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| Title | SDSM&T News |
| Digitaization Specification | Master file format: ? bytes, application/doc, Uncompressed, DOC, ; Checksum: ; Adobe Photoshop CS3 |
| Transcript | July 12, 2002 SDSM&T News Ready to Fly Tech Team Readies For Vomit Comet South Dakota School of Mines and Technology students are making final preparations for their chance to fly in zero gravity aboard NASA's KC-135 airplane, affectionately known as the Vomit Comet. The 10-member team will travel to Houston, Texas, next week for a week of preparation and flights and experiments aboard the KC-135. During two days of flying, the Tech team will study the performance of "solar sails, " devices that could be used in the future to propel spacecraft. The students also will test the ability of the equipment used in the experiment to simulate a space-like environment for similar and more complicated experiments in the future. Tech invites the media to see and talk with the students as they finalize their experiment at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 11, on the second floor of the Civil/Mechanical Building on campus. Solar sails work like sails on a ship. The solar wind, created by electrically charged particles that flow from the sun at all times, blows at more than a million miles an hour. It blows faster, hotter and thinner than any wind on Earth. Solar sails have many potential uses. They could be used if an asteroid ever threatens Earth. A spacecraft could land on the asteroid and unfurl a solar sail. The sail could guide the asteroid away from Earth and harmlessly into space. "Solar sails will be a big part of the next generation of propulsion for satellites and interplanetary probes, " team leader and Tech student John Keefner said. "Using the sun's wind to push ships around the solar system will be a simple and cheap form of propulsion that could keep some probes, possibly similar to Voyager or Galileo, investigating planets, asteroids and stars for decades. The technology is just beginning to be developed, and we are a part of that effort." During the first week at the Johnson Space Center, the students will train and prepare for their flight days. Students will spend two to three hours aboard the KC-135 each flight day. The airplane achieves zero gravity by flying a series of parabolas at an altitude between 26, 000 and 39, 000 feet, like a roller coaster. The plane ascends and dives 8, 000 feet during each parabola. The plane achieves approximately 25 seconds of zero gravity at the top of the parabola. "Nervous, excited, anxious, scared, " team member Stacy Watters said, describing her feelings. "I really don't know what to expect once we get to Houston, so I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa to come, not sure if I'll get presents or coal." Despite the anxiety Watters and other team members feel, there's a level of excitement about being among a select number of universities picked to participate. The students also know that their research could have a real impact on the nation's space program. "These days, rocket science is more than lighting the fuse on a giant tank of fuel, " Keefner said. "I think in the future, we'll be reading about a variety of ships and satellites with different, novel propulsion systems, like solar sails. "The benefits of investing in space research always comes back to the people many times over, " he said. "New advances in protein research, which can only be done in zero-g, has helped the medical community significantly in the past decade. Even things we consider regular household items, like microwaves and Velcro, have roots in the early space program. To think we are a part of that legacy is pretty exciting." This is the second time NASA chose a Tech team for the program. Tech students flew aboard the KC-135 in March 2000. This year's student team consists of flyers John Keefner, Stacy Watters, Brian Glover, and Chris Radzikowski; alternate flyer Ben Rhodes; and ground crew members Casey Heinrich, Kevin Baker, Mike Schmidt, Jeremy Wentz, and Greg Schmidt. Dr. Christopher Jenkins of Tech's Mechanical Engineering Department is the team's faculty advisor. Media Advisory: You can find the lab where the students are working in the Civil/Mechanical Building, located just west of Tech's administration building. Enter from the west, go to the second floor, take the first hallway to your left and go straight through the double doors. The student will be working to your right. #30# Tech Student Awarded $20, 000 Scholarship Santiago Handboy, an Industrial Engineering student at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, has been awarded a two-year, $20, 000 year scholarship from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Handboy is a junior at Tech, and is a graduate of Rapid City Central High School. The scholarship is one of only 10 given by the Packard Foundation in the Tribal Scholars Program. The Tribal Scholars Program supports graduates of tribal colleges who are admitted to four-year colleges and universities for study in science, engineering, computer science, or mathematics. Handboy earned an associate's degree at Oglala Lakota College. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation was created in 1964 by David Packard (1912-1996), co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard Company, and Lucile Salter Packard (1914-1987). They shared a deep and abiding interest in philanthropy. The Foundation awarded approximately $454 million in grants in 2001. #30# Tech Concrete Canoe Team Readies For Nationals The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology's concrete canoe team leaves Rapid City at 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 19, for the concrete canoe national championships in Madison, Wis. The team will practice racing one last time at 7 p.m. today (Tuesday, June 18), at Canyon Lake. The three-day national championship runs from Friday, June 21, through Monday, June 24. The Tech team will compete and race in the competition with its canoe named "Blue Flame" against 25 teams from universities with the best engineering programs in the country. The team's canoe will be judged on appearance, weight, presentation, and races in men's sprint and endurance, women's sprint and endurance, and co-ed. "We're excited about our chances this year, " team co-chair Patrick Schwickerath said. Schwickerath is a Civil and Environmental Engineering major from Newton, Iowa. "We've got a good canoe, a solid team and a lot of experience." The Tech team qualified for nationals by winning the concrete canoe portion of the 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers Rocky Mountain Region Conference held in April. Tech has won the regional competition 13 of the past 15 years. The team finished fifth in last year's national championship, and won the event in 1995. The Tech team designed and built the canoe from scratch, building on the successes and failures of past teams. "Designing a canoe made mostly of concrete is not much different then the everyday challenges these students will face as the future designers and builders of our infrastructure, " H. Gerard Schwartz, Jr. president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, an event sponsor, said. "Civil engineers are continually tasked with the responsibility of making the impossible possible for the betterment of society." Far from the floating bathtubs you might envision, concrete canoes competing at the national level typically resemble Fiberglas racing canoes and boast sophisticated designs aimed at achieving the best combination of speed and maneuverability. Many of the canoes weigh less than those constructed of traditional materials and feature walls only ¼-inch thick. "When you consider that students have been competing at the national level for only 15 years, it's amazing how they have pushed the technology envelope to achieve designs with such impressive speed and maneuverability, " Mike Shydlowski, president and chief executive officer of Master Builders, another sponsor, said. "These talented, young competitors prove year after year that concrete is indeed a versatile and durable building material." SATELLITE MEDIA TOUR: On Friday, June 21, 2002, media outlets can conduct satellite interviews with Tech student teams competing in the national concrete canoe competition in Madison, Wis. ** B-Roll footage of the concrete canoe competition will be available at the following satellite coordinates at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Feed Time: 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Coordinates: Ku-band satellite (analog) on AMC2/Ge2 (Transponder 1K) Reporters who want to interview students should call ConnectLive at (202) 513-1010 to schedule interviews. For information about the competition or the Satellite Media Tour, contact Norida Torriente at (202) 326-5129 or on her cell phone at (202) 253-5058. Visit the competition web site at www.cae.wisc.edu/~asce150. #30# South Dakota Tech Paddles to Seventh The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology concrete canoe team placed seventh after four days of competition that tested the team's academic, design, construction and athletic abilities. The competition, held this past weekend at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, was sponsored by Master Builders and the American Society of Civil Engineers Tech's team competed and raced with its canoe named "Blue Flame" against 25 teams from universities with the best engineering programs in the country. The team's canoe was judged on appearance, weight, presentation, and races in men's sprint and endurance, women's sprint and endurance, and co-ed. "We did best in the academic portions of the competition, " team advisor Dr. Scott Kenner said. Kenner is an assistant professor in Tech's Department of Civil Engineering. The team did take first place in the "Best Final Product" portion of the competition, but faltered on the racecourse. The Tech team spent nine months designing, building and practicing with its canoe. Some team members worked 100-hour weeks making sure the canoe was the best it could be. The Tech team qualified for nationals by winning the concrete canoe portion of the 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers Rocky Mountain Region Conference held in April. Tech has won the regional competition 13 of the past 15 years. The team finished fifth in last year's national championship, and won the event in 1995. Clemson University won this year���s competition, their third win in four years. #30# Society Selects Gowen As Eminent Member Eta Kappa Nu, a national Electrical and Computer Engineering Honor Society, has selected South Dakota School of Mines and Technology President Dr. Richard Gowen as an Eminent Member. The society inducted Gowen during ceremonies held June 22 in Toronto, Canada. Eta Kappa Nu established the rank of Eminent Member in 1950 as the society's highest membership classification. The society confers the title on "those select few whose technical attainments and contributions to society through leadership in the field of electrical and computer engineering have resulted in significant benefits to humankind." Gowen has served as Tech president since 1987. He has announced his retirement, effective July 1, 2003. He previously served as vice president for Academic Affairs and as dean of engineering. He also served as president of Dakota State University. In 2000, Gowen served as commissioner of the the nation's Web-Based Education Commission. The commission recommended how the Internet can enhance students' education experiences and provide equal access to all students. In 1957, Gowen joined RCA Laboratories. The U.S. Air Force called Gowen to active duty, and he served as an Air Force officer for 20 years, including 15 years as a member of the electrical engineering faculty at the Air Force Academy. He directed NASA-Air Force Space Medical Instrumentations, and served on the NASA Astronaut Medical Launch and Recovery team for the Apollo and Skylab missions. Gowen was the centennial president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, president of Eta Kappa Nu, president of the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education, and chairman of the board of the American Association of Engineering Societies. #30# |
| Creator | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. University Relations; |
| Subject | Scholarships -- South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; |
| Local Subject | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
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| Digital Publisher | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Devereaux Library
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| Date | 2002-07-12 |
| Type | Text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Language | eng |
| Relation | Is part of Office of University Relations SDSM&T News Collection |
| Rights | The work from which this copy was made did not include a formal copyright notice. This work may be protected by U. S. copyright law (Title 17, United States Code), which governs reproduction, distribution, public display, and other uses of protected works. Uses may be allowed with permission from the copyright holder, if the copyright on the work has expired, or if the use is fair use or within another legal exemption. The user of this work is responsible for compliance with the law. |
| Submitting Institution | Devereaux Library. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. |
| Date Digital | 2009 |
| CONTENTdm number | 5133 |
| CONTENTdm file name | 6096.pdf |
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