2010
Winter 2010
New Inventor of the Year Award
Prof Jean Koster will receive the New Inventor of the Year Award from the CU Technology Transfer Office during a special banquet on Tuesday, January 18 (see here for details). Prof Koster and the students on his research team have done work that expands the concept of hybrid vehicles to airplanes, which led to the formation of a new company, Tigon Ener Tec.
AIAA Technical Committee Best Paper Award
Prof Jean Koster won the "Best Paper" award from the Design Engineering Technical Committee at the AIAA 49th Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Orlando, FL on January 5, 2011. His paper's title is"Hybrid Electric Integrated Optimized System (HELIOS) - Design of a Hybrid Propulsion System for Aircraft".
AES Professors with Italian Connections
Prof Lakshmi Kantha has been appointed as an Associate Scientist at the Istituto di Scienze Marine (Institute of Marine Research), Venice, Italy. It is one of the institutes of the Italian Consiglio Nationale delle Ricerche (National Research Council), equivalent to our NSF. Prof Kantha is only one of the two non-Italian scientists to hold this position in the history of ISMAR.
Prof William Emery has been reappointed for another three years as an adjunct professor in Informatics (computer science) in the Engineering College at Tor Vegata University in Rome.
First Successful Test Flight of Dream Chaser Model
The Dynamically Scaled Model of the Dream Chaser vehicle designed and built by UCB's Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles (RECUV) and Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) had a successful test flight at NASA'S Dryden Flight Research Center the week of December 6, 2010. SNC's Dream Chaser vehicle is derived form the HL-20 lifting body which NASA started researching almost 30 years ago, and is designed to carry up to seven people to the International Space Station and back; it had never been flown before. Special kudos go to Profs. Ryan Starkey and Brian Argrow, and especially to Aerospace students Josh Fromm and Eric Hall, who worked exceptionally hard designing and building this vehicle in conjunction with SNC partners and another six students working on software. See "Dream Chaser Model Drops in at NASA Dryden". A 12/31/10 Boulder Daily Camera story on the Dream Chaser can be found here.
Fall 2010
Lidar Success at McMurdo Station, Antarctica
The first Fe signals (372 nm) from Arrival Heights, Antarctica, were received at 1:50am UT, on December 16, 2010. The first light is a milestone for the lidar project, directed by Prof Xinzhao Chu (AES and CIRES) and her team, seen in the photo below (Student Zhibin Yu, CIRES scientist Wentao Huang, Prof. Xinzhao Chu, Students John Smith and Weichun Fong). Lidar integrates the technologies of laser spectroscopy and advanced electro-optics to produce a single system with unmatched measurement capability for studying the middle and upper atmospheres, deemed crucial for understanding climate change.
CCAR Alumnus Named NASA Chief Scientist
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has named Waleed Abdalati the agency's chief scientist, effective Jan. 3. Abdalati will serve as the principal adviser to the NASA administrator on agency science programs, strategic planning and the evaluation of related investments. Abdalati is currently the director of the Earth Science and Observation Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He also is an associate professor in the university's geography department.
Abdalati received a Master of Science in aerospace engineering sciences from the University of Colorado in 1991, and a doctorate in 1996 from the Department of Geography at the University of Colorado, where he was one of the first graduates of the university's Program in Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov
New Research Breakthroughs
Prof. Kristine Larson of AES collaborated with Eric Small of geology and John Braun of COSMIC/UCAR on new ways to use GPS satellite signals to measure soil moisture, snow depth, and vegetation growth. For details, see http://www.earthscope.org/es_doc/onsite/inSights_fall10.pdf
National Society for Black Engineers (NSBE)
The Department sent six AES students to the Region 6 NSBE Conference in California in November 2010 as part of its new AES Diversity Initiative. Student Advisor Claire Yang also pulled together an AES Diversity Task Force comprised of 35 undergraduate and graduate students who will help to increase the pipeline for women and under represented minorities to apply to both the Undergraduate and Graduate Program in Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Entrepreneurship in Aerospace Engineering Sciences
Tigon EnerTec Inc, led by Prof. Jean Koster, is off to a good start. Tigon grew from an AES Senior Project called HELIOS, and the HELIOS project, which enables efficient management of hybrid engines in aircraft, is a recent graduate of the CU-Boulder Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI) Market Assessment Program. See below for numerous press releases about this company, one of the first to be incubated by eSpace and the AES department's recent entrepreneurial approach to research.
http://cutechtransfer.blogspot.com/2010/09/tigon-enertec-to-commercialize-cu.html
http://www.bcbr.com/article.asp?id=53583
https://www.cusys.edu/newsletter/2010/09-15/techtransf.html
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_16076524
AES Research Professor Awarded Honorary Degree
Dr. Timothy Killeen, Lyall Research Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, was awarded an Honorary DSc degree at University College London on September 6, 2010. Dr. Killeen is Assistant Director for Geosciences at the US National Science Foundation and has been tasked by President Obama's Science Advisor to chair the development of a U.S.A. strategic plan in climate science. See here for more details on his career.
ICESat RIP
On August 30, 2010 the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) returned to Earth in the Barents Sea after seven successful years on orbit taking laser altimeter data of polar ice. About 500 lbs of the 2000-lb satellite reached the surface, NASA estimates. Ball Aerospace built the spacecraft; CCAR built the operational orbit determination software and special software to allow pointing the altimeter at targets of opportunity, and LASP operated the spacecraft. Two AES undergraduates helped ICESat through its final hours (here). Prof George Born, Director of CCAR, acknowledged individual contributors to this successful mission.
Asteroid Study in Nature Magazine
Research on paired asteroids by an international team including Prof Dan Scheeres of AES and PhD candidate Seth Jacobson of UCB's Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences department is featured in the Aug 26 issue of "Nature". Surprisingly, sunlight plays a key role in "birthing" asteroids. See CU's press release for more information.
AES Alumna Inducted to Space Camp Hall of Fame
Andrea Hanson (MS-2004, PhD-2008, UCB Aerospace Engineering Sciences) was inducted to the Space Camp Hall of Fame recently. Andrea is currently a post-doctoral research scientist/engineer at the University of Washington. See our Alumni page for more information!
Two AES Professors Receive Provost Awards
Professor Hanspeter Schaub and Prof. Jeffrey Thayer of the Aerospace Engineering Sciences department were each selected to receive one of the Provost's Faculty Achievement Awards. Dr. Schaub was recognized for his work on the control of multiple spacecraft flying in formation. The awarding committee noted: "Your ingenious idea to use electrostatic forces of attraction and repulsion rather than thrusters to control three spacecraft has clear implications for even larger formations of spacecraft." The faculty committee was equally impressed with Dr. Thayer's ground breaking article in the Journal of Geophysical Research, and his discovery that "atmospheric drag on small satellites results from the impact of periodic solar wind streams created by cool pockets on the sun. This work offers both a key scientific finding and practical applications for the positioning of satellites." Awards will be presented at the Fall Convocation in the Old Main Chapel on October 15 at 1:30 pm.
University of Colorado Explores "Living" Wall Concept
Led by Dr. John Zhai, an associate professor of civil, environmental, and architectural engineering at CU, a research team that includes Prof. Kurt Maute of AES, proposes to create "high-tech walls that essentially breathe to control the inside temperature" much like a human body regulates its own temperature. The $1.97 million grant is funded by NSF. See the Daily Camera story here.
FAA Chooses Center of Excellence
On August 19, 2010 the Federal Aviation Administration announced the formation of a Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation, tasked with researching issues of space launch operations and traffic management, among other space-related matters. CU-Boulder is one of eight universities and other institutions which will collectively make up the center, with Prof David Klaus of the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences serving as the principal investigator for the CU-led portion of the project. See Daily Camera story here.
Summer 2010
Professor Palo and the three AIAA Small Satellite Conference Awardees
AIAA Small Satellite Conference Awards
For the second year running, UCB students placed high in the Frank J. Redd Student Scholarship (paper) Competition at the AIAA Small Satellite Conference in Logan, UT. Aerospace PhD candidate David Gerhardt (advisor: Prof Scott Palo), won 2nd place for his paper, "Passive Magnetic Attitude Control for CubeSat Spacecraft" and was awarded $7500. Prof Xinlin Li's students Quintin Schiller (AES, PhD) and Abhishek Mahendrakumar (ECEE, MS) won 3rd place and $3250 each for "REPTile: A Miniaturized Detector for a CubeSat Mission to Measure Relativistic Particles in Near-Earth Space". All three students are members of the Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment, an NSF funded project to design, build and fly a cubesat to improve our fundamental understanding of high energy particles in the near Earth space environment. See the summary for day 3 at www.smallsat.org for interviews from the student competition.
First Place in International Poster Competition (ICES)
AES PhD student Jonathan Metts (advisor: Prof David Klaus) received a first place award in the student poster competition held during the 40th Annual International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), an AIAA forum held from July 11-15, 2010 in Barcelona, Spain. His poster was titled ‘Electrochromic Radiator Impact on Apollo Sublimator Water Consumption.’ This was the third year in a row that he placed in the poster competition. Additionally, Jonathan co-chaired a session and gave an oral presentation at the meeting that accompanied a paper on a related topic.
Third Win for HELIOS
The HELIOS team won second prize and $1500 in cash at the student design competition of the CDIO Academy at the International CDIO conference in Montreal, Canada, June 15-17. Nineteen teams competed from around the world: Europe, Australia, Asia, North America. The team sizes ranged from 3 to 300 students. All 3 winning teams followed very similar rigorous systems engineering procedures as those applied in the AES senior design program, confirming that the Aerosopace Engineering Sciences senior design course is one of the best in the world!
First Place in International Poster Competition (ICES)
AES PhD student Jonathan Metts (advisor: Prof David Klaus) received a first place award in the student poster competition held during the 40th Annual International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), an AIAA forum held from July 11-15, 2010 in Barcelona, Spain. His poster was titled ‘Electrochromic Radiator Impact on Apollo Sublimator Water Consumption.’ This was the third year in a row that he placed in the poster competition. Additionally, Jonathan co-chaired a session and gave an oral presentation at the meeting that accompanied a paper on a related topic.
Second Place Win at RASC-AL
CU Aerospace students Trent Hanson and Nic Zinner took second place in the undergraduate category at the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concept-Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) national competition held in Florida from June 7-9. Competing against twelve other undergraduate teams selected to participate, this was CU's first appearance at this national competition. RASC-AL takes real-world NASA engineering design challenges and provides a forum for engineering students across the U.S.A. to compete for the best solution. See here for more details (soon to be published).
Commitment to Excellence Award
On the occasion of her ten-year anniversary with the College, Program Assistant Deborah Mellblom has received a College of Engineering and Applied Science's Commitment to Excellence Award, which carries a $500 stipend and recognizes staff members for continuous service to the College who have also earned the highest performance rating for the most current three years.
Spring 2010
HELIOS Wins Again!
On May 7 the AES/CU-Daniel Webster College senior design team known as HELIOS won Third place at the 4th Annual National Security Innovation Competition (NSIC). The competition included graduate student teams with seven US universities present. Judges included several directors, hailing from such diverse agencies as Homeland Security, MITRE, NORAD/USNORTHCOM, Raytheon, a venture capital firm, the patent group at a law firm, and a federal laboratory consortium in Los Alamos. The team received a trophy and $1000 in cash.
Five AES Graduate Students Win Amelia Earhart Fellowships
From left--Aurore Sibois, Jennifer Mindock, Laura Stiles, Jill Tombasco, and Christine Hartzell, at the Boulder Downtown Mall. (Photo by Ann Brookover)
HELIOS Wins First Place AIAA Region I-NE Student Paper Conference
Four undergraduates at Daniel Webster College (DWC) partnered with seven seniors in CU's Aerospace Engineering Sciences department to form a team known as HELIOS. Its mission was to design and build a hybrid solar powered UAV capable of improving the efficiency of current UAV technology. The DWC team presented at the AIAA Region I-NE Student Paper Conference and walked away with First place. This means that two AES teams (HELIOS and CUBOAT) will be competing in January 2011 at the annual AIAA Student Paper Conference.
CU's Aerospace Engineering Sciences Senior Design Projects Sweep AIAA Awards
The top three awards at the AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference (held in Wichita, KS in April 2010) for best papers in the team category went to three AES Senior Design Projects: CUBOAT (First place); TREST (Second place); and DANTE (Third place). CUBOAT is eligible to compete in the AIAA national student paper competition in Orlando next January. See here for details on the projects.
Among the Top Ten in AIAA Design, Build and Fly Competition
The CU team called the Buff Bambinos, an AES senior project sponsored by RECUV and Lockheed Martin, placed 7th out of 69 teams at the international AIAA DBF competition in Wichita, KS (April 16-18). Each student team had to fly with an airplane that they designed and built specifically for this competition, and submit a 60 page report. The Babminos received a score of 93 on their report (ranking 6th) with the top report score getting a 96 - a very tight competition. They successfully completed their 3 required mission flights with very good scores, competing against top-ranked schools such as MIT, USC, UCLA, Texas, Oklahoma State, Purdue and George Tech. Dr. Brian Argrow sponsored and mentored the team, and Dr. Donna Gerren, faculty advisor to the Buff Bambinos, traveled to Wichita to cheer them on.
Winter 2009-2010
March 12, 2010 Graduate Student Awards and Graduate Candidates Visit
On Friday, March 12, The AES department held a celebratory luncheon in the midst of its graduate candidate recruitment visit to honor Jonathan Metts and David Wiese as recipients of the 2010 John A. Vise Graduate Student Excellence Awards, and Steven Mitchell, who received the AES Graduate Student Service Award. Ann Brookover, the graduate student advisor for AES, received the Department's Employee Recognition Award.
Prof Dave Klaus and Jonathan Metts Prof Steve Nerem and David Wiese
Steven Mitchell and Ann Brookover Ann and Department Chair Jeff Forbes
Faculty from each focus area presented Graduate student candidates enjoyed
research highlights to AES Graduate a break before going on a tour of AES
Program student candidates. labs and meeting with faculty.
We Want Our Future!
AES graduate students Bradley Cheetham and Bruce Davis are developing an initiative aimed at inspiring youth and strengthening the nation’s education in science, technology, engineering, and math. Called "We Want Our Future", the project aims to collect more than 100,000 postcards from young students around the country graphically depicting what each student imagines to be the future of space exploration. See here for full details
Tuskegee Airmen Mile High Visit
High School students and their parents, hosted by the Tuskegee Airmen, visited the Aerospace department on the Boulder campus on February 20th. Former astronaut Joe Tanner gave a presentation that included his own photos of the International Space Station. Alumni from the Tuskegee program who work with the BOLD Center held a panel discussion and Space Grant volunteers led an engineering activity with legos.
Alumni, Tuskegee Airmen, and AES Chair Jeff Forbes (center)
ION Thurlow Award to Dennis Akos
AES Professor Dennis Akos has been awarded the Institute of Navigation Thurlow Award for 2009, based on his software radio research for satellite navigation. The purpose of the ION Thurlow Award is to recognize outstanding contributions to the science of navigation. It was created as a memorial in honor of Colonel Thomas L. Thurlow, U.S. Army Corps, a brilliant engineer, skillful pilot, and able officer who contributed significantly to the development and testing of navigation equipment and the training of navigators and pilots. See here for more details.
UCB Student-built Cube Satellite to Fly in Space
Hermes, a tiny satellite built by a team of UCB undergraduates (most of them aerospace majors) is one of three university satellites to be attached to a Taurus XL launch vehicle that also will launch NASA's Glory mission to study solar radiation. Part of a NASA space education initiative, Herme is scheduled for launch in November 2010. See Press Release.
AES Professor Penina Axelrad Wins College Service Award
The College of Engineering and Applied Science recognized Penny Axelrad's exemplary service by presenting her with the 2009 Max S. Peters Service Award at an event on Friday, 29 January 2010.
UCB Faculty, Students Sweep AIAA Space Research and Education Awards
At the January 2010 meeting of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) held in Orlando, Florida, AES Chair Jeffrey M. Forbes and LASP Director Daniel Baker, plus three CU aerospace graduate students were honored with prestigious research awards. See Press Release for details.
CU Students to Build Tiny Spacecraft
The National Science Foundation has awarded the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and CU-Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics $840,000 for graduate students to build a spacecraft weighing less than 5 pounds to observe energetic particles in space. Combined with data from other sources, the data collected by the spacecraft will enable us to learn more about space weather. See Press Release.
Commitment to Excellence Award
Undergraduate Advisor Claire Yang is one of the first recipients of the College of Engineering and Applied Science's Commitment to Excellence Award, which carries a $500 stipend and recognizes staff members "who have reached a five-year anniversary... of continuous service to the College and have also earned the highest performance rating for the most current three years."
Jeffrey M. Forbes Selected for AIAA Losey Atmospheric Sciences Award
Professor Jeff Forbes, Glenn Murphy Endowed Chair and Chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, will be presented the prestigious American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Robert M. Losey Atmospheric Sciences Award at the awards luncheon on Tuesday, 5 January 2010, in conjunction with the 48th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Orlando, Florida. The Losey Award is presented to Dr. Forbes "to recognize his extensive contributions to our knowledge and understanding of the re-entry, aerobraking and orbital drag enviroments of Earth, Mars, and Venus."
2009
ION Thurlow Award to Dennis Akos
AES Professor Dennis Akos has been awarded the Institute of Navigation Thurlow Award for 2009, based on his software radio research for satellite navigation. The purpose of the ION Thurlow Award is to recognize outstanding contributions to the science of navigation. It was created as a memorial in honor of Colonel Thomas L. Thurlow, U.S. Army Corps, a brilliant engineer, skillful pilot, and able officer who contributed significantly to the development and testing of navigation equipment and the training of navigators and pilots. See here for more details.
UCB Student-built Cube Satellite to Fly in Space
Hermes, a tiny satellite built by a team of UCB undergraduates (most of them aerospace majors) is one of three university satellites to be attached to a Taurus XL launch vehicle that also will launch NASA's Glory mission to study solar radiation. Part of a NASA space education initiative, Herme is scheduled for launch in November 2010. See Press Release.
CU Students to Build Tiny Spacecraft
The National Science Foundation has awarded the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and CU-Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics $840,000 for graduate students to build a spacecraft weighing less than 5 pounds to observe energetic particles in space. Combined with data from other sources, the data collected by the spacecraft will enable us to learn more about space weather. See Press Release.
Commitment to Excellence Award
Undergraduate Advisor Claire Yang is one of the first recipients of the College of Engineering and Applied Science's Commitment to Excellence Award, which carries a $500 stipend and recognizes staff members "who have reached a five-year anniversary...of continuous service to the College and have also earned the highest performance rating for the most current three years."
Jeffrey M. Forbes Selected for AIAA Losey Atmospheric Sciences Award
Professor Jeff Forbes, Glenn Murphy Endowed Chair and Chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, will be presented the prestigious American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Robert M. Losey Atmospheric Sciences Award at the awards luncheon on Tuesday, 5 January 2010, in conjunction with the 48th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Orlando, Florida. The Losey Award is presented to Dr. Forbes "to recognize his extensive contributions to our knowledge and understanding of the re-entry, aerobraking and orbital drag enviroments of Earth, Mars, and Venus."
CUSEDS Wins National Board 2008-2009 Chapter of the Year Award
University of Colorado's Boulder Chapter of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (CUSEDS) won the highly contested chapter of the year (2008-2009) award at the November 14, 2009 national conference called SpaceVision in Tucson, AZ. CUSEDS is advised by Prof. David Klaus of the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences.
Aerospace Grad Students Create Pac-Man Roomba Game
See Boulder Daily Camera's second top story on 11-11-09 at http://www.dailycamera.com/ to discover how Aerospace graduate students Jack Elston, Maciej Stachura and Cory Dixon used the Unmanned Aerial System software suite they had developed to program robotic vacuum cleaners for a life-size mechanical game of Pac-Man.
Nicholas Pedatella Wins Student Poster Competition
Doctoral Candidate Nicholas Pedatella (advised by Prof Kristine Larson) won the student poster competition at the 4th COSMIC Data Users Workshop, held in Boulder the last week of October.
Bruce Davis Wins Student Paper Competition
Graduate Student Bruce Davis (advised by Prof Mahmoud Hussein) won Second Place in the Biennial Conference on Mechanical Vibration and Noise Student Paper Competition, held this year in San Diego at the ASME IDETC conference. His paper's title is “A three-dimensional lumped parameter model of nanoscale phononic crystals”.
Kristina Wang Receives SWE Collegiate Member Award
Aerospace BS/MS candidate Kristine Wang received the Society of Women Engineer's highest national award for a collegiate member in Chicago, on October 16, 2009. "Kristina Wang's technical skills, enthusiasm and outstanding volunteer work have made her a valuable collegiate leader,” says Nora Lin, SWE president. "As section president, she was able to secure funding from various sources to bring eight additional members to WE08, and four to the 2009 Region I conference."
See here for more details.
ION Kepler Award
Prof Penina Axelrad was selected to receive the 2009 Kepler Award from the Institute of Navigation "for her continued contributions in the field of satellite navigation; dedication to the education of future generations of navigation engineers; and extensive service to professional societies including The Institute of Navigation." See kepler2009.
Former Astronaut Jim Voss Joins Aerospace Engineering Sciences
University of Colorado alumnus-astronaut Jim Voss is the second astronaut to join CU-Boulder's aerospace engineering sciences department, following a NASA career that included five spaceflights, 202 days in space, and four spacewalks. He joins former astronaut Joe Tanner, a senior instructor in AES since fall 2008. "I have returned to CU to teach and to help the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the aerospace department," said Voss. "I hope to inspire the next generation of space explorers." See Voss_Joins_CU.
AES Chair Wins Dean's Award
The 2009 Dean's Award for Outstanding Research in the College of Engineering & Applied Science will be awarded to Jeffrey M. Forbes, Chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the College Faculty/Staff Meeting on September 25, 2009. This award is based on annual faculty performance evaluation data completed this past spring by the departments, programs, and deans of the College.
Aerospace Ph.D. Candidates Win First and Second Place
Marcin Pilinski and Bruce Davis won first and second place, respectively, at the 17th Annual Frank J. Redd Student Scholarship Competition held at the 23rd AIAA Small Satellite Conference in Logan, UT this August. Both Marcin and Bruce presented papers on their DANDE work. Marcin was awarded $10,000 for first place and has been invited to present his paper at the European Space Conference next year. Bruce received $7,000 for second place and has been invited to chair a session at the European Space Conference.
$2M for eSpace
Congressman Jared Polis won approval from the U.S. House of Representatives for $2M in the Department of Defense budget to be earmarked for the Center for Space Entrepreneurship (a/k/a eSpace), a company based in Louisville. If approved by the Senate in September and signed into law by Obama, the funds will help grow the aerospace industry in metro Denver by creating a partnership between industry and university research to develop and commercialize viable space technologies. See here for more details.
Spring 2009: Major Tornado Study with Unmanned Vehicles
After years of work designing and building them, AES Professors Brian Argrow, Eric Frew, and UCB students plan to send their 12-pound, 10.5 foot wingspan aerial vehicles for one-hour flights into developing storms during tornado season. Measurements made by the instruments aboard the vehicles may help scientists to improve their ability to predict short-term severe weather forecats. See Daily Camera story for details.
April 2009: CU Doctoral Students Win $10,000 Top Prize
UCB graduate students Evan Thomas (Aerospace) and Max Gold (Civil Engineering) have volunteered their time for six years with Engineers Without Borders-USA, helping to bring water purification systems, biogas generators and high efficiency cooking stoves to remote villages in Rwanda. Turning that charity into an economically sustainable enterprise is an idea that won first place at Purdue University's national Idea-to-Product Competition for Social Entrepreneurship on April 4. Read CU News.
April 2009: CU-Boulder Redbull Airplane Competition Winner
Michael Opland, AES undergraduate, won the CU-Boulder Redbull Airplane competition and is one of only 14 American contestants invited to participate in the finals of the Global Paper Airplane Competition. Michael will have an all-expenses trip to Austria for the finals, which will judge farthest flight (the category he won in), the longest airtime and flight aerobatics. See additional info at these links:
http://www.redbullpaperwings.com http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Red-Bull-973842.html Youtube video of the 2006 finals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN8nKPdjsnk
Spring 2009: Recent Awards for Aerospace Engineering Sciences Faculty, Staff, and Students
AES Professor William Emery received the 2009 Boulder Faculty Assembly Excellence in Research Award. He also was selected for the IEEE/GRSS Outstanding Service Award for 2009.
Matt Rhode, AES Laboratory Coordinator, received the highest award possible for UCB staff--the Chancellor's Employee of the Year Award for 2009.
Graduate Students Nicholas Pedatella and Laura Stiles received NSF Graduate Research Fellowships. Mr. Pedatella also received an Outstanding Paper Award from AGU, and Ms Stiles received an Amelia Earhart Scholarship. Amal Chandran received an Outstanding Paper Award from AGU. Laura Brower and Christine Hartzell received Amelia Earthart Scholarships as well.
Undergraduate Farheen Rizvi was selected for the Silver Medal Award, and Vicki Hsu was awarded the Norlin Scholarship.
April 2009: Community Movie Event
Aerospace Engineering Sciences; Mechanical Engineering; and Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering hosted a community movie event on April 1st. Former NASA Astronaut Joe Tanner introduced two IMAX films, "To Be An Astronaut," and "Space Station," and spoke to the students about undergraduate Co-Op Opportunities and the newly developed Graduate Projects Courses. After the event, Mr. Tanner generously signed autographs for the children in attendance.
Spring 2009: John A. Vise Award, Graduate Student Service Award
Ryan Kobrick and Bruce Davis are the recipients of the 2009 John A. Vise Graduate Student Excellence Award., and Eric Vinande is the recipient of the first annual Graduate Student Service Award. See Graduate Awards for more details.
February 2009: AeroSpace Systems Science and Engineering (AS3E)
University of Colorado at Boulder administrators have launched a comprehensive space science and engineering initiative that will bring together faculty and students across campus now participating in a broad swath of space-related research. Read CU News.
January 2009: Aerospace Student Project DANDE Wins National Competition
A group of 16 judges from the Air Force and industry selected CU-Boulder's student-designed satellite, the Drag and Neutral Density Explorer (DANDE) for the opportunity to be launched into space as a secondary payload by 2011. The UCB students, representing a multidisciplinary group from such departments as Aerospace, Electrical, Mechanical, and Computer Science, competed against 10 other schools to win the AIAA/AFOSR/AFRL National University Nanosatellite Design competition. Read CU News and listen to interview on Colorado Matters from Friday, February 13, 2009.
Spring 2009: CU Aerospace Program Begins 2009 On a Roll
As quoted in the Denver Post: "Since 2004, CU has received more NASA research funding than any other public university in the United States." See story.
Also see Daily Camera story on Feb 15, 2009 re aerospace industry boosting Boulder County's economy.
January 2009: eSpace: The Center for Space Entrepreneurship
In order to enhance space entrepreneurship and work force development, the University of Colorado at Boulder and Space Dev., Inc. have formed a new non-profit organization named eSpace: The Center for Space Entrepreneurship. This endeavor includes an initial $90,000 grant to CU's Aerospace Engineering Sciences department to fund an eSpace Venture Design program. Read more.
Januray 2009: UCB Aerospace Awards and Recognition at AIAA in Orlando, FL
The Aerospace Engineering Sciences department's KRAKEN senior projects team (AY2007-08) won the AIAA's first annual International Student Conference Team Award on January 6, 2009. Also recognized at the AIAA conference in Florida are Aerospace graduate students Jason Roadman. who received the 2008 John Leland Atwood Award; and Laurren Kanner, winner of the 2008 Abe M. Zarem Award for Distinguished Achievement in Astronautics.
In addition , Brian Hynek of LASP received the Abe M. Zarem Educator Award for his work in advising Laurren Kanner.
2008
December 2008: Outstanding Graduate Laura Fisher
Named the year's "Outstanding Graduate" by the College of Engineering and Applied Science, Laura Fisher addressed all engineering students at the Recognition Ceremony in December 2008. Laura's dual bachelor's and master's degree in aerospace engineering sciences is all the more remarkable, as she underwent brain surgery just a year ago. See http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jan/02/brain-surgery-doesnt-derail-cu-grad/
December 2008: Earth's Atmosphere Breathes Faster, More Frequently than Thought
AES Professor Jeff Thayer and other scientists from NASA and the University of Colorado presented evidence at the annual AGU Conference that the Earth “breathes” rhythmically through expansion and contraction of its atmosphere every nine days. The breath corresponds to changes in the Sun’s magnetic fields. Read CU News or check out this post on www.wired.com
December 2008: Denver Post editorial: Sound the alarm on climate change
Environmental scientists who have been watching Earth's climate change dramatically in recent decades recognize an immediate need for comprehensive, coordinated action to address the threats of climate change. Waleed Abdalati and other signers, including Steven Nerem of Aerospace Engineering Sciences. Read the editorial at www.denverpost.com
November 2008: The University of Colorado at Boulder payload of web-spinning spiders and butterflies-to-be was delivered to the International Space Station by the space shuttle Endeavour Nov. 14, an experiment designed to stimulate interest in K-12 students. One spider may be missing! See http://philosophyofscienceportal.blogspot.com/2008/11/itsy-bitsy-spiders-iss.html
November 2008:Aerospace Students Ryan Kobrick and Jonathan Metts are recipients of ARCS Foundation scholarships. "The ARCS Foundation-Colorado chapter is all ladies and all volunteer," said Val Peterson, president of the ARCS Foundation's Colorado chapter. "We raise money for science scholarships for four recipient schools -- CU-Boulder, Colorado State University, Colorado School of Mines and UC Denver. In this time of shrinking resources and an increased need for doctors, scientists and engineers, the ARCS Foundation is needed now more than ever to keep our country strong." A short video featuring CU-Boulder ARCS scholar Ryan Kobrick is available on the CU-Boulder news Web site at www.colorado.edu/news/.
October 2008: Prof Penny Axelrad is featured in the latest Inside GNSS (see http://www.insidegnss.com/node/794 for her excellent research and service, and for her dedication to helping girls stay interested in science.)
October 2008: Aerospace graduate student Ryan Kobrick talks about moon dust on space.com (see space) and he is featured on the discovery channel website (discovery) regarding his many research activities.
October 2008: Aerospace graduate student and lead teaching assistant Brandon Jones is featured on the discovery channel website for his research regarding gravity. See http://blogs.discovery.com/next_generation/2008/10/gravity-map.html
October 2008: Two aerospace undergraduates, Nathan Calvert and Farheen Rizvi, received Provost Student Achievement and Convocation Awards at the October 17 Fall Convocation for their community and academic efforts.
September 2008: The Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the U.S. Department of the Interior has awarded Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) a 5-year $5.5M contract for a combined in situ, modeling, and remote sensing study, called "Dynamics of the Loop Current in U.S. Waters". The study is of the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico. ASEN/CCAR Research Professor Bob Leben will perform the remote sensing component. CU will receive a 5-year $560K subcontract from SAIC to support this effort.
September 2008: Former NASA Astronaut Joe Tanner will be teaching in the Aerospace department this year, developing more projects-oriented courses for graduate students. See press release.
September 2008: CU-Boulder is the only university in the world to have designed, built and launched instruments to every planet in the solar system. It is also the single largest university recipient of NASA research dollars in the nation, according to the space agency. In fiscal year 2008, CU-Boulder received roughly $56 million from NASA. See Space Research Fact Sheet.
September 2008: Professor Daniel Scheeres has been elected a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society (AAS), and Professors Dale Lawrence, Kamran Mohseni, and Ryan Starkey were elected Associate Fellows in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for 2009.
August 2008: On August 18, 2008 Jeffrey M. Forbes became Chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences (AES). Prof Forbes joined AES in 1994 after ten years at Boston University. Some of his research interests include the upper atmosphere environments of Earth, Mars, and Venus; coupling of upper atmosphere environments to lower altitudes and to solar variability; geomagnetic storm effects on satellite drag variability; the vertical propagation of tides and planetary waves in planetary atmospheres, and their electrodynamic and chemical effects. He is currently the P.I. of a $7.2M AFOSR MURI project entitled "Neutral Atmosphere Density Interdisciplinary Research” (2007-2012).
August 2008: The KRAKEN senior project team won best new entry (with a cash reward to the team of $500) at the AUVSI underwater autonomous vehicle competition at Point Loma Naval Base. KRAKEN placed 8th in static judging (presentation, explanation, technical description) and 18th overall out of 25. Most new teams do not usually navigate any of the obstacles, so this is an excellent first year showing.
August 2008: PhD candidate Brandon Jones spent the summer working at JPL with some of the engineers who track the GPS satellites.
August 2008: Included among the highlights of sponsored research awards at CU in fiscal year 2008 was a $32 million, five-year grant NASA awarded to CU-Boulder in May to develop and manage a sophisticated database that tracks global weather patterns such as glaciers, sea ice, snow cover and ice sheets. NASA also contracted with the campus in May to build a $34 million solar instrument package for a satellite that will monitor global climate change. CU-Boulder receives more NASA funding than any other public university in the nation, due in part to its focus on aerospace engineering. The university’s efforts have helped put Colorado in second place—behind only California—in the nation’s aerospace economy. See https://www.cu.edu/content/cu-reaches-record-level-research-funding
July 2008: Associate Professor Adjunct Alex Hoehn received the 2008 Forest R. McFarland Award at the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES) held in San Francisco. This award, established in 1979, recognizes individuals for their outstanding contributions toward the planning, development, and dissemination of technical information through SAE technical meetings, conferences, and professional development programs.
July 2008: KRAKEN team wins best new entry
July 2008: Professor Kristine Larson's method of using very precise GPS measurements virtually minute to minute (called high-rate GPS), is revolutionizing research by scientists who study plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. See http://nasadaacs.eos.nasa.gov/index.html on the NASA Earth Systems Science Data and Services Web site for a fascinating look at the applications of this new method.
Professor Larson also is using GPS signals to estimate soil moisture levels (see NewScientist).
June 2008: The President's Office announces that CU-Boulder aerospace engineering program garnered two of the first annual President's Awards for Outstanding Academic Leadership in Student Success: first place in undergraduate student success, and second place in graduate and professional student success
June 20, 2008: The Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2 satellite, a joint effort between NASA and France's space agency, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base. AES Faculty Robert Leben, Steve Nerem, William Emery, and George Born are on the science team for this mission.
June 2008: AES graduate student Jason Roadman is the recipient of the prestigious AIAA Foundation John Leland Atwood Graduate Award. Official recognition and presentation of a plaque and check to the recipient will be made in conjunction with the Awards Presentations Ceremony at the AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting.
June 2008: Aerospace master's candidate Laurren Kanner has been selected as a recipient of this year's AIAA Abe M. Zarem Award for Distinguished Achievement in Astronautics. Laurren will receive a bronze medal and a certificate recognizing her technical excellence, as well as a travel stipend to present her work at an international conference or congress.
May 2008: Louis Stodieck, Director of BioServe Space Technologies, signs an agreement with NASA to utilize the U.S. section of the International Space Station for research not directly connected to NASA's mission. See News Center and Space U stories.
May 2008: Aerospace graduate student Bruce Davis traveled on behalf of Citizens for Space Exploration (CSE), to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with a singular purpose – to support a robust space exploration program. See Bruce_Davis for details.
May 2008: See Unmanned Vehicles: Micro-Air Vehicles Flock to Collect and Transmit Data in new College Alumni Magazine: http://engineering.colorado.edu/news/CUE/index.htm
April 2008: "According to new research, the next footsteps on the lunar surface could be beamed back to Earth via the moon's very own network of communication satellites. The setup could double as a GPS for moonwalkers" (space.com). A relay satellite is needed to contact astronauts on the far side of the moon, which could be placed in a halo orbit at the L2 Lagrange point. "Research by Jeff Parker at the University of Colorado has found that it takes less fuel for a satellite to enter a L2 halo orbit than it takes to get a satellite from Earth into geostationary orbit." A network of "halo orbiting satellites would give future moon walkers a degree of independence and they need not rely on mission control to tell them their exact whereabouts."
April 2008: Students from Aerospace Engineering Sciences at UCB won First and Second place in the team competition at the AIAA Region V Student Paper Conference.
Students S. Lawrence-Simon, S. Wilson, and Christina Wolfskill took First place in the team category for their paper, "KRAKEN: Kinematically Roving Autonomously Kontrolled Electro-Nautic". They will next compete in the national competition in Orlando in January 2009.
Students D. Berman, C. Hatcher, and L. Marek took Second place in the team category for their paper on "The Micro Air Reconnaissance, Launch and Imaging System (MARVLIS)".
April 2008: CU's Design-Build-Fly team took 5th place at the Design-Build-Fly contest in Wichita, Kansas with a report score of 94.5 against 40 competitors. Last year Aerospace Engineering Sciences from UCB took 7th place.
April 1, 2008: MRI Lidar work by Professor Xinzhao Chu and Professor Jeffrey Thayer earns $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation. See CU News
March 11, 2008: CU-Boulder Alumnus, Two Payloads Head to Space Station via Space Shuttle. See CU News
| March 7, 2008: Bryant Loomis and Jonathan Fentzke are the recipients of the 2008 John A. Vise Graduate Student Excellence Award. See Graduate Awards for more details. (Photos by Henri Kjellberg) |
 |
 |
Bryant Loomis with nominator Prof. Steve Nerem |
Jonathan Fentzke with nominator Prof. Xinzhao Chu |
February 2008: Professor Jeffrey M. Forbes and R. Steven Nerem were elected Fellows of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). See CU News
February 2008: John H. McMasters, Boeing Technical Fellow, passed away on February 13, 2008. Dr. McMasters is the author of "Desired Attributes of an Engineer", and he was a member of the Aerospace Engineering Sciences External Advisory Board since its inception in 1998. Many of his ideas on revamping engineering education were applied directly to the revised AES curriculum. He was known for his ability to inspire both young and older engineers through presentations and papers on such topics as aircraft design, aerodynamics of flying reptiles, engineering education, and technical excellence. See "Reflections on a Very Long Career in Aeronautics". He will be sorely missed.
January 2008: Ryan Starkey wins the AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award.
January 2008: Jackie Sullivan and Larry Carlson received the National Academy of Engineering's Gordon Prize, the nation's top honor for innovation in engineering education, for their work with the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program (see Gordon Prize for more details). The Aerospace Engineering Sciences undergraduate curriculum utilizes the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory extensively.
January 2008: Laurren Kanner, aerospace MS student, won first place in the graduate division of the AIAA International Student Paper Competition, held in conjunction with the AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit in Reno, Nevada, on January 11th, 2008. Her paper is titled "Impact of Solar Beta-Angle Seasonal Variations on the Mission Planning of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) All-Sky Survey."
2007
December 2007: Professor Kristine Larson is showcased on "60 Seconds With" as an IOP author who published a paper in 2007 that is considered key to the advancement of physics research. Read her interview on www.iop.org/EJ/journal/-page=featauths/0026-1394 under the journal "Metrologia".
December 2007: The Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder was ranked fourth in a national faculty productivity index featured in a recent issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. The ranking, known as the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index, is produced by Academic Analytics of Chester, Penn., and based on data from 2006. For details, see www.academicanalytics.com/TopEng2006-07.html and chronicle.com/stats/productivity.
December 2007: Professor Jeff Forbes of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and Tim Fuller-Rowell at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) won a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) award from the Air Force for up to $7M in a 5-year period. The topic of their research is NADIR: Neutral Atmosphere Density Interdisciplinary Research. See http://ccar.colorado.edu/muri for details.
September 2007: Two Aerospace graduate students, Jonathan Metts and Bruce Davis, represented a CU team selected as one of three winners in a national design competition sponsored by the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES). They were invited with all expenses paid, along with faculty advisor Dr. David Klaus, to present their work involving the design of a Lunar Outpost at the first annual PISCES conference held at the Naniloa Volcanoes Resort, near the University of Hawaii at Hilo, from November 7-10, 2007. More Details
September 2007: Researchers Sheldon Drobot, James Maslanik, and Charles Fowler in the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR) at UCB are predicting record low levels of Arctic sea ice in September this year, in part due to man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Consequences include changes in temperature and rain patterns in the United States, as well as a possible opening of the Northwest Passage along the northern coast of the North American continent in as little as 13 years. See CU Press and Reuters Article.
August 2007: The Mars Society's unprecedented four-month simulated Mars exploration mission in the Canadian High Arctic ended successfully on August 21, 2007. Seven researchers from across North America, including AES graduate students Ryan Kobrick and Matt Bamsey, conducted geological and microbiological field exploration in a landscape very like Mars and under conditions such as the Martian 'sol', 39-minutes longer than an Earth day. Preliminary results will be presented at the 10th International Mars Society Convention at UCLA in Los Angeles, CA (Aug 30-Sept 2). For more details, see Flashline and http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/08/20/325220.aspx
August 2007: A reversal of tectonic plate motion between Acapulco and Mexico City in the last half of 2006 probably didn't ease seismic strain in the region or the specter of a major earthquake anticipated there in the coming decades, says Kristine Larson, University of Colorado at Boulder professor. More details.
May 2007: Through NASA's DemoSat program, University of Colorado students get hands-on experience developing space hardware by creating a "BalloonSat" that will be flown on a high-altitude balloon. Started in 2003 through a Space Grant Aerospace Workforce Development award from NASA Headquarters, DemoSat now involves more than 200 students at 10 Colorado colleges and universities each year. More Details
May 2007: Twenty-three college students from Colorado are finalists in a national competition called Lunar Ventures Student Business Plan Competition, requiring them to create business ventures using space technology. These students, in four teams from the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Colorado, developed wireless sensor network software, a rover to remove hazardous waste, a method of collecting meteorites, and navigation services for robotic rovers --- all for operation on both the Earth and the Moon. Six other finalist teams are from MIT, Georgia Tech, and San Diego State University. More Details
February 2007: Professor R. Steven Nerem briefed the House of Representatives on "Sea Level Rise: Implications for the Future" as one of two speakers for the Climate Science Seminar, moderated by Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel of the Union of Concerned Scientists. That same afternoon Dr. Nerem presented the information to the Senate by invitation of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. Both events were open to the public. Sea Level Rise slides.
2006
December 2006 : Donna Gerren received the Faculty Advisor Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She was selected by the student branch members and the student activities committee for her outstanding contributions as evidenced by the record of her student branch in local, regional, and national activities. The award was presented in Reno in January 2007.
December 2006: AES graduate student Ryan Kobrick was one of the winners of the AIAA Foundation Orville and Wilbur Wright Graduate Awards.
December 2006: Professor R. Steven Nerem received the 2006 Geodesy Section Award at the American Geophysical Union in December 2006. He was selected because of his "broad and significant contributions to satellite geodesy and its applications to solid Earth physics, ocean dynamics, and related climate sciences." The presentation of the award was made during the Geodesy Section Reception at the 2006 Fall AGU Meeting in San Francisco. In addition, Prof Nerem presented a talk at the Geodesy Luncheon at the 2007 Joint Assembly Meeting 22-25 May 2007 in Acapulco, Mexico. For more information, see http://www.agu.org/sections/geodesy/geodesysectionaward.php
Italian Remote Sensing Students Working in Boulder
August 2006: Starting with a visit by PhD student Chiara Solimini (daughter of Domenico Solimini, a professor at Tor Vergata University in Rome) in the fall of 2004, there has been a steady stream of Italian graduate students working in Professor Bill Emery's lab in the Aerospace Engineering Sciences department. These students work on the analysis of satellite imagery to detect land cover changes, particularly in urban regions, using a cooperative relationship with DigitalGlobe in Longmont which provides high-resolution (60 cm resolution) QuickBird (QB) optical satellite imagery for these studies. More details
Fifty years ago, a Boulder glass-jar company forged a partnership with some CU scientists, launching Colorado as a key location for space-based research and innovation. The sector could be poised for a new blastoff in 2007. More details.
Matt Rhode, Laboratory Manager for Aerospace Engineering Sciences, received the Outstanding Staff Award from the College of Engineering & Applied Science for 2006.
Citation: Mr. Matthew E. Rhode is recommended for the College's Staff Award for his outstanding contributions to the education and research programs of the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences. In his position as AES Machine Shop manager and Instrument Maker Mr. Rhode has significantly enhanced our undergraduate and graduate education by training students in the design and fabrication of hardware and supported in an exemplary manner the AES faculty by fabricating high precision hardware and maintaining faculty laboratories. This award recognizes in particular Mr. Rhode's dedication and proactive work injecting and implementing innovative ideas. For example, Mr. Rhode developed and implemented a sequence of 14 seminars on basic and advanced fabrications skill for AES senior design students, including lecture notes and hands-on training practica. The faculty, student and staff would like to thank Mr. Rhode for his outstanding contributions to continuously improve the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences.
Professor Brian Argrow received the Max S. Peters Faculty Service Award from the College of Engineering & Applied Science, University of Colorado at Boulder (Nov 2006).
Citation: For his exemplary service to the Department and the College, his valued contributions as a President's Teaching Scholar, his tireless work in both academic and research programs, his good citizen labors in support of multidisciplinary education in the University, and his generous help for others, both students and faculty, Professor Brian Argrow has richly earned the 2006 Max S. Peters Faculty Service Award.
Professor Kamran Mohseni received the Dean's Award for Professional Progress from the College of Engineering & Applied Science (Oct 2006).
2005
Professor Kristine M. Larson received the Geodesy Section Award for 2005 from the American Geophysical Union for her innovative research into Global Positioning System techniques and their applications to a wide range of geophysical problems. More details.
Professor R. Steven Nerem received Bowie Lecture Award. Every year the AGU honors leading scientists in various fields of geophysical science. One of the honors is to be selected to present a Bowie Lecture at one of the semi-annual AGU meetings held each spring and fall. The lecture series honors William Bowie, AGU's first president. As the 2005 Bowie Lecture award recipient, Steve Nerem presented his paper at the AGU meeting in San Francisco: The Record of Sea Level Change from Satellite Measurements: What Have We Learned?
Professor Brian M. Argrow edited a special feature in the September 2005 issue of Measurement Science and Technology. The special feature is freely available at the following link: http://www.iop.org/EJ/toc/0957-0233/16/9, and was also published in the September print version of Measurement Science and Technology.
Jeffrey Parker, an Aerospace Engineering graduate student, was awarded the American Astronautical Society's John V. Breakwell Travel Award to present his paper entitled Families of Low Energy Lunar Halo Transfer Orbits at the 2006 Space Flight Mechanics Winter Meeting, January 22-26, 2006 in Tampa Florida. This award is conferred in recognition of excellence in academic achievement and research.
Pluto-Bound CU Instrument Renamed For Girl Who Named Ninth Planet In 1930. More details
A serendipitous discovery by a University of Colorado at Boulder-led team has shown for the first time that satellite signals from the Global Positioning System are a valuable new tool for studying earthquakes. CU-Boulder Associate Professor Kristine Larson of aerospace engineering sciences said seismic waves from a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Alaska's Denali National Park in November 2002 were detected using Global Positioning Satellite, or GPS, receivers as far away as 2,350 miles from the event. The quake also was picked up by scores of GPS receivers in Canada and the United States. More details
Four miniature unmanned airplanes leased by University of Colorado at Boulder researchers and equipped with sophisticated meteorlogical instruments are buzzing through storms near Jacksonville, Fla., as faculty and students await a hurricane. Known as aerosondes, the diminutive 30-pound planes are helping researchers monitor conditions like temperature, humidity and wind speed, said CU-Boulder aerospace engineering Professor Judith Curry. In addition, the tiny planes are packing lightweight video cameras to help researchers understand sea-surface changes during tropical storms. More details