research activities at another university.

Developing the Next Generation of Microprocessor

Greg Book, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95

Greg has a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering and is presently working as a Senior Process Engineer at Portland Technology Development of Intel Corporation. He is truly on the leading edge of technology, applying his formal education in Chemistry and Materials Science. In his current project, he is developing etch processes for the next generation of microprocessor.

Outside of work, Greg leads a busy life with his wife, 3 year old son, and new 6 month old daughter. He enjoys skiing, basketball, and volleyball.

Scholar is a Spacecraft Attitude Determination and Control Engineer

Ryan Shepperd, University of Colorado, 1996-97

Ryan Shepperd, the Astronaut Scholar from the University of Colorado in 1996-97, is graduating this year with a Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences. He has applied to attend the International Space University in Strasbourg, France, next year but has not yet heard back from them. If he does not enter that program, he expects to continue to work at the Colorado Space Grant Consortium as the spacecraft attitude determination and control engineer for a satellite that will be launched next year.

Relocation Leads Scholar into Gasoline and Sulfur Production

Brad Moore, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1990-91, 1991-92

Brad is currently working at the Sulfur Recovery Unit (SRU) for Amoco Petroleum Products at the Texas City Refinery. This refinery is the largest single producer of gasoline in the country. The sulfur unit is also the largest in the country, producing between 500 and 1200 tons of molten sulfur per day.

Brad relocated to the Texas City Refinery in August 1997 from Decatur, Alabama where he worked at an Amoco Chemical Plant for four years. Having been at the SRU for six months, his main duties include working with turnaround work lists, investigating repetitive failures, and working on solutions to improve the reliability and mean time between repairs. Brad participates in several Amoco training classes that deal with specific areas associated with being a plant engineer. These include courses about pumps, heat exchangers, corrosion, compressors, project management, and decision making skills.

He is single, living in his second house in League City, TX. When his house is not keeping him too busy, Brad works out in a regular exercise program.

In Search of Science's Ultimate Theory

Eric Sharpe, North Carolina State University, 1991-92

At Princeton University, Eric Sharpe is completing his Ph.D. in Theoretical High Energy Physics. His research deals with what many believe to be the Holy Grail of Physics: Superstring Theory. Superstring theory, which considers elementary particles as one-dimensional strings rather than zero-dimensional point objects may be the long sought after "Theory-of-Everything" which explains, at least in principle, all of the elementary objects and interactions which could occur in nature. Already the theory has given inklings of being the Second Renaissance of modern physics, the First being the twin pillars of Quantum Mechanics and Einstein's Theories of General and Special Relativity which, until now, had resisted all efforts at being unified.

Eric will defend his thesis this Spring and will graduate in May under the direction of his thesis advisor, Ed Witten, commonly viewed by many in the physics community as one of the greatest minds of contemporary science.

After graduation, Eric will be working in a postdoctoral position at Duke University and will subsequently pursue a faculty position. Although the field of high energy physics is one of the most competitive, and the job market in academia is extremely tight, Eric is undoubtedly up to the challenge as he has proven throughout his academic career.

Mathematics Professor is Seeking Tenure at Baylor University

Mark Sepanski, Purdue University, 1989-90

Mark Sepanski is currently a professor seeking tenure in the Department of Mathematics at Baylor University. This is his first year in Waco, TX. Before going to work for Baylor he spent two years at Oklahoma State University and one year at Cornell University after graduating with his Ph.D. from MIT.

As a professor at Baylor he shares his time between teaching and research. His topic of research is representation theory of real reductive Lie groups. In a sense, this can be described as the study of symmetry and the ways symmetries can be used to break hard problems into manageable pieces. This has applications in many areas of mathematics including differential equations, combinatronics, geometry, topology, number theory, algebra, and analysis as well as to physics, chemistry, and engineering.

Among his most recent accomplishments, Mark was awarded a grant (1996-94) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study "Boundaries of K-types and Restriction of Cohomology." Even more recently, Mark became the father of baby Sarah, born on Valentine's day last year, and Mark and his wife are expecting another bundle of love by October. Congratulations to both of them!

Mark received the ASF award at the end of his junior year in college. Back then, Mark was taking many graduate level courses in mathematics that he believes were fundamental in preparing for graduate school. Thanks to the Mercury 7 award, he was able to focus entirely on his studies without the burden of any financial worries. He would like to express his gratitude to the foundation for their support; " it was both tremendously encouraging and extremely important in allowing me to immerse myself in mathematics."

Mark would also like to thank Dr. Richard Penney from the Dept. of Mathematics at Purdue University for his time and for " teaching that first real course in calculus." He says that Dr. Penney is largely the reason why he chose his current research topic.

Practicing Law Before the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office

John Shaw, Pennsylvania State University, 1987-88, 1988-89

John Shaw recently passed the registration examination to practice law before the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office. There is a pass rate of only 35.5% for both portions of the exam. Congratulations, John!

John also noted that he would like to attend a future Astronaut - Scholar meeting, when his schedule and kids let him come. Before John started practicing law, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science at Penn State. He received the Mercury Seven Scholarship while studying for that degree.

Personal Initiative Allows Scholar to Get Involved in Professional Activities Early-On

Christopher K. Bentley, North Carolina A&T State University, 1997-98

Christopher Bentley is a senior, majoring in Mathematics at North Carolina A&T State University. From the beginning of his academic career, he has indicated interest in mathematics research. He has been a researcher in the Partnership for Excellence in the Natural Sciences (PENS) program for two and a half years. He is so committed to his future in the profession that he has, more than once, paid his own way to technical conferences. He serves as Treasurer of the NC A&T State Chapter of the Mathematical Association of America.

Christopher had plans to study Real Analysis at Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh during this past summer and is preparing for graduate school. When he began his first year at NC A&T State, Christopher registered for Calculus 1, since scores from a placement test had not yet reached the Math Department. When the scores were finally received, the department chair decided to move Christopher into Calculus 2. Even though it was six weeks into the semester, he still earned a grade of A.

He has spoken at the National Association for Ethnic Opportunity twice (1995 and 1996) about his academic research work. The title of this years presentation was Regression by Least Squares Method. He discussed the use of non-linear relationships within the least square approach and described its practical importance. He also participates in the Ronald P. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program which encourages students to attend graduate school and earn a doctorate.

Through his own initiative, Christopher attended the Undergraduate MATHFest IV and V and the Southeastern Section of the Mathematical Association of America, sometimes arranging for his own transportation a couple of states away. He is described as being "one of the best there is" by an Assistant Professor at his University.

Outside the classroom, Christopher is a math tutor, member of the University Marching and Concert Bands, Secretary of the Music Fraternity, and member of several honor societies. His goal is to pursue graduate studies in Operations Research or Stochastic Processes and earn a Ph.D.

Helping Build the Future of Large Scale Integrated Circuits

Deborah Swarts, Harvey Mudd College, 1991-92, 1992-93

While at Cornell University, Deborah Swarts developed a way to characterize the surface of bulk semiconductor materials such as Gallium-Arsenide through a procedure known as Surface Second Harmonic Generation. Using a pulsed Neobdynium-YAG laser, her method was able to monitor the growth of the materials a single atomic layer at a time. Furthermore, it was able to probe the stepped atomic layers without changing the conduction properties of the material as other methods did. This technique allowed researchers to observe and control the growth of compound semiconductors through a new procedure known as Flow Modulation Epitaxy (FME).

FME is a vast improvement over the only other commercially feasible technique known as ion implantation, yielding cost-effective and superior semiconductor interfaces for heterojunction-based devices of the future. As one example, Motorola will be using FME to produce personal wireless communication products with greatly reduced power requirements and improved operating bandwidths.

Since completing her doctorate Deborah has moved to a career in industry in Silicon Valley.

Zoological Research Takes Scholar to Many Interesting Places Around the World

Sarah M. Karpanty, Miami University, 1997-98

Sarah Karpanty will complete a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology in May 1998 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Her nomination form stated, "Based upon character and leadership, achievements in scholarship and grantsmanship, and creativity and accomplishments in research, Sarah Karpanty ranks in the top 5 undergraduate students I have had in my 30 years of teaching at Miami University." She has received 2 research grants, and even completed her department and University Honors Thesis in her junior year. She published a technical paper while in high school and has two more in preparation. Sarah has also conducted field studies at the Cincinnati Zoo, Metzgar Marsh at Lake Erie, and in Costa Rica.

Last spring, Sarah had plans to study raptor foraging behavior on lemurs in Madagascar in late 1997. She wants to pursue a career in avian research. After obtaining a doctoral degree in ecological sciences, Sarah plans to focus her career on field research in avian ecology and conservation biology in both temperate and tropical regions. Her diverse research experiences have allowed her to experience four realms of ecology and to learn the importance and benefits of cooperative research activities.

Sarah directs the student-run programs at the raptor Rehabilitation Center at Miami University. She organizes museum programs for local elementary schools, conducts nocturnal bird workshops for the community, and judges Science fairs. She is taking French classes to strengthen her language skills in order to improve her ability to work in some of the places where she conducts research.

One of the honors Sarah has received is a scholarship awarded to individuals who have served as a golf caddie and demonstrated dedication to academics, athletics, and service. She has been Treasurer and President of the Hueston Woods Student Naturalist Club as well as being a volunteer at the Maumee Bay State Park Nature Center, Black Swamp Bird Observatory, and Hueston Woods State Park Raptor Rehabilitation Center.

As with all Astronaut Scholars, Sarah is a unique individual in the science and engineering community.

Physics Research Using Optical Microscopy Occupies this Astronaut Scholar

Whittier Myers, Harvey Mudd College, 1997-98

Over the past year, Whit Myers has been involved in two research projects. The first, a Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, took place at the Rice Quantum Institute last summer. He worked with a team of two other undergraduates supervised by Professor Peter Nordlander. Using classical electrostatics, the team computed the potential energy of electrons near a dielectric-coated metal. These potentials allowed calculation of the tunneling rates of electrons between atoms and an oxide-coated metal. In addition, they determined how these rates changed with increasing oxide thickness. The team presented their results at the Rice Quantum Institute Summer Research Colloquium.

During the academic year at Harvey Mudd College, Whit has worked on the optical coherence microscope, a joint effort between the physics, biology, and engineering departments. Designed to produce three-dimensional images of developing plants and animals, the optical coherence microscope uses interferometry to detect the weak reflections emerging from within a cloudy sample. Although the team has already built two optical coherence microscopes, one of them takes hours to perform a scan, and the other has an unacceptable noise level. Whits research has focused on both calculating the intrinsic noise caused by photon fluctuations and on determining the actual sources of noise. He plans to continue this work during the summer.

Whit has taken several excellent classes during the past year. Statistical Mechanics last fall was the "most elegant and challenging physics course I have taken." For the final project, he developed a computer model of many sliding blocks that exhibited self-organized criticality. This semester, his favorite physics class has been Quantum Mechanics. The seminar format of the class gives him a chance to practice teaching as well as learning. He has continued his concentration in science, technology, and society this year by taking Science, Technology, and Gender and The Underside of Progress.

Whit is studying Physics at Harvey Mudd, and expects to complete a bachelors degree in Spring 1999. In his nomination form for the Astronaut Scholarship, Whit was described as "the top student in the class of 11 physics majors." His goal is to eventually achieve a Ph.D., leading to a career in research and/or teaching.

In less academic matters over the past year, Whit has learned how to cook Chinese food and has experimented with MIDI music composition. He has also continued his involvement in the MacAlister Campus Christian Center. He says, "This has been a rewarding year as I have deepened my understanding of physics, become more involved in research, and discovered several new interests."

Acoustical Research at the 1996 Olympic Games

Mary Lyn G. Rivamonte, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1997-98

Mary Lyn Rivamonte is an Aerospace Engineering major, who expects to complete her undergraduate degree in Spring 1999. She is an outstanding student with a strong record of research experience at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). Mary Lyn started Georgia Tech with 37 hours of college credit, accrued through Advanced Placement examinations taken during high school. She has typically taken 20 credit hours per academic quarter, an incredible work load at Georgia Tech! Yet she still maintains a 3.9 grade point average.

Mary Lyn conducted an experiment to determine low frequency sound absorption by Helmholtz resonators buried in sound absorbing blankets, using flat Tupperware containers of the right size, wherein she cut a hole to mount a length of tube. This approach provided a quick and cheap, yet effective, experimental method. She also assisted in the design of a survey to evaluate residents responses to the acoustic environment of a neighborhood during a period of increased helicopter traffic resulting from the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She has conducted acoustic testing for both flow and no-flow cases to evaluate the performance of jet nozzles.

Mary Lyn has completed two research papers for GTRI contracts, including modifying an open jet wind-tunnel jet collector and participating in helicopter noise measurements. She hopes to have a career in research and development in the aerospace engineering industry, perhaps at Lockheed or Boeing, or as a research professor.

A Long Break and Then Its Back to the Books

John Hofferberth, Miami University, 1995-96

Following graduation from Miami University in the summer of 1996, John left the country for a year of backpacking abroad. He spent the majority of his time in the beautiful islands of the South Pacific. The first three months were spent on the remote Marquesas Islands backpacking, camping, and visiting friends. He then traveled to Australia and finally the Solomon Islands where he sailed for nearly five months. On the way back to the U.S., John visited relatives in Germany for a little more than a week making his adventure an around the world tour.

The trip was a fantastic break from academics but John reports that he was ready to get back to the grindstone when he returned last June. He accepted a fellowship position at the Ohio State University and is presently three quarters of the way through his first year of studies there.

One exciting aspect of Johns studies was his nomination and acceptance of a prestigious NIH training fellowship. Pending reasonable academic progress this fellowship will provide research support for the remaining years of his Ph.D. studies. His area of interest is organic chemistry with an emphasis on biologically active natural product. He will begin research this coming summer in a research group that he has yet to choose.

Software Development: A Passport to all Disciplines

Tim Henderson, University of Central Florida, 1988-89

Tim Henderson, after receiving a Bachelor's degree in Physics at the University of Central Florida and a Master's degree from the University of California at San Diego, has entered the field of software development. He has found his skills to be in demand in just about any scientific or quantitative field one could imagine. Take, for instance, the examples of his previous and current employers: SAIC in San Diego and the Fannie Mae Corporation in the DC area of Maryland.

At SAIC, Tim developed code for an automated drug-screening and analysis system. This system was an integrated array of computer-controlled robotic hardware, scanners, and databases that performed all aspects of the drug-discovery process, from the mechanical steps of a functional assay to the collation and analysis of the data, and the automatic identification of possible "hits" (i.e., compounds with promising biological activity). Today the system is used by two companies to perform high-volume screening in their drug-discovery laboratories.

After this project was completed Tim worked on its successor, whose goal it was to create a "Mark II" version of the system, which, by incorporating much more advanced robotics and custom-designed hardware, would push throughput and flexibility to unheard of levels. Tim's major contribution here was the design and coding of the software that handled motion-planning for the system's robotic components, which enabled them to function independently of one another without colliding. Unfortunately the complexity of the project was severely underestimated, and due to budget and time constraints it never became a commercial product. However, its motion-planning system was completed, and it worked extremely well.

Recently Tim chose to explore an entirely different area of software engineering by going to work for Fannie Mae, a home mortgage investment and service company whose headquarters are in the Washington, DC. Currently, Tim is helping to develop the next release of a set of software "building blocks" that implements core functions required across the whole enterprise. This includes the mapping of object-oriented data to relational databases, transparent distributed computing, data security, validation, and auditing, and interfacing with legacy systems such as mainframes. Other developers will use these building blocks to create the custom applications that Fannie Mae uses to carry out its business processes. The objective is to save time and money by reducing duplication of effort, and leveraging the remaining effort many times over through software reuse.

Although in some ways very different from his previous science-related jobs, Tim notes that this one has its own disciplines that are worth learning, and even some close similarities to his previous work. These include the challenges of devising designs for effective distributed computing, and of efficiently processing large quantities of data, in an environment where attention to accuracy is extremely important.

Eventually Tim plans to move back to San Diego and become involved with the computer-related aspects of biotechnology again. He hopes to eventually create novel ways of analyzing the huge volumes of data generated by this industry in its search for useful new biological agents and substances, and of making it available to the scientists who do the decision making. Tim should be quite confident in his prospects: he found his last job after sending out only two resumes!

Earth Science Research Since the Age of Thirteen

Princesa VanBuren, University of Minnesota, 1997-98

Princesa VanBuren received the Astronaut Scholarship for the first time this year. She has a double major in Environmental Sciences and Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Minnesota and expects to graduate in Spring semester 1999. Princesa took second place in the International Science and Engineering Fair in 1994 and was a Westinghouse Science Talent Search Finalist in the same year. She began scientific research when she was only 13 years old!

Some of Princesas research endeavors include: Capacitance probe reliability in soil moisture determination, Water quality and watershed monitoring, Subsurface contaminant flow and modeling of immiscible fluids, Hydrology and ground water flow, Computational fluid dynamics, and Particle physics, among other topics. This research has been conducted for the Argonne National Laboratory, U. S. Department of Agriculture - Research Service, Sandia National Laboratory, U. S. Bureau of Mines, and at Colorado State University for the National Science Foundation. Upon graduation with two bachelors degrees, she intends to attend graduate school.

When doing homework or writing up a lab report, Princesa always asks for additional information to make her assignment more complete. For example, when designing an irrigation system, she not only designed the system but also did additional work to bring in a management program and a cost / benefit analysis to the system - just because she wanted to know. As a good communicator, she has given demonstrations of the research that she is working on, to audiences ranging from prospective students to legislators. She gave the opening address at a recent annual meeting of the Minnesota Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society.

Princesa recently completed an internship at the Waterways Experiment Station in Mississippi. While there, she had a telephone interview with the executive secretary of the Consulting Engineering Counsel of Minnesota. After the interview, the executive secretary contacted her adviser to set up a meeting, because he "just had to meet her."

Outside the classroom, Princesa regularly speaks to younger students, and is involved in the Superior Hiking Trail Association, The Nature Conservancy, and Minnesota Rovers.

Advanced Aerospace Design Using Graphite / Epoxy Composite Materials

Simon Gharibian, Syracuse University, 1997-98

Simon Gharibian hails from Paramus, New Jersey and has recently completed a bachelors degree in Aerospace Engineering at Syracuse University. Simon is now working on a Master of Science degree in the subject. His research concerns the experimental determination of the fracture toughness of a graphite / epoxy composite with the ultimate goal of enabling these high-strength, high-stiffness composite materials to readily be used on future air and space vehicles. The structural weight savings achieved in this manner would allow for the success of future single-stage-to-orbit vehicles and hypersonic commercial jet service, such as a two-hour flight from New York to Tokyo, as well as a wide variety of other applications.

In April 1996, Simon presented his research results at the Northeast Regional ASME student conference, where he won first place in the technical presentation division. He also presented a paper, entitled Effect of Process Zone Constraint on the Fracture Toughness of a Laminated Graphite / Epoxy Composite, at the joint AIAA / ASME / ASCE / AHS / ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, where he won the Jefferson Goblet Student Paper Awards. The same paper has been submitted to the AIAA Journal.

Simon has been very involved in the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and has participated in the ASME formula race car project for two years. He is President of the Syracuse University Sigma Gamma Tau Student Chapter (the National Honor Society of Aerospace Engineering). Until recently, he also worked in the family business in electronic packaging design.

Simons future plans are to complete a Masters degree and then continue doing research in composite materials. He hopes to obtain a job in industry in this field. On a longer-term basis, he plans to return to academia for his Ph.D. and ultimately to become a professor in a Department of Aerospace Engineering at a teaching and research university.

Control Systems: Career Interest for this Second Year Astronaut Scholar

Joseph T. Napoli, Washington University, 1996-97, 1997-98

Joe Napoli was selected to receive the Astronaut Scholarship for the second year in a row. He is making progress toward a doctoral degree in Systems Science and Engineering. He has focused his efforts on control systems, and is described as "an unusually thorough scientist." Joe's career objectives include working in industry, where new engineering ideas are tested in real world applications. He enjoys implementing engineering solutions as well as understanding their theoretical background. He would like to design and implement original control systems.

Joe has been a member of the Washington University Mens Varsity Swimming team, where he holds 2 school records and has served as Captain for 2 years. He was named as a GTE Academic All-American in 1996. During summers, Joe has held various jobs, ranging from a real estate property management assistant to a lifeguard with the Chicago Park District.

A Scientific Approach to Music

Doug Dunston, Harvey Mudd College, 1989-90

Doug Dunston has created an educational and professional experience which is an interesting mix of science and music. When he was a Mercury Scholar at Harvey Mudd College, he achieved a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. Later, he completed a Master of Arts in Physics at the University of California at Berkeley. After that, Doug went on to the Claremont Graduate School (Note: Harvey Mudd is part of the Claremont Colleges) where he completed a Master of Arts and a D. M. A. in Music (Conducting).

Doug was employed as a Visiting Lecturer in Physics at Pomona College and was also the Assistant Conductor of the Claremont Concert Orchestra at the Claremont Graduate School. He also has taught the general Physics laboratory at Pomona.

After graduating from Harvey Mudd College in 1990, Doug spent a Wanderjahr in Europe on a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. He apprenticed to a trumpetmaker in Basel, Switzerland. When he returned to the U. S., he started graduate school at Berkeley. After two years, he decided to take his scientific Master's degree and study another great love of his: music.

Doug should have finished his doctorate degree in Conducting by now. Last we heard, he was pursuing a university conducting position. His thesis dealt with differences between scientific and musical modes of thinking.

It will be interesting to watch where Doug's life takes him next..

Genetics Research Makes for a Ph.D. Dissertation

Greg Turenchalk, University of Central Florida, 1991-92

When Greg Turenchalk received the Astronaut Scholarship, he was a student at the University of Central Florida (UCF), studying Biology with a minor in Chemistry. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from UCF, he taught a spring semester genetics discussion course. He contributed to two journal articles based upon his undergraduate genetics research.

More recently, Greg is pursuing a Ph.D. in genetics at Yale under the direction of Dr. Tian Xu, who studies tumor suppresser genes in fruit flies, and tries to identify the human counterparts of these genes. Greg is currently in his fifth year of study and plans to graduate in about a year and a half. His research project focuses on Drosophila tumor suppresser genes called lats (large tumor suppresser). Some of his recent results have been incorporated into a journal article that is in review at Cell.

In his spare time, Greg works as a visual interpreter for a blind student who is also in the Yale genetics department. He also works on his web page, which can be found at www.curioddities.com.

Astrophysics Research is the Focus for this Astronaut Scholar

Timothy Rood, University of Colorado, 1997-98

Last year, Timothy Rood was ranked number one in his very competitive junior class. He is a team member of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) Solar-Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE), and is working toward a bachelors degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences.

Timothy maintains an exemplary academic record while working 20-30 hours per week during school and full time during spring break and summer. He also actively participates in various student organizations. His nomination form for the Astronaut Scholarship stated that "his work ethic and concentration often eclipse the work of professional staff" at the laboratory where he works. His work on the SOLSTICE project is providing valuable experience in computer programming and data analysis. He has taken a special interest in astrophysics and the intricacies of solar and terrestrial orbits.

Timothy has been a camp counselor for the Summer Christian Service Corporation and is active in the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at the University of Colorado. He has a 3.9 grade point average.

Technical Leadership in Aircraft Engine Design

Virginia Anthes, Purdue University, 1994-95

Virginia completed a bachelors degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at Purdue University in 1995. She has been working for GE Aircraft Engines in their Technical Leadership Program (TLP) for the past couple of years. The TLP program includes four 6-month assignments in different organizations within Aircraft Engines. At the same time the TLP program allows her to work toward a Master of Science in Engineering through the University of Cincinnati.

This year will be quite an exciting time for Virginia. She will graduate with an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Cincinnati in June, get married to "the best guy in the world" in August, and graduate from the TLP program in September!

Field Biology, African Drum Making, Native American Traditions, and...

Julien Ginsberg-Place, Tufts University, 1997-98

Julien Ginsberg-Place is majoring in Biology and excels in field work. He is described as being "extremely resourceful and inventive in creating adaptive structures and mechanisms for humans in somewhat inhospitable environments." He designs and builds outdoor shelters to survive winter, based on Native American tradition. He has experimented with underground shelters and above-ground transportable structures. Julien is working toward his undergraduate degree in Biology.

One of his projects involved researching of Alpine Ecosystems in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He says he found it "fascinating as well as horrifying to discover how little human impact was required to severely damage these fragile biological models." His study led to the conclusions about the development of trail design which would lessen human impact in the coming decades.

Another project involved looking at how coastal plants evolve their morphology in the face of severe environmental stress. He conducted this research in the Bahamas and also used the Biological Field Station of Tufts University. Last we heard, Julien had plans to begin research in Boston and the surrounding area on the effects of pollution on lichen growth and development. He hoped to map the extent of pollution centers in outlying regions.

Julien's activities outside the academic world have been diverse, including being a Karate Instructor, Head Chef at a restaurant, and instructing children ages 5-14 in birds, animals, wild edibles, and wilderness survival techniques. He has dabbled in canoe and paddle building, African drum-making, and sea kayaking. He received an Award for Excellence in Drama and Dance in 1994.

Contributing to the Development of Surgical Fabrics

Jennifer Galvin, Harvey Mudd College, 1990-91

Dr. Jennifer Galvin completed a Bachelors degree in Chemistry at Harvey Mudd and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Illinois. She now resides in Nashville, Tennessee, where she works in research and development with DuPont.

The department which Jennifer works in makes nonwoven fabrics that are used for a variety of things, including surgical gown and drapes, filters, and wipers. Jennifer works specifically on dyeing, finishing, and product development.

Jennifer bought her first house in September of 1997. She has spent the past few months repainting the interior and learning about home maintenance / repair and gardening.

A Doctorate in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Daniel Reichart, Pennsylvania State University, 1994-95, 1995-96

Dan Reichart is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. While he was an Astronaut Scholar, he completed three Bachelor of Science degrees at Penn State - graduating in May 1996 in Astronomy and Astrophysics, with honors, Physics, and Mathematics.

Seeking Improvements in Roads and Plastics Through Chemical Research

Scott Moffatt, Texas A&M University, 1997-98

Scott Moffatt is a Chemical Engineering student at Texas A&M who will graduate in May 1998. He has completed a year in the University Undergraduate Research Fellows Program, Texas A&M's premier undergraduate research program. His progress reports to the University Fellows have been described as "articulate and comprehensive." The project that Scott selected was directed at improving the low temperature physical properties of asphalt-rubber binders.

Scott used an Instron Direct Tensile Testing System to test different types of asphalts for suitability for road use. It was the first production model of the test machine, and he was the first person to do extensive work on it at the Center for Asphalt and Materials Chemistry. Through a trial-and-error process, he developed several techniques to make the direct tension tests more reproducible. He also filled in details of the standard procedure for direct tension testing.

Scott serves on the Student Engineers Council Publicity and Engineering Day committees at Texas A&M, the Staff of the Engineering Tutoring Center, and the Church College group Leadership Team and softball team. He is also in the Branch Buddy Program, where he works with elementary school children weekly.

Professionally, Scott has worked with Union Carbide Corporation in Louisiana, where he increased flows and capacities by 10-45% in the Methyl Glycol Ethers Unit by removing several bottlenecks, created a cooling water database of cooling water flows and pressures, and worked on a group project in the hydrocarbons furnace area that was part of initial testing for a major improvement project.

Scott has been accepted into the Accelerated BS / Masters Program through the Chemical Engineering Department. As a part of this program, he will be working for the Fina Technology Center in Deer Park, Texas for the next two summers, researching polyethylene. His goal is to finish a Masters degree, continue researching, and eventually become a group leader for specific research at a top chemical company.

Chemical Engineer is Employed by Kodak

Wendy Crothers, Syracuse University, 1996-97

Wendy graduated from Syracuse University last May with a bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering. She is currently working for Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York as a project engineer in the Synthetic Chemicals Division. On a personal note, Wendy will be getting married in July and has been very busy with planning lately. She has also volunteered to present the Astronaut Scholarship at her alma mater to future recipients of the award.

Project Lead for Space Shuttle Guidance and Navigation at Johnson Space Center

Scott Tamblyn, Purdue University, 1990-91, 1991-92

Scott Tamblyn graduated with a B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University in May of 1992. After graduating, he went to work with NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in June of 1992. Since then he has worked on two different projects.

Within weeks of becoming a permanent employee of JSC he was made the project lead for a Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) laptop computer application called Rendezvous and Proximity Operations Program (RPOP). RPOP is a Windows application designed, developed, and tested by Scott's team of 5 engineers. This application is a situational awareness tool used by the space shuttle commander to facilitate grappling or docking procedures.

Essentially, RPOP receives raw data (over a laptop computer's serial ports) from the Shuttle's main flight computers and a highly-accurate payload-bay mounted laser sensor. RPOP then processes this data to create a real-time graphical and digital display of the Shuttle's trajectory with respect to a target vehicle, during rendezvous and proximity operations. This tool is most beneficial because, until recently, proximity operations were a completely manual task. The software first flew in 1993 on STS-51, and has flown on every rendezvous mission since then, including the first docking with the Mir space station during STS-71.

During 1996, Scott began to split his efforts between RPOP and a new project, the X-38. The X-38 is a prototype "lifeboat" vehicle which is intended to reside on the International Space Station, and bring a crew of 6 back to earth safely and on-demand. In this new effort, Scott is part of large GN&C flight software team that designs, develops and tests the GN&C flight software for the X-38 prototype vehicles (there are a total of 4 vehicles planned -- 2 are already built, 1 has flown). Scott's job involves verification and validation testing the GN&C software, both on the laboratory, and on the vehicle itself (via closed-loop simulation).

In his last years of college, Scott says, the Mercury 7 award was more than just a monetary relief of the ever present college costs. To Scott, this award represents one of his most proud achievements because it acknowledged him among a crowd of top-notch students in a tough curriculum throughout the nation.

Scott would also like to thank Professors Corless and Howell from the AAE department at Purdue University, for making dynamics such a great learning experience and for being such a great teachers. Last, but not least, he would like to thank Professor Gustafson, also from the AAE department, for believing in him and for all his support as a teacher and as a friend.

Aspirations to Work in the Space Industry Come True

David McKinley, Purdue University, 1997-98

David McKinley will finish an undergraduate degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics in May 1998 at Purdue University. He received the Astronaut Scholarship in the 1997-98 academic year. In addition to his outstanding academic record, David is a cooperative education employee at Hughes Space and Communication Company. His work supervisors have stated that "he has exhibited a strong technical grasp of his project and has quickly responded to new technical challenges that have appeared along the way. His presentation and organization have been very professional", and "Dave operates in a very professional manner with outstanding enthusiasm. He contributed greatly to both the GALAXY and PANAMSAT programs."

David is involved with Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, which is an organization that is in the process of building a small payload module for flight on the space shuttle which will contain several experiments. He says himself that his "career aspirations have revolved around participating in the exploration and development of space." His childhood heroes were Wernher Von Braun and John Glenn. Won't it be exciting the first time Dave gets to meet one of his heroes, John Glenn?

Dave worked summer jobs during high school to pay for a trip to U. S. Space Camp and did an independent science project to build a static liquid fueled rocket engine.

At work, he has been involved with the Electrical Harness Integration team which ensures that all power, telemetry, and command signals within a spacecraft are designed properly. He was assigned, at one point, to do simulations of spacecraft dynamics and control systems.

Intellectual Property Protection

Shayne Short, Texas A&M University, 1993-94, 1994-95

Shayne Short finished a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Texas A&M in August 1997. His dissertation was entitled, Fiber-Optic In-line Sagnac Interferometry: Current Sensor Development. Following that achievement, he went directly into law school at the University of Texas.

Shayne's current plans are to practice intellectual property law, primarily patents. He is presently working part-time at the law firm of Gray, Cary, Ware, & Freidenrich, LLP in Austin doing patent prosecution. That is, primarily the filing of patents, amendments, etc. with the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). His law firms web page can be found at: www.gcwf.com.

During Christmas 1997, Shayne and his wife took a vacation to Uruguay, South America to visit his wife's family.

Bombarding Bromine Molecules with Ultraviolet Radiation

Susan Hallman, University of Central Florida, 1994-95

In Susan's own words, she has "been kind of busy ripping Bromine molecules apart and bombarding them mercilessly with ultraviolet radiation at the Synchrotron Radiation Center of the University of Wisconsin." She hopes to be back in Orlando soon doing less taxing stuff like manipulating data and attending physics classes.

Essentially, RPOP receives raw data (over a laptop computer's serial ports) from the Shuttle's main flight computers and a highly-accurate payload-bay mounted laser sensor. RPOP then processes this data to create a real-time graphical and digital display of the Shuttle's trajectory with respect to a target vehicle, during rendezvous and proximity operations. This tool is most beneficial because, until recently, proximity operations were a completely manual task. The software first flew in 1993 on STS-51, and has flown on every rendezvous mission since then, including the first docking with the Mir space station during STS-71.

During 1996, Scott began to split his efforts between RPOP and a new project, the X-38. The X-38 is a prototype "lifeboat" vehicle which is intended to reside on the International Space Station, and bring a crew of 6 back to earth safely and on-demand. In this new effort, Scott is part of large GN&C flight software team that designs, develops and tests the GN&C flight software for the X-38 prototype vehicles (there are a total of 4 vehicles planned -- 2 are already built, 1 has flown). Scott's job involves verification and validation testing the GN&C software, both on the laboratory, and on the vehicle itself (via closed-loop simulation).

In his last years of college, Scott says, the Mercury 7 award was more than just a monetary relief of the ever present college costs. To Scott, this award represents one of his most proud achievements because it acknowledged him among a crowd of top-notch students in a tough curriculum throughout the nation.

Scott would also like to thank Professors Corless and Howell from the AAE department at Purdue University, for making dynamics such a great learning experience and for being such a great teachers. Last, but not least, he would like to thank Professor Gustafson, also from the AAE department, for believing in him and for all his support as a teacher and as a friend.

Entrepreneurial Vision in Software Consulting

Mark Nippert, North Carolina State University, 1996-97

Mark Nippert graduated from NC State in May 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering. He is working for a small software consulting firm called Eagle Vision Consulting, Inc. They are located in Research Triangle Park, NC and currently have six folks on board. Eagle Vision Consulting develops custom software solutions on Microsoft platforms for a wide variety of clients. As a small company, their number one challenge has been maintaining a clear vision of where they want to go.

As a step in Marks professional development, he worked toward and achieved Microsoft Certification last December. He hopes to continue to work with both the technical and business aspects of running a small consulting firm.

Acknowledgments

Lisa Beeson gratefully acknowledges the outstanding assistance of the following Astronaut Scholars for their contributions of articles and photographs, which made publication of this magazine possible:

• Preston Bates
• Tony DeLia
• Belinda Marchand
• Jessica LoDuca
• Derek Lang
• John Hofferberth

• Larry Bradley
• Virginia Anthes
• Shayne Short
• Matt Tripi
• Brian Mathason
• Debbie Fairbrother

Strengthening America's Position in Science and Technology