The annual stakeholder meeting of NASA’s Secured and Safe Assured Autonomy (S2A2) project, held on campus in June 2022, included academic presentations and research poster sessions on autonomous operation of aerial and space vehicles. This project, which is part of NASA’s University Leadership Initiative, brings together a diverse, interdisciplinary team of experts from three universities and four industry partner companies. Their goal is to develop new technologies and procedures for a future filled with autonomous aerial vehicles.
Powers was recognized as a 2021 OAE awardee (see inside front cover). Sirisha Bandla (BSAAE ’11), another 2022 awardee, could not receive her award in person due to preparations for a space flight.
Wenbin Yu, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, will be the primary investigator in creating a computer tool to design tailorable composites and hybrid material systems for space applications. NASA has awarded commercial software provider AnalySwift with a 13-month contract for the research.
"The final design tool will be broadly applicable to various NASA uses," Yu says. "This contract will bring us to a final, government-endorsed tool quicker than other contracts or investments would support."
Bill Crossley, who has taught more than 3,300 undergraduates in his 27-year career at Purdue, was honored with the Charles B. Murphy Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching in the spring of 2022. It is the university’s highest honor for undergraduate teaching. Crossley, who is also the J. William Uhrig and Anastasia Vournas Head of Aeronautics and Astronautics, proudly views the honor as a lifetime achievement award.
"The final design tool will be broadly applicable to various NASA uses," Yu says. "This contract will bring us to a final, government-endorsed tool quicker than other contracts or investments would support."
Representatives from commercial and government space organizations met at Purdue to brainstorm research needs for the future of space exploration. Kathleen Howell, the Hsu Lo Distinguished Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Timothée Pourpoint, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, are gauging interest in a large facility that can replicate harsh conditions of space for at-scale experiments. Howell and Pourpoint led this two-day summit to in order to determine needs and set realistic requirements for such an arena.
John P. Sullivan, professor emeritus and former head of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, received the J. Leland Atwood Award from the American Society for Engineering Education and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. It recognizes an aerospace engineering educator for their contributions to the profession.
Dengfeng Sun, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, is the 2022 recipient of the C.T. Sun School of Aeronautics and Astronautics Excellence in Research Award. It is awarded annually for high quality contributions in science and engineering.
Daniel DeLaurentis, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, was named a senior fellow with the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy’s diverse and fast-growing team.
Kathleen Howell, the Hsu Lo Distinguished Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, is on a team that will be tackling space domain awareness as part of a five-year, $5-million grant from the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Office of Scientific Research. The program is tasked with translating academic research into new military technologies for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.
Full-length stories can be found on AAE’s website, purdue.edu/AAE/spotlights.
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