Grad Profile

PhD student working to keep astronauts safer on the Moon

Jeff Zehnder — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 15:20:34 +0000

PhD student working to keep astronauts safer on the Moon Jeff Zehnder Tue, 10/29/2024 - 09:20

Jeff Zehnder

Amrita Singh working with a vacuum chamber.

Amrita Singh is studying lunar dust to answer important health and technology questions for future Moon missions.

The gray, crushed rock material that coats the surface of the Moon is officially called regolith and presents substantial dangers, said Singh, a PhD student in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

“The Apollo astronauts struggled a lot with lunar dust. It’s electrostatically charged, so it sticks to everything, and it’s basically crushed up glass in terms of how abrasive it is. It poses dangers to crew health,” she said.

Those risks include rapid deterioration of space suits used on Moon walks, as well as damage to systems inside space capsules or habitats on the Moon.

“We need to make sure our life support technologies are capable of surviving the lunar dust environment. It will enter the habitat. There’s no way of completely preventing that,” Singh said.

The recipient of a 2023 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), Singh is developing computational simulations and experimental tests of life support technologies to determine their continued effectiveness after exposure.

“My research focuses on worst-case scenarios. What if something goes wrong and the planned dust mitigation strategies fail and there’s dust everywhere?” Singh said. “We know we will see significant performance degradation for many technologies, but we don’t know what the degree of degradation or material damage will be. Those are the questions I’m trying to answer.”

Singh did not originally plan on a career in aerospace. As an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, she double majored in theater and astronautical engineering.

She was drawn to both, but envisioned her future would be in acting or directing. COVID-19 changed her trajectory.

Harrison Schmitt's space suit covered in lunar dust during Apollo 17.

“The pandemic hit my junior year, and all the jobs and plans I had lined up were destroyed,” she said. “I was spending a lot of time at home and took my first human spaceflight class, remotely, with Garrett Reisman, who is a former astronaut. That’s when I started thinking I could love aerospace as much as I love theater. As it turns out, I love it more.”

An aerospace education does present unique academic challenges, but Singh has persevered.

“I really value math and science, but they are not my strong suits and it will take me a couple tries to learn a physics concept before it finally clicks,” she said.

During her senior year, she began a work-from-home internship at NASA’s Ames Research Center, providing exposure to the world of research and piquing her interest in earning an advanced degree.

“The researcher I worked with was doing radiation modeling for cells, and she spent time re-introducing me to chemistry, biology, and physics — these fields I’d fallen out of love with — and made me fall in love with them again. It drove me to pursue a PhD,” Singh said.

She applied to CU Boulder’s bioastronautics PhD program and is now in her second year. In 2023, she earned both the NSF GRFP and recognition as an Aviation Week 20 Twenties Winner, a program that honors promising aerospace students across the United States.

Last semester, she and Ella Schauss, a fellow aerospace PhD student, competed in NASA’s Human Lander Challenge, a student competition to design concepts for addressing Moon dust kicked up during descent and landing.

They took third place nationally, earning a $3,000 prize.

“There’s still so many questions about lunar dust,” Singh said. “That uncertainty is what drew me in. It’s such an important aspect of what it means to be in on the lunar surface. It’s really important for the future.”

Amrita Singh is studying lunar dust to answer important health and technology questions for future Moon missions...

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Pollution to production: student startup transforms CO2 into aerospace hardware

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 21:11:17 +0000

Pollution to production: student startup transforms CO2 into aerospace hardware Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/28/2024 - 14:11

Jeff Zehnder

Spencer Dansereau is building a business that could turn air pollution into a useable product.

A University of Colorado Boulder aerospace PhD student, Dansereau aims to take carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and extract the carbon molecules to create 3D printed carbon fiber, which can be used for everything from bicycles to aerospace components.

“I’m really passionate about creating exciting next generation solutions that are also very positive for our environment. It led me to design a system that uses electrolysis to create carbon fibers directly from waste gas CO2,” Dansereau said.

The work is a bit outside his PhD research, which is focused on heat shield analysis for NASA missions, and grew from the 2020 COVID lockdowns, when Dansereau was stuck at home with little to do.

“I couldn’t come into the lab and started doing a whole lot of reading on how carbon fiber was made. Then I starting thinking about my experience in materials science and robotics and additive manufacturing,” Dansereau said.

After conversations with his PhD co-advisor Francisco López Jiménez, an assistant professor of aerospace, Dansereau began to develop the technology further and founded a company to commercialize it.

Starting a business presented unique challenges, but he received support from numerous university programs designed to assist budding entrepreneurs. CU Boulder has offices to help with intellectual property and patent filing, and even access to mentorship opportunities from successful startups.

“On the technology side I have a decade of experience, but the business side is different and the tools that CU Boulder has for helping to launch a business are amazing. I can’t say enough good things about it,” he said.

In 2023, Mach Electric Aerospace took first place in CU Boulder’s Lab Venture Challenge business development competition and second place in New Venture Challenge. The company recently received $125,000 in startup funding from the State of Colorado and the university.

“It’s still early stage, but the research has been promising so far,” Dansereau said. “Anything that produces CO2 waste gas could be feed stock to make carbon fiber.”

He recently applied to a U.S. Department of Energy fellowship to further the research and is optimistic about potential applications for the technology.

“The most exciting thing is this can be used in everything from electric vehicles, to aircraft, spacecraft, anything with carbon fiber components – seats, brackets, clips, engine parts, chassis components,” Dansereau said. "The sky is the limit.”

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Asteroid named for CU Boulder aerospace grad student

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 16:02:37 +0000

Asteroid named for CU Boulder aerospace grad student Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 02/13/2024 - 09:02

Jeff Zehnder

Asteroids with CU Boulder Connections

Meyer is not the first person at CU Boulder to have an asteroid named after them! There are currently three other researchers in Smead Aerospace who also have the distinction:

Distinguished Professor Dan Scheeres

Asteroid: (8887) Scheeres

Associate Professor Jay McMahon

Asteroid: (46829) McMahon

Research Associate Paul Sánchez

Asteroid: (20882) Paulsánchez

Above: Alex Meyer
Header Image: Diagram showing the orbital path of asteroid (33974) Alexmeyer.

PhD student played key role on NASA’s DART Mission

Alex Meyer is an astrodynamics expert, engineer, PhD student, and now, a part of the night sky. The International Astronomical Union has officially named an asteroid after him.

Asteroid 2000 ND17 is now (33974) Alexmeyer.

“It’s pretty cool and quite an honor,” Meyer said. “You look around at other asteroids and the people they’re named after; it’s very good company to be in.”

As a fifth year aerospace PhD student at the University of Colorado Boulder, Meyer is being recognized for fundamental research he conducted on the dynamics of binary asteroid systems and how they are affected by close planetary flybys.

His work is part of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which in 2022 intentionally crashed a space probe into an orbiting binary asteroid to study deflection technology.

“Alex’s research was fundamentally relevant to the DART mission,” said Dan Scheeres, a distinguished professor of aerospace at CU Boulder and Meyer’s advisor.

Scheeres nominated Meyer for the naming honor.

“He played such a big role and the work he provided was really unique. He developed simulations on what would happen to this asteroid after the impact and provided advice on the science to other engineers,” Scheeres said.

The naming is made all the more impressive by the fact that Meyer’s contributions began somewhat unexpectedly.

“When I started at CU Boulder I was interested in orbital mechanics, but was playing around in a couple different areas of research. Then a more senior grad student who had responsibility with DART was leaving, and Dan asked if I could take over,” Meyer said.

He dove in with aplomb.

“Binary asteroids gave me the opportunity to work on cutting edge missions and I just kept finding new and interesting things to study,” Meyer said. “The dynamics of these binary systems can be quite complicated. Asteroids don’t look like spheres; they’re weird shapes and their orbits are quite close together. So the gravity between them becomes really complex.”

A personal ambition toward advanced research and analysis is what drove Meyer’s interest in graduate school and specifically CU Boulder.

“This is one of the best astrodynamics schools in the country, and being able to apply myself on these real world problems as a PhD student is a great opportunity. I was one of the main dynamicists on the mission,” Meyer said.

The research has become a key part of his PhD thesis. Meyer intends to graduate this summer and is currently at work on his dissertation. After graduation, he hopes to work full time in a research laboratory.

Meyer’s asteroid orbits as part of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Approximately 7 km (4.35 mi) in diameter, it was originally spotted in 2000. It is possible to see with a large personal telescope, but it requires at least an 18” mirror, and so is best viewed from an observatory.

Alex Meyer is an astrodynamics expert, engineer, PhD student, and now, a part of the night sky. The International Astronomical Union has officially named an asteroid after him. Asteroid 2000 ND17 is now...

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PhD student designing augmented reality for space missions

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 16:14:32 +0000

PhD student designing augmented reality for space missions Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/06/2023 - 09:14

Jeff Zehnder

Dezell Turner loves orbital design; a critical step in planning any space mission, and he is plotting out a way to streamline the complex process with an interactive, augmented reality tool.

“The current methods of trajectory design for cislunar space – missions that go beyond low Earth orbit to the Moon – are very complicated and not intuitive. I want to change that,” Turner said.

As an aerospace PhD student at the University of Colorado Boulder, Turner discussed ideas with his advisor. They realized a mixed reality system would be a major advance, allowing engineers and mission planners to quickly design and manipulate trajectories in a 3D real-world environment.

“Being able to see something in 3D space is hugely helpful, but this goes beyond that,” Turner said. “The system will allow you to physically interact with virtual objects. You’re wearing a headset and are able to grab holograms and manipulate them with your hands. I can drag an orbit to do what I want. I can change the end point of a transfer orbit and see how it shifts overall.”

It is a huge undertaking. Turner is effectively designing a new piece of software on his own, but it has major promise.

“Designing cislunar trajectories is much more complex than designing trajectories around the Earth. With cislunar trajectories, you have the Earth and the Moon’s gravity both pulling on the spacecraft, and sometimes the orbits can take unexpected shapes,” he said.

Despite the challenge, Turner is well suited to the task. He has a longstanding passion for astrodynamics and has been honored multiple times for educational excellence. He is currently a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, Smead Scholar, and a GEM Fellow. Each program provides funding for promising young scientists and engineers pursuing graduate education, with GEM focused on expanding access for underrepresented minorities.

Turner said GEM is important to bringing more viewpoints to science and engineering problems.

Example of the mixed reality trajectory software.

“I think it’s pretty imperative that we have a more diverse space workforce,” he said. “Space is about tackling really hard problems and you can’t do that as well if you aren’t considering all the angles.”

Despite his fellowship success and recognition by internship programs like the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship and Space Workforce 2030, at times Turner still doubts his talent.

“These programs have helped connect me to all kinds of different people and really tackle my imposter syndrome. I’m grateful to have that access and hope I can pay it forward. They help me remember there is in a place in this industry for me and I hope I can help other people see that they belong too,” he said.

Despite any lingering fears, Turner loves what he is doing and the impact aerospace work can have. During an internship at the Aerospace Corporation, he was part of a team of interns that developed a low cost GPS architecture for cislunar space. It is a design the company continues to advance.

“ The coolest part was when they told us they would be carrying the project forward. It reminded us that it wasn’t a game for interns, it was a real project with real impact,” Turner said. “It was an amazing experience.”

As a second year PhD student, Turner still has 2-3 years left in his education and is leaning toward a career in industry.

“I’m like a kid in the candy store except the candies are fuels and spacecraft,” he said. “Aerospace is such a wonderful place to be. I’m very fortunate.”

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CU Boulder student advancing safety for orbiting spacecraft

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 15:48:27 +0000

CU Boulder student advancing safety for orbiting spacecraft Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/20/2022 - 09:48

Jeff Zehnder

Sarah Luettgen is building a future as an aerospace professional, studying the space domain of satellite orbits in the extreme upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere.

As a second-year aerospace PhD student and Smead Scholar at the University of Colorado Boulder, Luettgen is leveraging advanced atmospheric models and super computers to study an area of the upper atmosphere from 80-600 km (50-375 miles) in altitude and beyond, where air and other gases dissipate, and space begins.

Many satellites, including the International Space Station, orbit through this range. But even at these high elevations, some atmospheric gases remain and can cause trouble.

“One of the biggest challenges is satellite drag,” Luettgen said. “Atmospheric density can vary by an order of magnitude depending on the conditions at a given moment. If we have a more accurate way to model these changes, it can reduce the uncertainty for operators trying to determine orbital paths.”

Gas levels in the atmosphere can change because of weather conditions on Earth as well as solar storms from the sun – called space weather. It is an area of active research and Luettgen hopes to develop better models to predict spacecraft trajectories more accurately and safely.

The research also has potential to help improve understanding of climate change and explore what makes our planet habitable, she said.

“The issue is we need a fluid model for the lower part of the atmosphere where gases are denser, but as you get higher, things get less dense and there are fewer atmospheric collisions. There it makes more sense to model the motion of individual particles,” Luettgen said.

The effort, sponsored by the NASA Heliophysics Theory, Modeling, and Simulations program in combination with a NASA/FINESST fellowship Luettgen earned last year, aims to create a unified model of both.

This is where the super computers come in. This type of work requires crunching a lot of numbers in parallel to simulate a very large volume of space and its evolution over days, months, or years. Using systems operated and maintained by NASA and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Luettgen is writing code across several computer languages and platforms that will push the limits of atmospheric modeling into new areas.

It is intensive work that just a few years ago would have been impossible.

“I wouldn’t be able to do this research without the computational technologies available today,” Luettgen said. “I feel very lucky. We’re at a point where the coupling of these two models into a single massive simulation is now possible and is the next logical step as computing power and mathematical methods have advanced.”

As she begins the second year of her PhD program, Luettgen is looking forward to how the work will progress. She sees these developed skills as transferable to a career in industry, government, or academia and is keeping the door open for however the future unfolds. For now, however, Luettgen is thoroughly enjoying her research and doctoral program.

“I started thinking about a PhD in second grade,” Luettgen said. “I love school and I’ve always been drawn to physics and math, and I love applying it.”

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Enjoying "eureka" moments all the way to an aerospace master's

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Sep 2022 15:26:58 +0000

Enjoying "eureka" moments all the way to an aerospace master's Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 09/03/2022 - 09:26

Name: Roland Barnabas Ilyes
Advisor: Morteza Lahijanian
Lab: Aria Systems Group
Program: Aerospace BAM Student

I am from Arvada, Colorado and I've always been interested in math and science, particularly when we see solutions to problems that make so much sense that it's hard to believe they came from a bunch of equations. It's a bit of a "eureka" moment.

The first time I felt this in my undergraduate program was when we learned about control theory. The problems usually consist of many ugly differential equations, but the first approach we learn to control these systems is extremely intuitive and rewarding to implement. It's this satisfying feeling of seeing a complex system behave the way you want it to that sparked a flame of passion in me, and still keeps me yearning for more.

Growing up in Colorado, I was already very fond of the beautiful city of Boulder. When I was looking at universities to attend, I knew I wanted to pursue an engineering degree.

Furthermore, I was very impressed by CU Boulder's esteemed Aerospace Engineering Sciences program. Visiting the astounding campus was the final big selling point! I've loved it here ever since.

As senior year approached, I found myself very interested in the Bachelor's-Accelerated Master's (BAM) program. It provided an excellent path to first see what some graduate courses were like before having to decide to commit to a higher degree.

Luckily for me, I loved the first couple graduate courses I took and decided to stick around!

I am now pursuing my MS in Aerospace Engineering with a focus on Autonomous Systems, and am on track to finish this Fall. I am completing a thesis under Professor Morteza Lahijanian, doing research with the Aria Systems Group.

The thing I love most about CU Boulder are the vast resources and freedom to pursue my topics of interest. The Aerospace Engineering Sciences building is equipped with various laboratory facilities, fabrication equipment, and testing environments to accommodate all sorts of projects!

Beyond that, the faculty and other graduate students both in Aerospace and throughout campus create a very collaborative environment.

Researching at CU Boulder makes you feel like you're part of a large network of great minds pursuing excellence.

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From growing up on the farm to an aerospace PhD program

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 16:53:29 +0000

From growing up on the farm to an aerospace PhD program Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/01/2022 - 10:53

Name: Becca Mikula
Hometown: Savannah, Missouri
Advisor: Zoltan Sternovsky
Program: 2nd Year Aerospace PhD Student

My name is Becca Mikula and I am from Savannah, Missouri. Savannah is a small, farming community in northwest Missouri. When I was growing up, I remember looking at the stars almost every night and being able to pick out constellations and planets from the mess while I looked out over the fields.

I have always been interested in science and engineering. My brother brought me his high school astronomy textbook when I was in elementary school and he and my grandma helped me read it. I had known from as early as I could remember that I wanted to do something focusing on space.

There wasn't a ton of exposure to role models in STEM, especially as a little girl. I mostly saw role models on TV and in books. I always looked up to women like Jocelyn Bell Burnell. I saw them in documentaries and wanted to be just like them.

The problem was, that opportunities to do physics and engineering just didn't exist back home. I decided to pick up everything and move after high school.

I did my undergrad at Morehead State University, a small university in eastern Kentucky. Within my first year, I was working at the Space Science Center as an astrophysics undergrad fellow. By the time I graduated, I had worked on the ground station tracking small sats, in the planetarium, and on the assembly of a cube sat.

I knew after trying just about everything there that the more engineering-focused areas of space exploration were for me.

I always thought I wanted to be an astrophysicist, but during undergrad, I got extremely interested in the mission planning side of things from a systems perspective and instrumentation for space missions. I ended up finishing bachelor's degrees in astrophysics and chemistry and decided to pursue my graduate degree in a more engineering-centric area.

At CU Boulder, I'm working on my PhD in aerospace engineering with a focus on remote sensing. I just finished my first year of grad school and couldn't be happier I did it here.

I decided on CU Boulder for graduate school after hearing tons of great things about the university, the research opportunities, and the beautiful Front Range. I knew I wanted to go somewhere I would be happy for a minimum of six years and Boulder seemed to tick all those boxes.

LASP, the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, was a huge draw for me. I had always read articles and papers that featured LASP/CU Boulder projects and getting the opportunity to be part of that kind of scientific and engineering community was something that excited me.

I love CU Boulder's campus! It is amazing to walk to and from class and be able to see the mountains and hear Boulder Creek.

I think East Campus in particular is beautiful and it is fun to see the ducks in the ponds (I take my binoculars to class to stop and bird watch).

In addition to CU Boulder having the most beautiful, natural campus, I love the atmosphere here. It feels so collaborative and welcoming in the aerospace building. I love the feeling of belonging and the excitement to be learning and researching.

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PhD student crafting a future to help astronauts live better in space

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 20:18:26 +0000

PhD student crafting a future to help astronauts live better in space Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/11/2022 - 14:18

Above: Pischulti in the Flight Research Hangar at NASA Langley Research Center.
Header Photo: Pischulti in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at NASA Johnson Space Center.

Name: Patrick Pischulti
Advisor: David Klaus
Lab: Bioastronautics Lab
Program: 4th Year Aerospace PhD Student

I grew up in Augsburg, Germany which is about 60 minutes west of Munich. In my hometown, we have a lot of big engineering companies such as Siemens, Kuka, and Premium Aerotec (Airbus). However, growing up I was mostly focused on playing basketball and trying to make that a career.

While playing in the NBBL (Germany's under 19 first division basketball league), I started an apprenticeship to become a computer engineer. This was my first exposure to engineering and I learned from great mentors and teachers that many of the skills I used to excel in basketball could be applied to an engineering career.

The love I had for detail when it came to playing and coaching, always developing new methods to improve, and optimizing strategies, are all skills that carry over well; but it wasn’t until injuries started plaguing me that I decided to focus more on engineering and enrolled at the Hochschule Augsburg (Augsburg University of Applied Sciences).

At first my interest in aerospace engineering came through an amazing intro lecture to astronautics by one of my professors in Germany. I was fascinated by the combination of complex engineering systems and incredible individual human contributions to achieve goals such as the International Space Station.

When I transferred to the University of Alabama, I was confronted with the personal challenge of adapting and living in a completely new environment, far away from my family and friends. Overcoming this significantly improved the quality of my life and made me want to pursue a career in human spaceflight where I could help astronauts build a home far away from Earth.

After internships at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Langley Research Center, I enrolled in CU Boulder's aerospace PhD program with a focus in bioastronautics and I am now entering my 4th year.

No other university around the country had as many human spaceflight-focused classes and professors as CU Boulder."

When looking for potential graduate programs to enroll in, CU Boulder's unique bioastronautics program immediately stood out to me. No other university around the country had as many human spaceflight-focused classes and professors as CU Boulder. Additionally, during my internship at JSC, I got to meet some CU Boulder graduate students (who are now friends) who were very welcoming and genuine.

Lastly, when I reached out to my advisor, Prof. David Klaus, he took the time to read through my material and put an emphasis on getting to know me personally. Those factors combined convinced me CU Boulder would be a place where I could be happy and succeed.

There are many things to love about the university and this area: the weather, the mountains, the new aerospace building, the long and rich aerospace legacy, and so much more.

But the one thing that stands out the most to me is the community; the way that the professors and staff interact with the students and how most labs are more like a little family instead of just a workplace.

Graduate school is challenging but it is a lot more fun when you get to work next to your friends.

I grew up in Augsburg, Germany which is about 60 minutes west of Munich. While playing in Germany's under 19 first division basketball league, I started an apprenticeship to become a computer engineer. This was my first exposure to...

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PhD student headed to Antarctica to conduct climate research with lasers

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 19:05:32 +0000

PhD student headed to Antarctica to conduct climate research with lasers Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/26/2022 - 13:05

Jeff Zehnder

Above: Arunima Prakash
Header Image: A lidar beam shooting into the night sky from Xinzhao Chu's lab in Antarctica.

Arunima Prakash is preparing to study the upper atmosphere from one of the coldest and most desolate places on Earth: Antarctica.

Prakash, an aerospace PhD student at the University of Colorado Boulder, is studying polar mesospheric clouds and their relation to the solar cycle and polar vortex effects.

“There has been a long debate about how the solar cycle affects these clouds,” Prakash said. “Past satellite observations say the sun had a dominant effect, but we’re not seeing that correlation anymore. We want to study why. It could be a long-term indicator of climate change.”

Prakash is part of a team working under Xinzhao Chu, a professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at CU Boulder. Chu has a dedicated facility located at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. There, she uses specialized lidar systems that shoot pulsed laser beams into the sky to observe conditions from roughly 10-200 km (6-124 miles) in altitude, where terrestrial weather and space weather processes influence each other.

The frozen tundra of Antarctica may seem an unlikely place to conduct complex space-atmospheric research, but the unique atmospheric conditions available only at extreme latitudes make the location perfect for these studies.

Prakash’s work was recognized at the 2022 International Laser Radar Conference for best student oral presentation and earned second place in the student poster competition at the Coupling, Energetics and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions Program workshop in June.

Her work thus far has only been through complex analyses of already collected data. So she is eager to get to Antarctica to do her own hands-on research.

She is part of a team that will depart from Boulder for Antarctica within the next few weeks. Although Chu’s lab is well established at McMurdo, the facility has sat unused for the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prakash said the team is uncertain what they will find once they are on site.

“We are preparing for the worst,” Prakash said. “You generally want lasers to be continuously running, but these have been off for two years. We don’t know what kind of problems we’ll face and are gathering all sorts of extra parts to bring.”

Although it would be ideal if everything works fine, Prakash is also excited about the potential for diagnosing and solving electronics problems.

“For my degree, I didn’t want to be in one hole doing just one thing,” she said. “With Dr. Chu, I have the chance to work on science and engineering. We do a lot of electronics, lasers, photonics, optics, and data analysis. It’s a very good chance to learn more and keep in touch with what I know.”

Prakash plans to stay at the lab in Antarctica for six months. Once the equipment there is up and running, she will have near uninterrupted opportunities to conduct her research.

“Being in Antarctica I will have absolutely no distractions in terms of productivity,” Prakash said. “I’m looking forward to it as much as I’m looking forward to seeing the auroras, and the stars, and improving these atmospheric models.”

Arunima Prakash is preparing to study the upper atmosphere from one of the coldest and most desolate places on Earth: Antarctica. Prakash, an aerospace PhD student at the University of Colorado Boulder, is studying polar mesospheric clouds and their...

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A desire to learn more evolved into an aerospace PhD program

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 16:51:32 +0000

A desire to learn more evolved into an aerospace PhD program Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 07/22/2022 - 10:51

Dittman with his wife and children.

Name: Tim Dittman
Advisor: Jade Morton
Lab: Satellite Navigation and Sensing (SeNSe) Laboratory
Program: 2019 CU Boulder aerospace master's graduate now studying toward a PhD

I came to Boulder, CO for employment with an impactful non-profit that supports earth science research using geodetic data called UNAVCO.

If you aren’t sure what geodesy is, you are not alone, but you definitely depend upon it. Research in this area is important to navigation, building projects, land surveys, and creating a better understanding what is happening on and inside planet Earth.

At UNAVCO, the majority of the research we support uses openly available global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal data observed at global ground station networks to answer intriguing earth science questions.

As an undergraduate student, I studied geological engineering, with coursework covering things like bridge design, volcanoes, and structural geology in addition to engineering fundamentals.

I loved traveling throughout North America doing field work with a passionate team at UNAVCO in support of such a cool mission.

I also wanted to learn more about space-based remote sensing from geodetic measurements, but I was many years out of school and previously in a different department.

CU Boulder aerospace was intimidating. I initially signed up for Kristine Larson’s Introduction to GPS course as a CU continuing-education student (Kristine is now emerita).

The nature of her research, combined with her patience encouraged me to enroll in the aerospace engineering sciences MS program while continuing my work at UNAVCO. I was quickly drawn to the many CU Boulder aerospace faculty, staff and students thriving in interdisciplinary applications at the intersections of science and engineering, with most colleagues having a variety of complementary backgrounds.

I connected with Jade Morton in her one-of-a-kind GNSS for Remote Sensing class and she eventually became my PhD advisor. In her lab (The SeNSe Lab), Jade has established a culture of collaboration and mentorship amidst cutting edge research.

Members of the SeNSe Lab.

Jade and the dynamic lab team she assembled are additional proof to me that it is the people that make an experience. In this case, the research is the tasty icing on the cake.

In Boulder, I also met my brilliant wife (a CU Boulder grad) and we are parents of three semi-feral children.

We remain captivated by the local ‘backyard’ mountains and broader western adventures.

Aspects of my path toward aerospace are less typical in some ways, but Jade, the CU Aerospace staff, and UNAVCO colleagues have reassured my family and I throughout our journey.

As my time as a student at CU Boulder is possibly nearing its end, the inspiring labmates from CU SeNSe Lab combined with Jade’s tireless wisdom and homemade potstickers have made a transformative and fulfilling journey.

I came to Boulder, CO for employment with an impactful non-profit that supports earth science research using geodetic data called UNAVCO.If you aren’t sure what geodesy is, you are not alone, but you definitely depend...

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