Scholar Spotlight: Belinda Shreckengost

Astronaut Scholar Belinda Shreckengost (Harvey Mudd College 1999 - 2000) is putting her love of space exploration to the test in the name of planet Earth. The Harvey Mudd alumnus is working as a Thermal Engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and simultaneously pursuing a master's degree in Astronautics at the University of Southern California. Through her work, Shreckengost hopes to help society gain a better understanding of Earth in order to take care of our environment.

Shreckengost recently concluded thermal vacuum testing to qualify hardware for flight on a project called Juno, which will launch in 2011 to study Jupiter. The unprecedented mission will perform an in-depth study of the planet to understand its formation, evolution and structure and provide a way of tracing the history of the solar system and the conditions which led to the creation of Earth and mankind.

In the coming year, Shreckengost will also support the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) which will measure carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere to gain a better perspective of its effects on the climate and surroundings. The research will help people make better decisions to ensure climate stability and retain a healthy quality of life.

"Space exploration has always been a part of my life, even when I was young," Shreckengost said. "I'm looking forward to supporting these projects and to provide a better understanding of our environment. It feels good to do my small part to help sustain our planet."

Shreckengost is one of many Astronaut Scholar alumni dedicated to helping change the world.

Scholar Spotlight: Joel Odom

Astronaut Scholar Joel Odom (GA Tech 1996 - 1997) is mapping out a successful future in software research. The Georgia Tech alumnus is serving his sixth year as a faculty member at his alma mater and simultaneously pursuing a master's degree in Information Security. His goal: to create a digital model of the world for the U.S. military to use in defense mission planning.

Odom has led several research efforts on FalconView, the computer-based mapping application initially developed by Georgia Tech in 1990 and used today by the U.S. Department of Defense. It analyzes and displays geographical figures which are considered crucial for exchanging data in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Through his work, Odom played a lead role in releasing the software to the public. Many state, city and town governments, utility companies and various others will now benefit from this version, FalconView™ Open Source. Police forces use the application to track specific vehicles and school districts can easily reformat school zones. It will even help companies determine the best location for their business to meet customer demands.

"I've always enjoyed software, particularly the challenges that come with trying to create a useable digital model of our world," Odom said. "Not only do you have to find a way to represent a battlespace to a mission planner in a way that conveys concise, useful information, but you also have to provide the war-fighter with the tools he needs to plan for the contingencies he may face in a hostile situation."

Odom is just one of many Astronaut Scholar alumni dedicated to helping change the world.

Scholar Spotlight: Daniel Araya

Studying rocket science isn't the only thing that concerns 2007-2008 Astronaut Scholar Daniel Araya; he is strongly dedicated to sharing the power of knowledge with younger generations. Juggling graduate school, space propulsion research, and his volunteer work teaching underprivileged children in Africa, the Texas A&M University student has quite a bit on his plate.

After receiving his bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering in December of 2008, Araya, having lived in Texas all his life, decided it was time to venture out across the globe to experience the "real world." Destination: a small village just outside of Arusha, Tanzania. Spending four months in humbling conditions, Araya taught both English and Physics to over one hundred children.

"I'll never forget the day when I brought pictures to class of the Apollo missions and quickly realized that none of my students knew that we had landed on the moon!" Araya said of his experience. "It was refreshing to learn from a different perspective and to share some of what I know through teaching."

Araya is currently working on his master's degree at Texas A&M and investigating a phenomenon of magnetic nozzles called plasma detachment. After obtaining his PhD, Araya plans to work full-time for NASA.

Scholar Spotlight: Scholars Give Back!

Fueled by their appreciation for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF), the Astronaut Scholars have "given back" by donating their own personal funds to sponsor one full scholarship! Initiated by fellow ASF Board Member/Astronaut Scholar, Lisa Schott, the Astronaut Scholars "Give Back" program raised over $10,000 for the upcoming year. The scholar donations rolled in selflessly, including an anonymous $5,000 donation!

The Scholars who donated to the cause include: Patrick Biltgen, Jessica Blomberg, Greg Book, Larry Bradley, Ryan East, Ashley Ewh, Debora Fairbrother, Simon Gharibian, Jayleen Guttromson, Christina Hammock, Joseph Han, John Hofferberth, Timothy Jackson, Trent Kingery, Tom Krizanosky, Joseph Kummer, Jarret Lafleur, Derek Lang, Craig Lewandowski, Brian Mathason, Matthew McKeown, Scott Moffatt, Justin Montgomery, Joel Odom, Robert Panish, Jocelyn Passty, Jonathan Pikalek, Russell Sargent, Lisa Schott, Belinda Shreckengost, Kimberly Stanek, and Emily Stough.

The check was personally presented to ASF Chairman, Al Worden, and Executive Director, Linn LeBlanc at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Gala this past May, by the attending scholars, led by Schott. The passion and generosity generated by this new and exciting program has promoted this endeavor to become an annual goal.

Scholar Spotlight: Jarret Lafleur

From researching Mars atmospheric entry trajectories, to developing new spacecraft technology, to jet-setting around the country presenting his work, 2005-2007 Astronaut Scholar Jarret Lafleur keeps his head above the clouds! As a Georgia Tech graduate student, Lafleur participated in a co-op at NASA's Johnson Space Center over the summer analyzing options for entry into Mars' atmosphere, and developing new methods for selecting trajectories for descent to the surface of the Moon or Mars. For the past year, Lafleur has been back at his alma mater contributing to an industry team led by Orbital Sciences on a project sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The project, System F6, is a cluster of wirelessly interconnected small spacecraft intended to fly by 2012. Lafleur has also been traveling to conferences in Cleveland, San Diego, Atlanta, Honolulu, and Glasgow (Scotland) to present his findings.

Lafleur is currently a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellow, sponsored by the Department of Defense, which also supports his educational goals to obtain an aerospace engineering master's degree in the Fall of 2009, and a Ph.D. in May 2011.

Scholar Spotlight: Larry Bradley

Astronaut Scholar Larry Bradley of the Johns Hopkins University led an international team of astronomers credited for discovering the most distant galaxy ever observed. The galaxy dates to 13 billion years ago, when the Universe was just 700 million years old. Bradley and his colleagues uncovered the distant galaxy by pointing the Hubble Space Telescope at a nearby massive cluster of galaxies. The galaxy cluster, whose mass is about a thousand times that of the Milky Way, worked as a gravitational lens magnifying the light from the more distant galaxy behind it. The Hubble images provide the most detailed look at an object so far back in time and offer insights into the formative years of galaxy birth and evolution.

Scholar Spotlight: Derek Lang

As the world watches the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Astronaut Scholar Derek Lang can proudly sit back knowing that his project at the Stramler Group launched a satellite to broadcast direct satellite-to-mobile hand set television services during the games. Lang, a Senior Engineering Consultant with the aerospace consulting firm Stramler, provides in-factory monitoring for customers who are procuring communication satellites.

Before working in his current job Lang held a position at TGV Rockets and helped complete preliminary vehicle design and analysis for a rocket that could be transported and operated within a few days of demand anywhere around the world to support military forces.

Lang received the Astronaut Scholarship at the University of Washington from 1996–1999.

Scholar Spotlight: Trent Kingery

Astronaut Scholar Captain Trent Kingery was deployed in January 2006 for seven months to Al Asad, Iraq for his second combat tour with the United States Navy. During this deployment, he flew 354 combat hours and 113 combat sorties while providing "on-call" Close Air Support to ground forces. In June 2006, he surpassed the 1,000 FA-18 flight hour mark.

Upon returning from his combat deployment in late August, Kingery accepted orders to become a member of the acquisition community at NAVAIR, Patuxent River, Maryland. Trent was assigned to the V-22 Program Office. He is currently pursuing Level I certification in Test & Evaluation, Program Management and Systems Engineering from the Defense Acquisition University (DAU).

Kingery received the Astronaut Scholarship at North Carolina State University in 1998–99.

Scholar Spotlight: Theresa Kowalkowski

Astronaut Scholar, Theresa Kowalkowski, was recently named Lead of the Mission Design Chair for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Advanced Projects Design Team, or Team X. This concurrent engineering design team is responsible for evaluating mission concepts for JPL and non-JPL missions flying to the Moon, Mars and beyond. As an undergraduate, she gained experience through a NASA co-op program and moved on to the Mars Exploration Rover program after receiving her Master's degree. Theresa received the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation's award from 1998–2000 while at Purdue University.

Scholar Spotlight: Jayleen Guttromson

Jayleen Guttromson, 2003–2005 Astronaut Scholar from Purdue University, is an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Deputy Subsystem Manager (SSM) at NASA Johnson Space Center providing technical interface between the contractor and other areas of NASA. In this position, she oversees EMU operations from build-up and processing to spacewalks and chamber or neutral buoyancy laboratory runs including repair and upgrading hardware to failure investigations. These topics involve integration of engineering and program management to sustain technical expertise for preparing and attending test readiness reviews, developing and reviewing technical paperwork, procedures, and presentations, including attending technical meetings. As an SSM, Jayleen also has the opportunity to be a test subject with hardware.

Scholar Spotlight: Karen Uffalussy

Karen Uffalussy, 2003–2004 Astronaut Scholar from North Carolina State University, was awarded a fellowship from the National Science Foundation to lead a research group of chemical engineering undergraduates in Japan. For four months, she lived in Osaka, Japan and worked in Kaneda Sensei's laboratory at Osaka University. In this laboratory, Mizugaki Sensei, guided her research work and helped her build on her knowledge of autoclave reactors and rhodium cluster synthesis.

After intense work, they obtained impressive results. They determined that a dendrimer encapsulated rhodium carbonyl cluster process was more effective in turning this chemical into a much more useful and valuable one under considerably less harsh and more environmentally friendly conditions than previous work had reported.

Scholar Spotlight: Joseph Kummer

Astronaut Scholar Joseph Kummer's dissertation work has focused on the feasibility of integrating a cross-flow fan into an airplane wing for propulsion and flow control. The cross-flow fan looks similar to a squirrel cage; and in his design, air is drawn into the fan from the top surface and expelled out at the trailing edge as a jet. It turns out that this configuration is virtually stall-free, allowing operation at extremely high angles of attack up to 40 degrees, and producing 3-4 times the lift of a conventional wing. It is also up to 30% more efficient in cruise, even at over double the thickness.

He envisions this technology breeding an entirely new generation of aircraft, possibly making personal air vehicles a reality, with shorter takeoff distances, higher speeds, and significantly greater interior space than current general aviation airplanes. Joseph received the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation's award from 2000–2004 while at Syracuse University.

Scholar Spotlight: Christine Hammock

Christina Hammock, 2000–2002 Astronaut Scholar from North Carolina State University, is currently a Research Associate and Cryogenics Technician for Raytheon Polar Services Company, living and working at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica. Her position there will last one year, encompassing a busy summer season of preparation, and a longer isolated winter of supporting science experiments.

Unique aspects of living in the South Pole include the endless showering of auroras, a single sunrise and sunset to mark the year's passage and a sky of abundant with stars. Christina reflects that perhaps the same kinds of celestial marvels also inspired the exceptional group of people that, in part, made her journey to the South Pole possible through their dedication to promoting the dreams of wonderers and explorers like her.

Scholar Spotlight: Emily Eelkema

Emily Eelkema, 1998–1999 Astronaut Scholar from the University of Minnesota, has recently been promoted to Mission Manager for the Mars Exploration Project. She will be one of three mission managers in charge of running the twin rovers. "The mission manager oversees the daily planning process," says Eelkema. "They also monitor overall spacecraft health." Eelkema has been at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 5 years. She joined the MER project just before they landed on Mars last year.