Summer 2011 - College of Engineering

I N D I A N A S PAC E G R A N T C O N S O R T I U M
Summer 2011
2011 INSGC Af filia te Meeting and Teacher Conference
On April 12th—13th 2011, INSGC celebrated Yuri‘s Night by having the
2011 Spring Affiliate meeting in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of
Yuri Gagarin's first human space flight. What better way to celebrate the
first human space flight than to have an affiliate meeting! Along with the
affiliate meeting, there was also a teacher gathering, where a group of
teachers from across the state were invited to a poster presentation (by
college students from INSGC affiliates), reception, and then playing of
two IMAX movies. The IMAX movies were Magnificent Desolation and
Hubble 3D, which were provided by the IMAX theatre in the Indiana State
Museum.
Feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive. While the affiliate
meeting took care of business from the consortium, the poster presentation,
reception and IMAX movies delivered a pleasant evening on Tuesday
April 12th. The teachers and educators from the event were pleased with
the new knowledge they gained about resources from INSGC and were
thrilled to see two IMAX movies, free of cost.
Some comments from the feedback cards which were collected after the
Hubble 3D film were…
-―The movies and food were AMAZING! Well Done‖
-―This was a really nice event. I enjoyed previewing Magnificent
Desolation and hope to bring my class to see it.‖
-―Thanks for a great night! It was fantastic!‖
INSGC would like to thank the Indiana State Museum and the IMAX
theater for helping out tremendously with the event. The event was well
planned and the staff at the museum and theater were superb in helping put
on a wonderful evening.
Reception at the Indiana State Museum before the IMAX movies
Yuri’s Night
On April 12th 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the It is up to individual organizers as to what takes
first human to enter space. This year marks the place, but the individual events can range from
50th anniversary of this historic flight.
a small gathering, to a picnic, to a full party.
Yuri‘s Night is an annual worldwide event held
each year to celebrate mankind‘s first flight into
space. Yuri‘s Night was started in September
2000 by the World Party for Space in the Space
Generation Advisory Council at the United
Nations. The first year saw 64 events
worldwide to celebrate the day. Today there are
over 566 events around the world.
INSGC celebrated Yuri‘s Night by having the
annual INSGC affiliate meeting, reception and
a teacher conference. The INSGC staff all wore
Yuri‘s Night t-shirts in honor of the occasion.
The event‘s aim is to spread awareness of
human space flight around the globe.
Visit: www.yurisnight.net
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Indiana Space Grant Consortium Summer 2011
Director’s Notes - Director Barrett Caldwell
“Mitchell Indiana”
―Went ridin‘ around this little country town…‖
--John Mellencamp, ―Cherry Bomb,‖ The Lonesome Jubilee
No, I’m not making any of this up. It all happened, as though I were trying to
create a vignette of life in Indiana on a summer day. –Barrett Caldwell
On Friday morning, July 22, I returned from a conference trip, got in a rental car
at the airport, and headed
south on Indiana Routes
67 and 37. It‘s a really
hot day: just the day
before, the temperature
hit 100 in Indianapolis,
the hottest since August
1988 (about the time
―Cherry Bomb‖ was on
the Billboard charts).
The corn is tall, but the
ground is dry, and the
grass is getting brown
and crunchy by the time I
Lowell Grissom and Barrett Caldwell in Mitchell Indiana
get to the county line.
I‘m late to the luncheon
at the Girls‘ Club, but I do manage some good conversation with some of the
local organizers and guests of honor. Some good chicken, carrots, and green
beans, too. The evening event is the Ball, being held in the restaurant of the local
state park inn down in the next town. Before I get to the state park, I spend some
time on the quiet main street of town. An Amish buggy is turning the corner as I
park the car and cross the street to look at some of the antique stores. One woman
comes into the store as I am browsing the postcards and porcelain, and asks if I‘m
here for the Ball…. Yes, they‘d heard I was coming, and they‘re glad I‘m here.
And how about the woman from the antique store? Her name is Susan, and she
has a flight jacket with mission patches and autographs. She, like many others in
town, knew about ―that professor from Purdue, the one with the Space Grant,‖
and her welcome was warm and enthusiastic. The experience, and the pace, and
the spirit of the town all affected her choice to move back to Lawrence County
after being in the Air Force.
In other words, these small towns could have been like any other, but one of their
favorite sons returned for visits, and the town celebrated his accomplishments.
The towns try to move forward, but they don‘t forget that they hold a special
place in history. They have an obligation to honor their hero, and make sure
others remember him, too. Could I have created that level of enthusiasm, or an
excitement and passion for the outcomes of STEM education, in a place that
wasn‘t already eager to celebrate their role in spaceflight history? As an outsider,
no. But as a visitor and witness to their dreams and passions, I can tell you that
everything I could hope for in terms of public engagement of STEM is there. In
the yard next to Gus Grissom‘s boyhood home, there is a sweet gum tree grown
from a seed that Charlie Walker took into space.
Mayor Girgis and Astronaut Walker discuss the importance of girls pursuing
whatever career interests they want to follow. Last year, some folks in a couple
of little towns in Indiana decided to put together a program celebrating the history
of US spaceflight. They
brought together Mercury
Program engineers, and a
couple of astronauts, and
put it all together near the
memorial that houses the
Gemini
spacecraft
nicknamed ―M olly
Brown‖. Lt. Governor
Skillman responded
p e r s on a l l y t o t h e
invitation, and put it on
her calendar –because it‘s
her hometown, too. And
they‘re not done yet.
Indiana Route 37, at the entrance to Lawrence County:
―Home of Astronauts Grissom • Walker • Bowersox‖
They‘re trying to create
an Astronaut Hall of
Fame. They‘re restoring the Grissom home. And they want to know if the
Indiana Space Grant would be interested in helping with scholarships and activity
support and advice.
At the Ball, I‘m seated at a delightful table. I‘m next to one of the guests of
honor, and conversing with the one local mayor and his wife on my other side.
The other local mayor is a bit distant, until she is done with her obligation for the
evening: singing the National Anthem. After that, she relaxes and chats amiably.
I‘m enjoying a great dinner of pork chops, and baked apples, and a bit of beef,
and cherry cobbler, talking about civic responsibility and local roots. After
dinner, the one local mayor gets up, thanks people for coming, and introduces his
―favorite band,‖ joking that while his colleague may be the singing mayor, he can
dance. The band checks the tuning, and then starts in on… yes, John
Mellencamp‘s ―Cherry Bomb‖.
I had whispered to Charlie, ―I envy you your hometown.‖ Correction. I admire
his hometown, and what he and Ken have been able to share with their town. I
This all sounds like it could be anywhere in the Midwest, but it‘s not. It‘s Indiana
admire Susan, and Mayor Terrell and his assistant Christina Lambton (who placed
(I even drove through Bloomington, where Mellencamp lives, on Route 37). But
me with such wonderful dinner companions). I appreciate the efforts of the head
more importantly, it‘s Lawrence County, Indiana, home of three NASA
of the German-American Bank and the folks from the Hoosier Hills Credit Union,
astronauts: Ken Bowersox and Charlie Walker of Bedford, and Gus Grissom of
and the Lawrence County Convention and Visitors‘ Bureau, and the Bedford Area
Mitchell. We‘re here to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Grissom‘s Liberty Bell 7
Chamber of Commerce, and the Department of Natural Resources (remember, the
launch. The weekend program includes discussions with McDonnell Corporation
Liberty 7 Ball and Grissom Memorial were at a state park!) and everyone else.
engineers who worked on the Mercury program, remarks by Becky Skillman, the
That experience was one of the best reminders of how lucky I am to be able to
Lt. Governor of Indiana (who is also from Bedford). The guests of honor at the
work with and talk to such people, and be part of the legacy of space flight in
Liberty Bell 7 Ball? Gus Grissom‘s brothers, sister, and other relatives (two
Indiana.
tables of Grissom family in all), and Charlie Walker.
The band didn‘t play it Friday night, but the next day as I was driving home,
How does such a small place (county population, 2010 census: 46,134) generate
guess what song came on the radio?
such a legacy? How does a Space Grant Director end up in such a place? I asked
that very question of the people I met. Mayor Girgis of Bedford and Mayor
Terrell of Mitchell spoke of the energy and enthusiasm that the communities had
―I was born in a small town…
put into the Liberty Bell 7 celebration. Astronaut Walker talked about launching
Educated in a small town…
rockets with friends who thought it was cool, not stupid. Other residents talked
Used to daydream in that small town,
about how Test Pilot Grissom would return back to Mitchell, and do flyovers in
Another born romantic that‘s me.‖
one of his jets during the annual Persimmon Festival. Lowell Grissom was
-- John Mellencamp, ―Small Town,‖ Scarecrow
gracious and friendly, and talked about growing up in a town where it was okay to
have bigger dreams than working at the local bus manufacturing plant.
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Indiana Space Grant Consortium Summer 2011
INSGC Quick Facts
The Indiana Space Grant
Consortium (INSGC)
includes 22 affiliates who
work together to promote
STEM education initiatives
related to NASA themes and
careers in the State of Indiana. Purdue
University in West Lafayette, IN, serves as the
INSGC lead institution under the direction of
Dr. Barrett Caldwell, who holds faculty
appointments as Professor in Industrial
Engineering and Aeronautics & Astronautics
(by courtesy).
to NASA, aerospace sciences and technologies,
and STEM disciplines. Since its inception in
1991, the Indiana Space Grant Consortium has
given out more than $1million in scholarships
and fellowships.
Purdue
Space
Day—Organized by
university students, Purdue Space Day
(PSD) is an educational outreach program,
which provides grade school students from
Grades 3-8, the opportunity to learn about
s c i e n c e,
t ec hno lo gy
Employ:
engineering,
and
Over one hundred
ma t h ema t ics
by
students funded by
participating
in
ageINSGC have found
appropriate activity sessions
employment with
throughout the day. Since
NASA, aerospace
1996, over 1,200 university
companies,
and
students have taken part in
universities. Each
the organizing and running
INSGC Vision
year,
INSGC
of the event and over 4000
INSGC will be the premier source of supported students Purdue Space Day Group poses with Astronaut
grade school students have
coordination, information, and inspiration for find their experiences Dave Wolf
participated in PSD. The
the NASA-related education, outreach, and give them and edge
highlight of 2010 was the
workforce needs of the State of Indiana. As part in these highly job markets critical to the US participation of guest Astronaut David Wolf.
of this vision, INSGC has set the following knowledge and technology base.
Purdue Space Day will be held this year on
goals to align with NASA Education
Saturday November 5th, 2011.
Visit
2011-2012 Major Funded Activities
Outcomes:
www.purduespaceday.com for more details.
Purdue University Reduced Gravity Flight  INSGC will promote NASA-related
A Purdue student team was selected by NASA Wind Turbines: Baseline Modal Testing
Science, Technology, Engineering, and
to be one of the 14 teams to fly in the 2010- for Improved Performance and
Mathematics (STEM) workforce
2011 NASA Reduced Gravity Student Flight Troubleshooting – Two 50kw wind turbines
development by providing
O p p o r t u n i t i e s will be used for educational and research
support to STEM research
Program (RGSFOP). purposes at Taylor and Purdue Universities.
and education in higher
The team studied the Students will study the rotor performance
education settings.
diaphragm tanks under normal operation to help troubleshoot
(also called bladder problems and maximize performance of the
 INSGC will provide
tanks) that are used wind turbine. Goals for this project include
educational opportunities
in spacecraft to performing cutting edge research on wind
for K-12 students and
control
l i q u i d turbine performance, advancing the science
teachers in order to inspire
propellant during of wind energy to meet the challenges of
students to STEM
spaceflight.
The climate change and the environment and
disciplines.
Students from Purdue Reduced Gravity Flight
research will provide engaging students from Purdue and Taylor in
 INSGC will collaborate
useful information for companies and all aspects of the project.
with formal and informal STEM educators researchers who want to create similar products Funding
in order to promote awareness of NASA- for reduced gravity environments.
Year
NASA
Non-federal
related missions to the general public.
Inspire:
INSGC seeks to inspire Indiana residents to
value and engage in NASA related formal and
informal education, workforce development
and research activities in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Engage:
INSGC engages Indiana residents of all ages
through funding of activities, displays and
projects annually that promote general
awareness and knowledge about aerospace.
Educate:
INSGC values the necessity of developing
lifelong learning, particularly when it pertains
FIRST
Regional—FIRST
regiona l
competitions are proving grounds for
robots designed and built in only six
weeks. High School student teams
determine robot functionality by developing
a strategy for a pre-determined ―game.‖
The Boilermaker Regional, one of 32 FIRST
robotics regional competitions across the
U.S. and in Israel, is held at the Purdue
campus.
INSGC is one of the major
sponsors for the competition. Purdue FIRST
Programs also sponsor the Fall FIRST Lego
League (Middle School) Qualifying
Tournament hosted at Purdue. Visit
www.purduefirst.org/ for more details.
2005-06
$550,000
$411,307
2006-07
$580,000
$677,927
2007-08
$590,000
$982,000
2008-09
$730,000
$667,000
2009-10
$785,000
$702,195
2010-11
$845,000
$670,000
INSGC does not receive state government
funding. Donations from the public help us to
devote more of our funds to scholarships,
fellowships, and other outreach programs. Taxdeductible donations can also be directed to the
Na tion al Spa c e Grant Foundation
(www.spacegrant.org) for use in Indiana.
Page 4
Indiana Space Grant Consortium Summer 2011
Reflections….
Barret Caldwell speaks to Dubois County Purdue
Club members as part of the Virgil “Gus” Grissom
Classic and Scholarship Banquet
Affiliates gather in the conference room for the annual
Spring Affiliate meeting
Did You Know??
Teachers and affiliates enjoy food at
Yuri's Night reception, April 12, 2011
Wesley Cheek, Joel Rogers and Kristie Shaw in front of
their poster at the affiliate meeting/teacher reception in
Indianapolis
Space Grant was first established under Title II of the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration Authorization Act of 1988. A unique national program –
inspired by the mission and work of NASA – Space Grant enhances the United
States‘ capabilities to carry out education, research, and public outreach activities
in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and additional
fields related to space, aeronautics, life science, physical science, and earth
system science.
Page 5
Indiana Space Grant Consortium Summer 2011
Letter from Dennis Lamenti
At the end of October 2010, I participated in
the NASA and the Navajo Nation project‘s
Cultural Immersion Experience that was
initiated and led by Ms. Daniella Scalice,
Education and Public Outreach Lead, NASA
Astrobiology Institute, and Ms. Alice Carron,
Executive Director, Art Reach International,
LLC., as a means to expose educators, mentors,
and managers of federal and academia
sponsored programs intended to serve Native
American students to some of the realities,
values, and ways of life in Native communities,
especially with respect to education. The
ultimate goal is that, because of the experience,
future programs may be better designed so that
the needs of these communities are identified
and met more effectively. This experience was
held throughout Diné Bikéyah, the Navajo
Nation.
In our first meeting an ex-Governor of the
Cochiti Pueblo gave a talk on the history of
some of the important interactions between
Native people and the U.S., especially with
respect to legislation being passed that affected
education and suppression of the Native
American people. It was here I knew that all
involved would be thrust into the reality and
challenges necessary to consider when
implementing programs in which they sponsor.
The essence of his presentation was to ask the
question. ―What are the core values?‖ Are the
core values of the people considered? Are the
goals of the program sustainable? How do
short-term goals affect long-term goals? Now
these questions seem to be asked and answered
by those who develop agendas for Native
populations, but he demonstrated several
examples where more damage was done by
programs which did not involve core values,
where core values were compromised, and with
that, the loss of integrity to all involved which
manifests itself in further challenges of
bringing Native students to higher education
and even more so, widening the chasm between
Indian people and non-Indians. (I make no
distinction with the usage of Native American
and Indian, in this context.)
Our agenda ranged from meeting with tribal
officials in the Department of Dine‘ Education
to eating and talking with students at Navajo
Technical College, visiting the largest High
School on the reservation and what I considered
to be the most significant objective of the
whole experience; being with the people, the
land and with those that carry the message of
tradition, our Medicine People.
The last objective was
accomplished with the
graciousness of a Navajo
family and a visit to
Canyon de Chelly. Friends
of Daniella and Alice
opened up their Hogan to
us. The hogan is traditional
dwelling used both for
residence
and/or
ceremonies. This family,
who live in Tohatchi, NM
shared how Navajos are
married and several
members of their family
traveled from different
parts of the ‗rez‘ to be with
us, displaying the
importance of family and
honoring us. During this
visit, we got word that the
Tohatchi Chapter House,
which is a body residents
of that area that assemble
to decide on local matters,
had heard that a group
from NASA was nearby Dennis Lamenti received travel funds in 2010-11 and an INSGC Fellowship in 2011-12
and they wanted to meet
with us. As we entered the Chapter House, their people, or any Native American people, core
Honor Guard, consisting of Navajos who values must be considered.
served in the U.S. military, greeted us. It was
This program introduced some of these core
quite an honor. Again, our group got a chance
values by being intimate with the land, the
to meet with the community, the people we are
language and culture of my people and how
to serve, hear my language, and note the
intertwined and important every part of it is to
importance of community.
the Navajo.
The visit to Canyon de Chelly was one of
I ultimately felt that all involved had to acquire
beauty. The canyon has a special significance
an appreciation of the Navajo people and will
to my people for many reasons that include the
need to extrapolate this experience when
existence ancient dwellings of my ancestors
creating, supporting and sustaining programs
that still stand and this was a place where some
directed to all Native American students.
of my people hid to avoid capture by the U.S.
army. A Medicine Man accompanied us to one My own understanding of education on my
of the vista points where he shared some of the reservation has been greatly enhanced from this
creation stories and the significance of a trip and I have begun a relationship with
particular rock formation, called Spider Rock, several high school instructors to collaborate in
which traditionally is the home of Spider introducing and understanding science in a
Woman, a Creator. This exemplified why the meaningful way and that is directly applicable
to strengthening the people. I greatly appreciate
land is sacred to my People.
the assistance of the Office of Diversity,
Navajos are but one of 562 federally recognized
Equity, and Multicultural Affairs and the
Native American Tribes. Each one of these
Department of Astronomy at Indiana
tribes, and those not recognized, has their own
University-Bloomington and the Indiana Space
culture that is unique from the daily social
Grant Consortium in getting me there and a
structure of government, corporations,
special thanks to Ms. Scalice and Ms. Carron
institutions and urban living of mainstream
for bring us together for this needed experience
American life. So for any effectiveness in any
and for their work with over the past years with
program development that is to serve my
the Navajo Nation.
Page 6
Indiana Space Grant Consortium Summer 2011
Gus Grissom Memorial Scholarship
On Thursday, June 23, members of the Purdue Club Dubois County Area
hosted the 17th annual Virgil ―Gus‖ Grissom Classic and Scholarship
Banquet in Jasper, Indiana. Also in attendance was Dr. Barrett Caldwell,
the director of the INSGC. This event commemorates Gus Grissom (19261967), a Mitchell, Indiana Native and Purdue graduate in 1950. Grissom
was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts.
Those in attendance enjoyed a day of golf on Sultan‘s Run Golf Course
followed by an award banquet afterwards in the clubhouse. Dr. Caldwell
may have finished out of money ―on the links‖, but he awarded four
Grissom Memorial Scholarships to students in the Dubois County area,
each in the amount of $1,500. Additional scholarship money provided by
NASA and the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)
Fund bump the scholarship award to $2,500 for each student as they
prepare for their first year at Purdue—West Lafayette.
―His shirt says ‗Hawaii‘, but his heart beats
‗Dubois County‘ ‖-Kent Oliger
Grissom Scholarship winners: (front
row, from left) Joseph Fischer (Jasper
H.S.), Dr. Barrett Caldwell; (back row,
from left) Shaylyn Vogler (Northeast
Dubois H.S.), Kathr yn Sands
(Northeast Dubois H.S.) and Emily
Gress (Jasper H.S.)
Grissom scholarships are available to
all graduates of Dubois County High
Schools in the spring of each year.
Did you know?
Gus Grissom was the second astronaut to fly in Project Mercury, taking the
Liberty Bell 7 on a suborbital flight. Upon slash down, the hatch blew open
and the spacecraft eventually sank.
As a joking salute to his Mercury craft, Grissom named the first Gemini
spacecraft ―Molly Brown‖ after a popular Broadway show The Unsinkable
Molly Brown. Molly Brown was one of the survivors from the RMS Titanic.
NASA officials didn‘t find this amusing and ordered Grissom and pilot John
Young to come up with a new one. They offered Titanic. NASA officials
eventually allowed the name Molly Brown, but did not use it in official
references.
Page 7
Indiana Space Grant Consortium Summer 2011
Final Space Shuttle Mission —STS 135
Image above: Pictured in the STS-135 crew portrait are NASA astronauts Chris Ferguson (center right),
commander; Doug Hurley (center left), pilot; Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus, both mission specialists.
Image credit: NASA
STS-135
The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 directed NASA to conduct the STS-135
mission. The Space Shuttle Program was successfully completed with the launch
of Atlantis on July 8th 2011. The final shuttle launch was extraordinary.
Atlantis carried the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies,
logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station. The mission also flew
a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing spacecraft
and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the
failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems.
Era Closes—First to Last Shuttle Missions
From Columbia‘s first launch on April 12th, 1981 to Atlantis‘ final launch July 8th, 2011, the Space Shuttle will
have awed and inspired millions of people around the world.
Through accomplishments and tragedies, the Shuttle has touched just about everyone. When the Challenger
exploded on launch January 28th 1986, President Reagan touched the nation with his farewell speech saying, ―We
will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved
goodbye and ‗slipped the surly bonds of earth‘ to ‗touch the face of God.‘‖ When Columbia was destroyed upon
reentry, the nation also rallied behind the program, remembering the valiant lives lost.
With Atlantis‘ final launch, the nation‘s space program ended an era of great progress in space exploration. From
the Hubble Space Telescope, to the International Space Station, the shuttle has markedly advanced human
exploration and will be missed greatly by all those who have worked on, designed, or simply seen a launch.
Page 8
Indiana Space Grant Consortium Summer 2011
Avicenna Academy - Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP)
Recently, the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education
(NCESSE) announced an opportunity for schools to participate in the
Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP). This program was
designed to engage and inspire our budding scientists and engineers
through immersion in real science. Each participating school community
will be provided an experiment slot in a microgravity research minilaboratory on the final flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.
Avicenna Academy in Crown Point, IN will be among the schools
participating with the help of community and INSGC donations. They are
opening up this opportunity to all Avicenna Academy students in
kindergarten through sixth grade, all students in kindergarten through
twelfth grade from the larger NWI Muslim community and all students in
kindergarten through twelfth grade from the Lifelong Learning Cooperative
in Anderson, Indiana.
From the Avicenna Academy website:
"Problem solving, critical thinkers are the successful people in today and
tomorrow's global job market. We should take this opportunity seriously
and understand that while it is one project, its outcome will have a great
impact on the school, the community and the students, themselves, as their
confidence in their own intellectual abilities will be boosted. This increase
in self-confidence will help to propel their future work as students and as
members of society by preventing them from holding back their true
potential."
Avicenna Academy is a small, co-educational, private, accredited Islamic school providing services to students, ages 18 months through
grade six. We are located in the Northwest corner of Indiana in an area known simply as ―the region‖. This largely industrial region is
considered an extension of the Chicago metropolitan area. We are also located approximately 130 miles from Indianapolis.
Due to the collaborative nature of this nationwide STEM initiative, Avicenna Academy has invited all students in the larger faith-based
community to participate with them in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP). In addition, Avicenna Academy is
collaborating with Lifelong Learning Cooperative, a home school co-op located in Anderson, Indiana bringing the total number of student
participants to 270. Ninety eight students, in fifth through twelfth grades will be participating in the experimental design portion of the
competition. All 270 students have been invited to participate by submitting a design for the Mission Patch, whose final design will be
selected through a voting process. Fifty six percent of Avicenna Academy‘s families have demonstrated a financial need warranting free or
reduced tuition. And an estimated 70% of Lifelong Learning Cooperative‘s students would qualify for free or reduced lunches in a public
school setting. The ethnic makeup of the participating group is: 45% Arab, 24% Caucasian (Non-Hispanic), 23% Asian, 6% Mixed, 1%
African/African-American, 1% Hispanic. There will be four science teachers participating in this project, with many parents volunteering
time to aid the instructors. Avicenna Academy‘s school community has high scores in both Language Arts and Mathematics, as measured by
Indiana‘s standardized assessments, and our current priority is creating and fostering an ongoing love for science in our students by
establishing a strong, inquiry-based science program. There is a clear connection between the investigation skills that are fine-tuned through
scientific exploration and problem-solving ability. The ability to think critically and solve problems is necessary to be competitive in today
and tomorrow‘s job markets.
SSEP is a wonderful opportunity for the students of Avicenna Academy and Lifelong Learning Cooperative as it will no doubt increase
motivation and interest in the sciences through the very nature of the experimental design competition. SSEP also offers us an amazing
opportunity to transition from theoretical knowledge, learned in class to practical
knowledge and application. The added excitement of one of our experiments being
flown on the historic last space shuttle flight will leave a lasting impression on all of
the participants. In addition, it offers our students the chance to collaborate with
See SSEP program
other budding scientists in a different educational atmosphere. The diversity amongst
description on page 9!
the participants is remarkable and this collaborative effort will, in that way, mirror
much of the work being done by scientists around the world today.
Page 9
Indiana Space Grant Consortium Summer 2011
SSEP (Student Spaceflight Experiments Program)
real process a scientist goes
through, students from the various
participating communities
r esearched and sub mi tted
proposals to compete for an
experiment slot in a research
mini-lab that was reserved just for
their school district.
NCESSE and NanoRacks are excited to
pass on that NASA‘s International Space
Station (ISS) Program Office at Johnson
Space Center is featuring the Student
Spaceflight Experiments Program on the
ISS website at nasa.gov. Not only is this a
remarkable honor for all communities
engaged in the program, but we need to
point out that the feature is found in the
ISS RESEARCH …. again, RESEARCH
News section of the website.
Congratulations to all RESEARCHERS,
Principal Investigators, Co-Investigators,
and Collaborators. (See, we‘ve been telling
you you‘re real scientists, and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration just
confirmed it.)
Students chose samples from a
master list of nine different
science disciplines appropriate for
microgravity research. They then
designed experiments within the
constraints of the NanoRacks hardware
and the space shuttle, with the help of their
community teachers and mentors. The
winning investigations launched to the
space station as payloads on space shuttle
E n d ea v o u r. U si n g s t a n d ard i ze d
parameters, the student -designed
investigations fit into the mini-lab aboard
the shuttle middeck for the launch.
The goal of the program is to get children
interested in science education at an early
age, according to Dr. Jeff Goldstein, center
director of the Student Spaceflight
Experiments Program. "This is nothing
short of providing on orbit research
opportunities for grades 5-12. It is not
When you were in school, chances are meant to simply be a cool education
your science classes included using a experience, it truly is meant to immerse
microscope to view cell reproduction or students in real science.‖
perhaps dissecting a worm or frog. In
today's classroom, however, students have A total of 447 proposals came in from
the opportunity to take their lessons to a teams across participating communities as
whole new stratosphere. In fact, into orbit they vied for a spot on the space shuttle.
aboard the STS-134 shuttle flight on a Student entries went through two review
mission to the International Space Station. boards before judges narrowed entries to
the final selection of 16 winners. This is a
Schools and communities planned their record setting number of student
student-run science investigations via the participants to work with NanoRacks. Jeff
Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, Manber, managing director of NanoRacks,
or SSEP, which is a partnership between expressed his amazement with the success
the National Center for Earth and Space of the this competition, "The Student
Science Education, known as NCESSE, Spaceflight Experiments Program has
and NanoRacks, LLC. In parallel to the
performed a miracle in bringing 16 school
districts into STS-134 in just over half a
year from contract signing to payload
submission. And everyone at NASA has
grown to embrace the energy that comes
from working with both the program and
the schools themselves."
Dr. Goldstein sees the program as a
catalyst for science education on a grand
scale. "My hope is that this program will
bring high visibility to the space station as
a true national laboratory; the only
difference being that this laboratory is
located in a very strange direction -- up. I
think that through this program we can
engage truly hundreds of thousands of
students in real experiment design and use
the station as a showcase."
The Student Spaceflight Experiments
Program on-orbit research opportunity is
enabled through NanoRacks LLC, which
is working in partnership with NASA
under a Space Act Agreement as part of
the utilization of the International Space
Station as a National Laboratory.
Story Courtesy: Jeff Goldstein and Jessica
Nimon (NASA JSC)
INSGC can now be found on facebook! Join us and
become a fan to find out more information about
INSGC activities and upcoming events from the
Consortia. Just search for Indiana Space Grant!
Page 10
Indiana Space Grant Consortium Summer 2011
Indiana “Giant Traveling Map”
INSGC funded fellowship student Ken Simmons used his funding towards an exciting new education tool that will soon be
available to Indiana Students across the state.
In the fall of 2009 Ken commenced what began as a class project for a computer cartography course he was taking. Before long,
the class project turned into a long term commitment to develop a one-of-a-kind learning experience for children across the entire
State of Indiana. Ken is happy to report that as of the beginning of June 2011, this project – one to create a large scale map of the
Hoosier State – is now at the point of completion, and preparations are being made for final production.
The idea for a ―giant traveling map‖ originally stems from National Geographic Society. Having gained a reputation for making
authoritative maps of places and features around the world, The National Geographic Society extended its cartographic excellence
to the creation of wonderful educational tools, including
the ―Giant Traveling Maps‖ after which the INSGC
funded map Ken created was fashioned.
Though the National Geographic maps have brought
hours of fun and educational enjoyment to schools
across Indiana, the map visits have only been periodic,
and the continental perspective of the maps have
unfortunately been unable to encourage learning about
the Hoosier State itself. Such limitation gave rise to the
initiative to create a giant traveling map specifically of
Indiana, a large scale product that could be created for
and used exclusively by Hoosier children to learn about
their home state. The map that has resulted can be used
for physical geography teaching and much more,
however.
Student explores South America as part of National Geographic’s ―Giant Traveling
Maps‖ - Photograph courtesy National Geographic—Photo by Dan Beaupre
The Indiana giant traveling map has, in fact, the potential to introduce students to all sorts of topics. Along with the loca tions of
geographic and historical points of interests, the map contains a wide variety of information specific to the Hoosier State.
Additionally, plans are in the works to develop teacher lesson plans that detail the scientific and technological methods that were
used to create the Indiana map, specifically the geographic information system (GIS) employed in aggregating and formatting the
different feature classes found within the map. Further plans call for the inclusion of supplemental teaching elements that
introduce students to Indiana from the unique vantage point of the remotely sensed imagery of airplanes and satellites.
Students will have the chance to view the Hoosier State like never before as part of this enormously entertaining and
educationally powerful tool for introducing geography, history and map reading skills. Thanks Ken for an exciting new project
that INSGC is proud to be a part of.
Did you know?
Each space shuttle measures 122 feet long and 57 feet high in its horizontal position, not including the detachable
boosters. The wingspan of the space shuttle is 78 feet. The pressurized crew module has an internal volume of
2,325 cubic feet and houses a maximum of seven astronauts. The robotic arm in the payload section of the space
shuttle is 50 feet long.
Page 11
Indiana Space Grant Consortium Summer 2011
Purdue ROV Team Success
The Purdue University IEEE (Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers) ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) Team
had a phenomenal year.
The team competed in the 10th annual MATE International ROV
Competition at the Johnson Space center in Houston, Texas this
past week. This competition creates a bid style environment in
which 200 of the total 500 points are allotted to a technical
report, professional presentation, and display poster. The mission
theme this year was the BP Oil Spill. The challenge was to create
and deploy an oil cap, collect biological specimens, and collect a
non-diluted water sample. This mission was staged in the NASA
Neutral Buoyancy Lab, the largest indoor pool in the world. This
pool also created the added challenge of a 40 foot depth, much
deeper than the team had ever encountered.
Purdue Student ROV group
The vehicle, ROV Hybris, was designed to be fast, agile, and
reliable. It is undoubtedly the most sophisticated vehicle
mechanically and electronically to ever be entered in to the
competition. It featured the largest power to weight ratio by a
significant margin, weighing 37 pounds in air compared to the
competition often weighing over 75 pounds. The unibody frame
was cut by water jet from a single piece of Aluminum. Almost
every other part of the vehicle was cut via CNC mill. Every
electrical board on the ROV was custom made for this vehicle.
Even the software and GUI were custom made. It was no surprise
when ROV Hybris joined the elite group of only two other ROVs
in the competition that earned a perfect mission score with time
bonus.
ROV Hybris
After placing 5th and 4th in 2009 and 2010, the team managed to
place 2nd at the international level for 2011. This put Purdue
ahead of many prestigious schools such as Texas A&M, Georgia
Tech, Arizona State, and teams from Russia, China, India, Egypt, If you are interested in more, please see the below links for our
the UK, and Canada. In total, there were 26 teams who qualified Spec Sheet, Technical Report, and Display Poster.
to compete in the international competition in the same class as
Purdue (which is the higher of the two available classes).
Spec Sheet - http://db.tt/BuieNoi
All of this was possible because of the massive support we Technical Report - http://db.tt/qOaMvkp
received financially and otherwise. Thank you for all your Poster - http://db.tt/X3zjq8f
support!
Seth Baklor
Team Captain
INSGC Newsletter…
Didn‘t see your story in the newsletter? Each newsletter that comes out has a lot of work and planning involved. Not every story from the
Consortium will make it to print but if you would like your story featured, send it to INSGC. A story that already has a press release or is already
written up is more likely to be featured. Also, if you send us your story, even if it doesn‘t make it to print it still can be published on our website
www.insgc.org. Send stories to insgc@purdue.edu.
Indiana Space
Grant Consor tium
Indiana Space Grant Consortium
Discovery Park at Mann Hall, Room 160
203 S. Martin Jischke Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1971
www.insgc.org
Phone: 765-494-5873
Fax: 765-494-4850
Email Addresses
Director: Barrett Caldwell (bscaldwell@purdue.edu)
Program Manager: Dawn Whitaker (dwhitaker@purdue.edu)
INSGC Office: (insgc@purdue.edu)
Note: If you would like to be removed from this mailing list,
please email insgc@purdue.edu.
Indiana Space Grant Consortium Affiliates
Academic Affiliates
Valparaiso University
Dr. Bruce J. Hrivnak (Affiliate Director)
Ball State University
Dr. Ronald H. Kaitchuck (Affiliate Director)
Outreach Affiliates
Indiana State University
Susan Berta (Affiliate Director)
Brownsburg Challenger Learning Center
Mary Patterson (Affiliate Director)
Indiana University - Bloomington
Paul Edwards (Affiliate Director)
Challenger Learning Center of Northwest Indiana
Amanda Maynard (Affiliate Director)
Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne
Dr. Jihad Albayyari (Affiliate Director)
ETHOS, Inc.
Patsy Boehler (Affiliate Director)
Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis
David Coats (Affiliate Director)
IMAX Theater
Craig Mince (Affiliate Director)
Purdue University - Calumet
Dr. Adam W. Rengstorf (Affiliate Director)
Indiana State Museum
Kathleen McLary (Affiliate Director)
Purdue University College of Technology
at Columbus/Greensburg
John J. Head (Affiliate Director)
Indianapolis Challenger Learning Center of Decatur
Township
Cyndy Moriarty-Meier, NBCT-Flight Director
Taylor University
Jeffrey F. Dailey (Affiliate Director)
Science Central
Martin Fisher (Affiliate Directors)
University of Evansville
Dr. Philip Gerhart (Affiliate Director)
Terre Haute Children‘s Museum
Rachael Nickel (Affiliate Director)
University of Southern Indiana
Dr. Glen Kissel (Affiliate Director)
Industrial Affiliates
SpacePORT INDIANA, Inc
Brian Tanner, Chief Technology Officer
StratoStar Systems
Jason Krueger
Full contact details can be found at:
www.insgc.org