Von Braun Memorial Symposium enables UAH students to showcase their research

For the eighth consecutive year, graduate and undergraduate students presented their research to compete for prizes at a student poster competition during the 10th Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Oct. 24-26.

"With most of the symposium being hosted at UAH, the poster competition is a great opportunity to showcase the capabilities of UAH's undergraduate and graduate students," says Dave Cook, coordinator of student research programs for UAH's Office of Academic Affairs.

Students present research projects relevant to the aerospace industry, such as atmospheric science, earth observation, space life sciences, space health, aerospace systems engineering and design, astrophysics, space weather, optics, economics, business, policy, sustainability, history, international relations, education, STEM outreach initiatives and related areas. This year, 40 students participated in the competition.

"It’s really interesting to see the exciting ways in which students are able to convey their research in poster presentations," Cook says. "Likewise, the students have an opportunity to explain their research to a team of judges and other American Astronautical Society (AAS) members during the networking events, so it’s really a valuable opportunity for students to improve their communication skills and interact with AAS members during the symposium."

This year, for the first time, AAS offered the opportunity for one of the poster competition winners to present their research at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Bremen, Germany (Oct. 1-5, 2018). The poster competition winners can apply to the IAC, and of those selected, AAS will choose one student to receive registration, airfare, and lodging for the conference.

"This is an amazing chance for one of the winning students to attend the world’s largest gathering of aerospace-related experts, and present their research. We thank the AAS for this opportunity, and I’d also like to thank the UAH faculty and research staff who work with these students and encourage them to participate in events like this," Cook says.

This year’s poster winners were:

Category 1: Physical & Liberal Sciences
Atmospheric science, earth observation, space life sciences, space health, astrophysics, space weather, optics, economics, business, policy, sustainability, history, international relations, education, STEM outreach initiatives

Graduate
1st Place
Name: Ronan Lucey (College of Science)
Title: Assessing Time-Weighted Dynamic Time Warping as a method for land cover classification utilizing NASA satellite imagery
Mentor: Dr. Robert Griffin, College of Science, UAH

2nd Place
Name: Kelsey Herndon (Rebekke Muench, NASA; Emil Cherrington, NASA)
(College of Science)
Title: Applications of NASA Earth Observations for Monitoring Surface Water Availability for Pastoralists and Small-Scale Agriculture
Mentor: Dr. Robert Griffin, College of Science, UAH

Undergraduate
1st Place
Name: Christopher Helmerich, Everett Cavanaugh, Sarah Dangelo, Jennifer Miller, Elena Pradhan, Sean Widmier, Cory Wolfe, Ian Slamen, Tyrell Jamison, Dr. James Miller (College of Science)
Title: Physoon – Radiation Detection in Various High Altitude Environments
Mentor: Dr. Francis Wessling, College of Engineering, UAH

2nd Place
Name: Jared Fuchs, Lucas Capps, Kyle Renfroe (College of Science)
Title: Development of a Gamma-Ray Scattering Polarimetry Detector for CubeSats
Mentor: Dr. Francis Wessling, College of Engineering, UAH

Category 2: Engineering
Aerospace systems engineering and design, and propulsion

Graduate
1st Place
Name: Behzad Bahramibabamiri, Hesam Askari (College of Engineering)
Title: Predicting Mechanical Properties of Lattice Structures
Mentor: Dr. Kavan Hazeli, College of Engineering, UAH

2nd Place
Name: Amit Patel (College of Engineering)
Title: Experimentation of Warm Gas Generator Emerging Technologies
Mentor: Dr. Robert Frederick, College of Engineering, UAH

Undergraduate
1st Place
Name: Alex Christley, Heather Rachford (College of Engineering)
Title: Risk Assessment and Use of Water Rockets for Educating Students in K-12 Classrooms Using a LIFTOFF Case Study
Mentor: Drs. Matt Turner and P. J. Benfield, UAH SMAP Center

2nd Place
Name: Benjamin Thompson, Jared Fuchs, Oakley Copeland, Matthew Haskell, William Hankins, Aaron Hunt, Logan Anderson (College of Science)
Title: Overview of the SABER Mission and Launch Vehicle Design
Mentor: Dr. Francis Wessling, College of Engineering, UAH

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