Dr. Sanjay Jayaram, Assistant Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, along with Paul Lemon (AE '07), Yusshy Mendoza (ME '08), and Brian Vitale (EE '07), attended the AIAA/USU Small Satellite Conference, August 14-17, 2006 in
Logan, Utah.
Sonia Hernandez (AE '07), Darren Pais (AE '07), and Yusshy Mendoza (ME '08) participated in the third annual CalPoly CubeSat Workshop held at the California Polytechnic and State University, San Luis Obispo from April 27-29. The workshop focused on providing valuable resources, information, and tools to universities involved in the design and construction of CubeSats worldwide. Numerous presentations and focus group sessions enabled participants to gain a strong understanding of nanosatellite communication, structures, attitude determination & control, software, and systems engineering. Participants also shared information on various design and planning methods as well as resources and materials for successful design and construction. Additionally, participants gained hands-on experience working on ground station hardware, satellite tracking, and communication to ensure successful satellite operation after launch.
Senior AE major Olga Pushkareva (Ali) was one of the twenty-five SAE International student leaders selected to participate in the second annual Leadership Development Program. The program was held in conjunction with the SAE Section Officers Leadership Seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona, from January 18-20,2006.
The Leadership Development Program recognizes some of the most promising SAE International students who have exhibited outstanding leadership skills through society activities on campus. The program will work to develop these skills further for application in future leadership roles in both SAE International and the students’ professional engineering careers.
During this event, students met with the SAE board of directors and participated in numerous workshops addressing such topics as effective recruitment and management of volunteers, community outreach and younger member activities, career development, effective communication and teaming, team management, and powerful presentations. Time was also set aside for round table discussions for student leaders and section officers to express their concerns and get advice on dealing with various difficulties their organizations are facing. Particular emphasis was placed on improving the relationships between student chapters and professional sections.
AE senior Abe Grindle was recently admitted to graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At MIT, Grindle will pursue two master’s degrees, one in Technology and Policy and the other in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. The Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering has offered Grindle a Departmental Fellowship (full tuition+ stipend) to pursue his first year of study.
Grindle also recently spent two days at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in preparation for his work this summer as Logistics Manager for the 2006 NASAAcademy at Goddard. The NASAAcademy is an intense, highly-selective, 10-week summer program founded in 1993 by Dr. Gerald Soffen, Principal Investigator for NASA’s Viking missions. Dr. Soffen’s vision was “to give possible [future] ‘leaders’ a view into how NASA, the university community, and the private sector function, set their priorities, and contribute to the success of the aerospace program.” Today, the Academy fulfills this vision through its unique and demanding curriculum, including individual research with a NASA scientist or engineer, a technical group project, several diverse special-access site visits, and a guest speaker series comprising leading scientists, engineers, and policy-makers. (Grindle was also a Research Associate in the 2005 NASAAcademy at Goddard.)
Grindle also recently spent two days at 