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Space
Research
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Latest News
Funding Opportunities
Awards & Honors
Upcoming Events
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Latest
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Dr. Jian Ge |
UF Astronomy Researchers Discover New
Planet
Dr. Jian Ge and his colleagues at UF, Tennessee State University, the
Institute of Astrophysics in Spain’s Canary Islands, Pennsylvania State
University and the University of Texas presented their discovery of a new
planet at the American Astronomical Society’s annual meeting in
Washington, D.C. on January 11, 2006. The new planet, named ET-1 after the
novel instrument they developed and used to find it, is about 100 light
years away from the Earth, and close in size and mass to Jupiter. This
significant finding is one of the youngest stars ever identified with a
planetary companion. Even more significant is the capability of the
instrument used to find the planet, and its ability to make it easier to
locate other planets including those capable of supporting life.
Read more
about the discovery. Also view more details concerning the novel
instrument. And get more information on Dr. Jian Ge’s research.
Governor’s Commission of the Future of
Space and Aeronautics in Florida Releases Final Report
On January 18th, 2006, Lt. Governor Toni Jennings announced the completion
of a report from the Commission on the Future of Space and Aeronautics in
Florida, recommending a variety of initiatives and organizational changes
in aerospace operations, aerospace transport, aerospace education,
aerospace tourism, and other areas for consideration by the Governor and
the Florida legislature. Peggy L. Evanich, Director of Interdisciplinary
Program Development at the University of Florida, space research advocate
and interface for UF on space research opportunities throughout the U.S.,
was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Commission.
Get further
details about the Commission on the Future of Space and Aeronautics in
Florida, and view the final report.
Small Satellite Design Club
Established
The UF Small Satellite Design Club offers students the opportunity to get
involved in the development of small satellites. Initiated by five
students involved in the first ever small satellite project at UF, the
group hopes to create a permanent, multi-disciplinary group. Although the
group is newly formed, they had over 70 students attend their kickoff
meeting in September. The organization now has 12 officers, and two design
teams with over 20 members each. One team is further developing the
Inflate-A-Brake flight model (the GSAT), and the other team is focusing on
the Florida University Satellite (FUNSAT) design competition, all under
the direction of Dr. Norman Fitz-Coy. The club is currently looking for
interested students of all backgrounds and levels to help out. More
information may be found at www.ufsmallsat.com, or students are welcome to
stop by the Club lab in NEB185.
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Funding
Opportunities |
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NASA and Florida Space Research
Institute (FSRI) Provide Undergraduate Research Opportunities
NASA and FSRI have announced a Spaceflight and Lunar Sciences and
Technology Program, offering internships during the summer of 2006 for
undergraduate and graduate students at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The
program will provide applied technology and research-oriented
apprenticeships for high-achieving students. NASA is now accepting
applications for this program with a February 28, 2006 deadline. For more
information and to complete an application, please visit
NASA’s website.
NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Dual-Use Funding Opportunity
The Technology Transfer Office within the Applied Technology Directorate
has announced a new funding opportunity for dual-use, joint-development
projects addressing KSC’s mission-related needs. The goal is to develop
technologies in several areas that not only meet NASA’s needs, but also
meet the partner’s needs in developing an improved or new product for
internal and commercial purposes. Critical needs include lightweight
structures, insulation protection, dust and contaminant mitigation,
long-term cryogenic propellant storage, avionics and software, hydrogen
sensors for on pad operations, in-situ production of electrical power
generation, modeling and simulation, imbedded sensors, weather prediction,
detection, monitoring and protections, and many others. Proposals are due
on February 27, 2006. Additional information can be found at
NASA’s website.
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Awards
& Honors |
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UF Student Receives Florida Space
Grant Doctoral Fellowship
Mr. Roger Cohen, a graduate student in the UF Department of Astronomy, has
been awarded a three-year Florida Space Grant Fellowship for full time
doctoral degree studies. Under the direction of Dr. Jian Ge, Mr. Cohen
will search for exoplanets using the novel Exoplanet Tracker instrument.
The goal is to closely examine constraints on correlations among planets
and their parent stars with respect to many physical properties such as
mass, radius, age, semi-major axis, period and composition, as well as
follow up on unusual individual systems in even greater detail. This will
provide a powerful means with which we can truly place each solar system
in context for the first time. Get additional information about the
Fellowship program and Mr. Cohen’s research.
UF Student Receives Florida Space
Grant Undergraduate Scholarship
Mr. Michael Appleby, an undergraduate student with UF’s Department of
Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering has received a Florida
Space Grant Consortium Undergraduate Summer Scholarship award to conduct
work directed toward the study of efficient quality of service provision
for satellite communications. This is the second award this year for UF.
Mr. Appleby is working under the tutelage of Dr. Richard Newman to
investigate the tradeoffs among Packet Loss Tolerance, Latency Tolerance,
and efficiency for the long-delay links typical of satellite
communications. See more information on the Florida
Space Grant Consortium.
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Upcoming
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NASA Announces Aeronautical
Centennial Challenge
NASA and the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFÉ) Foundation
announced their intention to pursue the first aeronautical competition in
the Centennial Challenges program. The Personal Air Vehicle (PAV)
Challenge will award annual prizes totaling $250,000 to the teams that can
best design, develop, and demonstrate technology improvements in various
general aviation aircraft capabilities. NASA’s Centennial Challenges
promote technical innovation through a novel program of prize
competitions. It is designed to tap the nation’s ingenuity to make
revolutionary advances to support NASA goals and the Vision for Space
Exploration. PAV is the fifth NASA Centennial Challenge. To win one or
more of the five PAV Challenge purses, teams must modify their general
aviation or sport aircraft to demonstrate the best performance in five
technology areas. The first competition will be in mid-2006. Visit the
Centennial Challenges Program website for more
information.
36th International Conference on
Environmental Systems (ICES)
The upcoming ICES will take place at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel
in Norfolk, Virginia, July 17-20, 2006. The conference is directed towards
a comprehensive range of issues relating to humans living and working in
hostile environments. The event is sponsored by SAE, AIAA, AIChE, ASME,
and the International ICES Committee. This year the conference will host
it’s first ever poster session, targeted to stimulate the participation of
students and to provide an excellent forum them to present their work in
an informal and interactive setting. The deadline for submission of poster
abstracts is May 19, 2006. The main focus areas covered by the conference
will include environmental monitoring and control, and human life support.
More information is available at
http://www.sae.org/ices.
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Contact
Space Research News
from the University of Florida
Peggy Evanich <pevanich@mae.ufl.edu>
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