Dr. James Smith

Professor Emeritus, CME

Contact

301 Sparkman Drive
Engineering Building
Room 117
Huntsville, AL 35899
Campus Map

james.smith@uah.edu

Biography

Microgravity processing of ceramic and metal composites, direct coal liquefaction, heterogeneous catalysis and reaction engineering, fiber optic chemical sensing of organic contaminants of ground water, high temperature furnace development and modeling, and laser diagnostic kinetic studies of hypergolic reactions between hydrazine and red fuming nitric acid.

Dr. Smith has been principle investigator on eight experiments flown on seven different space shuttle missions using the SpaceHab module on STS 57 in 1993, STS 60 a & b in 1994, STS 63 in 1995, STS 76 in 1996, STS 77 in 1996,and STS-79 in 1995. The experiments on STS-76 were conducted by astronaut Shannon Lucid during her record setting mission on the Mir space station. STS-89 carried his latest experiments to the Mir Station.


Education

  • Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina in Columbia, 1982
  • B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina in Columbia, 1977

Honors & Awards

  • Eastman Kodak Research Fellowship 1978-1979, $6000.
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the American Society of Engineering Education Fellowship, NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Research Fellowship, 6/83-8/83, $6000.
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the American Society of Engineering Education Fellowship, NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Research Fellowship, 6/84-8/84, $6500.
  • Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, College of Engineering, The University of Alabama in Huntsville 1995.
  • Resolution of Appreciation for tens years service as advisor to the Alabama Delta Chapter of Tau Beta Pi, 1995.
  • Appreciation Award, SpaceHab Inc., Cape Canaveral Florida, February 1995.
  • STS-76, Certificate of Appreciation, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Consortium for Materials Development in Space, July 15, 1996.
  • STS-77, Certificate of Appreciation, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Consortium for Materials Development in Space, July 15, 1996.
  • Group Achievement Award, Mir 21/Nasa 2 Discipline Team, NASA's Johnson Space Flight Center, Houston, TX (Dec 1996).
  • Group Achievement Award, Mir 21/Nasa 2 Operations Team, NASA's Johnson Space Flight Center, Houston, TX (Dec 1996).

Recent Publications

  • "Microgravity Liquid Phase Sintering and Pore Evolution ", Xue, Z., S. L. Noojin, J. Vandegrift, A. K. Kuruvilla, and J. E. Smith, Jr., A., Mater. Trans., JIM, , Vol. 37 (1996) 1084-1090

  • "Development and Operation of a Microgravity Furnace System for Sintering Experiments", J. Vandegrift, S.L. Noojin and J. E. Smith, Jr., Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 34, (1997) 104-109.

  • "Phase Equilibria During Liquid Phase Sintering in Microgravity", Z. Xue, S. Noojin, J. Vandegrift, A. Kuruvilla and J. E. Smith, Jr.,High Temperature and Pressure,Vol. 29 (1997) 349-357.


Faculty and staff can be reached at the numbers shown here. The department number is 256.824.6810 and the departmental fax number is 256.824.6839.