Nebraska engineering teams to experiment at NASA Microgravity University

This spring, two teams from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering will conduct experiments with NASA's Microgravity University.

Both projects will involve students in a series of parabolic reduced-gravity flights that depart from Ellington Field in Houston and reach 35,000 feet above the earth's surface. NASA's Microgravity University engages students from several colleges and universities in scientific research that helps our nation's space program to refine its efforts. The teams decide their members' roles including flight preparation, participation and follow-up reporting.

Jack Mondry, a senior from Orlando, Fla., who majors in mechanical engineering at UNL, will lead one of the Husker teams. He was notified by NASA in December that his team, "Pow'RED Up," will evaluate the airlock where astronauts put on and take off protective suits for lunar exploration.

Brett Schlueter, a senior from Hastings who majors in mechanical engineering, will lead the other UNL team (named "FAST"), assigned by NASA to analyze the properties of lunar soil. The teams' advisers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering are Professor George Gogos and assistant professor Carl Nelson.

Nebraska's expanded presence in Microgravity U this year also includes Elena Hoff, a Lincoln Southeast High School senior. Hoff, who has been accepted as a UNL freshman for fall 2009, will work with Team FAST.

In 2008, the first team of UNL College of Engineering undergraduates participated in Microgravity U. They tested Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and monitors for NASA mission cargo in zero- and reduced-gravity conditions during flights on a specially equipped C-9 aircraft.

For more information about Nebraska Engineering's experiences with NASA's Microgravity University, visit http://microgravity.unl.edu.

UNL's College of Engineering teams participating in NASA's 2009 Microgravity University include:

Team "PowRED Up" -- Back row, left to right, in color JPEG image at link below: Carl Nelson, adviser, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Andrew Dejka, ground crew, freshman, Omaha, mechanical engineering; Ashley Schmidt, ground crew, freshman, Omaha, biological systems engineering. Front row, left to right: Christopher Burton, flyer, junior, Omaha, mechanical engineering; Jack Mondry, team leader/flyer, senior, Orlando, Fla., mechanical engineering; Andrew Kelley, flyer, senior, Lincoln, mechanical engineering.

Team "FAST" (Furthering Advancements in Science and Technology) -- Left to right in color JPEG image at link below: George Gogos, adviser, professor of mechanical engineering; Jonathan Hein, flyer, senior, Libertyville, Ill., mechanical engineering; Elena Hoff, Lincoln Southeast High School senior who has been accepted at UNL for fall 2009; Nicholas Kleinschmit, flyer, senior, Fordyce, mechanical engineering; Brett Schlueter, team leader/flyer, senior, Hastings, mechanical engineering; Chuck Bell, ground crew, junior, Omaha, mechanical engineering; Evan Hilgemann, ground crew, freshman, Omaha, mechanical engineering.