Department News
August 7th - Stan Love visits UW
NASA astronaut Stan Love was a mission specialist on the 24th Shuttle mission to visit the International Space Station. The Shuttle Atlantis launched on February 7, 2008 and returned on February 20. Stan spent nearly 13 days in space, including over 15 hours in two spacewalks. An alumnus of the University of Washington, Stan earned his MS and PhD degrees in Astronomy in 1993. As a graduate student he also took five courses in our department, including our senior Space Systems Design sequence, AA420/421. Stan visited the UW on August 4 and 5 to present two seminars, "From Seattle to Space: A UW Alumnus' Flight in Earth Orbit " and "NASA's New Lunar Initiative." Later, Stan sat down and met with A&A students, staff, and faculty for a personal discussion about his experiences as an astronaut, and about NASA's upcoming plans for the space station and the return to the Moon. We greatly appreciated getting a first-hand perspective from him. More information on Stan's career and experience at NASA can be found at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/love.html.
Stan Love discusses space travel with current A&A Students.
Welcome to Hans Boenish, the new Operations Manager at the Kirsten Wind Tunnel.
Hans is excited to return to the Northwest, having grown up Sequim, WA and Alaska, where he can once again enjoy the variety of activities the Northwest has to offer. Biking, Skiing, and playing the base and guitar are just a few of his interests. While growing up in Alaska, he often flew in little cessnas and pipers which started his love of Aeronautics. Hans love of math and science turned him to A&A. Recently turning 23, Hans earned his BAE from Embry-Riddle in Arizona.
Phoenix Mars Probe Lands on the Red Planet with the help of 3 A&A Alums: Rob Grover, MS'98, Entry, Descent, and Landing Lead at JPL; Richard Warwick, BS'94, MS'96, Mission Design Lead at Lockheed Martin;
Ed Odell, BS'96, Flight Software Lead at Lockheed Martin.
Derek Inaba, BS'02, also participated in the mission, as a a test engineer at Lockheed Martin.
One of the instruments aboard the spacecraft, the atmospheric humidity sensor, which is contained in the Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP), was tested and calibrated in Professor Bruckner's Mars Atmospheric Simulation Facility, in collaboration with Dr. Steve Wood from the Department of Earth and Space Sciences, A&A Research Scientist Dr. Carl Knowlen, BS '83, MS '85, PhD '91 and AA alum Matt Schneider, BS'98, MS'01. KCPQ Fox News Article »
Eleventh Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium on Friday, May 16, from 12 noon - 5 pm in Mary Gates Hall, where ten A&A students will present.
| First Name | Last Name | Class | Abstract Title |
| Dean | Chahim | Freshman | Construction of RC Snubber for Use in ZaP Flow Z-pinch Experiment |
| Mark | Chilenski | Sophomore | Bolometry for the Investigation of Helicity Injection on the HIT-SI and NSTX Experiments |
| David | Medendorp | Senior | Characterizing Damage Resistance of Composite Materials to Lightning Strikes |
| Rachel | Oberto | Sophomore | Design and Construction of a Vacuum Bypass System for Use in the ZaP Flow Z-pinch Experiment |
| Alex | Perez | Junior | Optical viscosity sensor using bend loss of fiber |
| Andrew | Southworth | Senior | Characterizing Damage Resistance of Composite Materials to Lightning Strikes |
| Jonathan | Tu | Senior | Pulse formation in actively mode-locked laser cavities |
| Genia | Vogman | Sophomore | Calibrating Spectroscopic Instruments for ZaP Flow Z-Pinch Plasma Investigation |
| Bonnie | Wade | Senior | Characterization of High Performance Composites for Automotive Applications |
| Kevin | Yee | Senior | Modification and Implementation of a Multiple Autonomous Vehicle Hardware Testbed |
May 9 - Annual Spring Banquet honoring Distinguished Alumnus James J Watson, BSAE 1949 as well current and future students of A&A. Updated with photos on June 16th!
May 1 - Lowell Neal, an A&A Junior, is mixing academics with athletics by looking at ways to optimize the propulsion of the blades. Read the full article in the Seattle Times here »
April 25 & 26 Engineering Open House. Explore engineering and science with computer games, robots and liquid nitrogen ice cream. Free to all ages
2008 AIAA Region VI Student Conference Two of our Undergrads placed: 1st - James Stoffel, 3rd - Genia Vogman. Congratulations!
April 15th - UW winners from the 2008 AIAA Region VI Student Conference this past weekend are:
-1st PLACE UNDERGRADUATE DIVISION
-Nomination for NASA Internship
Presenter: James Stoffel
Title: Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Aerospike Nozzles in a Hybrid Rocket Propulsion System
-3rd PLACE UNDERGRADUATE DIVISION
Presenter: Genia Vogman
Title: Investigating ZaP Flow Z-Pinch Plasma via Emissive Spectroscopy
NSBE Conference - March 19-22nd: Undergraduate David Kane attends the National Society of Black Engineers Igniting the Torch: Engineering in Action 34th Annual Convention.
Feb 15th - UW Engineering in the Desert: Mars or Bust! Chair Adam P. Bruckner will discuss our red-planet neighbor, Mars.
Feb 13th -
Affiliate Professor John H. McMasters passed away February 13. He was a Technical Fellow at Boeing and the author of the well-known "Desired Attributes of an Engineer," as well as numerous papers on engineering education and airplane design. In 2006 he wrote an expanded narrative CV titled "Reflections on a Very Long Career in Aeronautics" John had interacted with faculty in our department for well over two decades, taught our senior capstone airplane design course (AA410) in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and presented numerous seminars. He will be greatly missed. - Adam
Jan 7th - UWEO Press Release on the A&A Composites Certificate Program.
Welcome Back Guggenheim
Guggenheim Hall is nearing completion. Renovations include creating multi-focused instructional labs, upgrading classroom technologies, adding disability/mobility access including an elevator as well as building reinforcements. Guggenheim Hall was built in 1929 for air and space research, and our department has thrived. Below are images during construction.
"Our department has trained a host of outstanding aerospace leaders," says A&A chair Adam Bruckner. "Our great incubator, Guggenheim Hall, will produce even more legendary engineers when we bring the educational and research spaces into the 21st Century."
Richard Scherrer BS 1942, Distinguished Alum 1995
with Chair Adam Bruckner
Guggenheim Hall Renovations
The Lt. Patrick S. Myrick Endowment Fund and Lt. Myrick's Story.