Section News Hello? Is This Outer Space?

A packed house listens intently to 2Fish’s answers to the students’ questions during the downlink. Credit: AIAA Delaware Section

On 9 June, students at Leeds Elementary School in Elkton, MD, made the ultimate long distance phone call to a human-occupied outpost orbiting 250 miles above Earth. Audience members sat spellbound as astronaut Col. Jack “2Fish” Fischer on the International Space Station (ISS) squeezed three brown coffee balls out of a straw and caught them deftly in his mouth as he was watched by members of the AIAA Delaware Section, Orbital ATK, and the students and staff at Leeds Elementary. This In-Flight Education Downlink allowed students and educators to interact with an astronaut aboard the ISS during a live question-and-answer session. Downlinks provide the opportunity to learn first-hand from space explorers what it is like to live and work in space. NASA Johnson Space Center’s (JSC) Office of Education facilitates these events, which are designed to enhance student learning, performance, and interest in STEM. The downlink at Leeds Elementary was made possible through partnership between the AIAA Delaware Section, Orbital ATK Missile Defense & Controls Division, and Cecil County Public Schools (CCPS).

Planning for the event began back in January 2016 when the AIAA Delaware Section applied for a downlink during Expedition 49/50. A committee evaluated their application and selected them, but due to mission constraints, NASA could not accommodate the section’s event on their schedule. The Delaware Section began the process again in fall 2016 for Expedition 51/52 . . . and . . . success! The section and school were notified in January 2017 that the ISS was scheduled to conduct a downlink with the school in late spring 2017.

Immediately, the Delaware Section, Orbital ATK, and Leeds Elementary School began to prepare for the event. Orbital ATK contributed by sponsoring a Franklin Institute (Philadelphia, PA) traveling science show assembly at the school that presented the subject of “Life in Space” where the students embarked on a trip to space and explored the scientific and engineering challenges of getting to space, living and working in orbit, and safely returning to Earth. The AIAA Delaware Section participated with classroom presentations on human space exploration and guiding the students through astronaut training and launching sodium bicarbonate rockets. In the weeks leading up to the downlink, students followed 2Fish on social media and watched his spacewalks via NASA TV. Art classes were used for students to design their own planets, and teachers integrated discussions about space station life into their curriculum. “There’s a lot of planning that goes into this event,” said Tim Dominick, Public Policy Chair with the Delaware Section and lead organizer of the event. “We wanted to help prepare the students, get them excited, and give them as much background as possible to interact well with the astronaut.”

On the day of the event, many local, state, and federal elected officials attended. The event began with the Leeds Elementary band playing the theme from Star Wars and the school chorus entertained everyone by singing “I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing)” written by retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and Ed Robertson (Bare Naked Ladies). Leeds Elementary Principal Nikole MacDowell made the opening radio call with Jack Fischer, and Cecil County Executive Dr. Alan McCarthy welcomed Col. Fischer to Cecil County. Then 20 students, preselected by their teachers, each asked 2Fish a question ranging from “What is your favorite thing to eat in space?” (coffee balls!) to “What tools are you using to study the effects of microgravity on bones?”. The questions were generated by each classroom and had been sent to NASA JSC’s Office of Education ahead of time to ensure that the astronaut was prepared and in case audio difficulties prevented him from hearing the students’ questions. Throughout the downlink, the 400 kids sat quietly while listening to his answers and watching him perform “Astronaut Tricks” on the large screen. The downlink wrapped up with Vice Principal Allyson Veasey thanking 2Fish for sharing this experience with the students.

Leeds Elementary School is the second school in Maryland to host a downlink with astronauts on the ISS, and it was the sixth downlink ever to occur in Maryland. Four of the previous downlinks were hosted by either NASA Goddard Space Flight Center or the Maryland Science Center. The number of in-flight education downlinks varies each year based on mission operations, but on an average year, NASA conducts around 12 to 14 with educational organizations across the country. Downlinks have been performed continually on the ISS since Expedition 1.

Two days after the downlink, the ISS made a pass over Elkton. The AIAA Delaware Section made posts on social media with viewing information to alert students and families to go outside to watch the ISS pass and wave “hi” to 2Fish. It was inspiring to see the connection the students made between just having had the downlink and now seeing the ISS pass overhead.

To view the entire downlink, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwAb4tYG9w8&t. For more information on hosting your own downlink, contact the NASA JSC Office of Education at JSC-Downlinks@mail.nasa.gov.

AIAA Program AIAA Leadership Takes Part in NASA Langley Centennial Symposium

Langley Centennial Symposium Credit: AIAA

By Hannah Thoreson

From 12 to 14 July, a symposium was held at Hampton Roads Convention Center as part of the celebration of NASA Langley Research Center’s 100 years of technical excellence. Tom Irvine, managing director of Content Development at AIAA, moderated a panel titled, “Aeronautics Research Partnerships: Celebrating the First 100 Years and Looking Forward to the Future.” Irvine said, “The contributions and the research and the work done at Langley, either as government research or as cooperation and collaboration with U.S. industry, has truly been a success story that makes aviation what it is today.” Robert D. Gregg III, Tom L. Wood, Dr. Robert H. Liebeck, and Dr. Mark Lewis also discussed advancements in aeronautics.

AIAA Executive Director Dr. Sandra Magnus also moderated a panel at the symposium: “Future of Aerospace in the Next 20–30 Years.” She explained that projecting out maybe 100 years is a purely creative problem, but that a more narrow focus, like 20 or 30 years out, has constraints that are a bit easier to understand. Magnus added, “20 or 30 years is long enough and far enough into the future that there are still going to be some curveballs that come at us from outside the community as well as breakthroughs that come out within the community.” Panelists Gregory Williams, Stephen G. Jurczyk, Dennis Andrucyk, and Robert A. Pearce spoke about the innovations to come in the next decades.

Call for Nominations Call for Awards Nominations

Nominate Your Peers and Colleagues for Technical and Management Awards!
Do you know someone who has made notable contributions to aerospace arts, sciences, or technology? Nominations are now being accepted for many AIAA awards
(http://www.aiaa.org/AwardsNominations) and must be received by 1 October.

Section News AIAA Greater Huntsville Section Named Huntsville’s Society of the Year

Greater Huntsville Section members (left to right) Naveen Vetcha, Kurt Polzin, Tammy Statham, Ken Philippart, Brandon Stiltner, Alan Lowrey & Lisa Philippart. Credit: Image by Matt Statham

By Ken Philippart

The Greater Huntsville Section was named the 2017 Society of the Year by the Huntsville Association of Technical Societies (HATS). HATS is a nonprofit organization supporting Huntsville area technical and professional societies, dedicated to the advancement of science and engineering and representing over 18,000 professionals across 19 member organizations. The section was selected as Society of the Year for its initiatives to recruit, retain and groom Young Professionals (YPs) for leadership positions within the section. Greater Huntsville also has a vigorous, innovative program focused on the needs of YPs that included conducting the first YP technical symposium, and holding regular YP mentoring brunches, socials and networking events. Past Chair Brandon Stiltner and Chair Naveen Vetcha accepted the award on behalf of the section and thanked the section’s 1,200 members for a true team effort in winning the honors.

Several Greater Huntsville Section members also were recognized individually during the dinner. Alan Lowrey was recognized as Greater Huntsville Section’s Professional of the Year (PoY), Jim Parsons was named PoY for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Ken Philippart was selected as the Rocket City Tau Beta Pi Alumni Chapter’s PoY. HATS instituted a new award this year, Young Professional of the Year (YPoY), which was awarded to Greater Huntsville Section YP Director Tammy Statham. Congratulations to the Greater Huntsville Section and members on their awards.

STEM Activities AIAA Tucson Section Helps Scouts Fly High at Raytheon Scouts Day

AIAA Fellow Laura McGill, vice president of Engineering, Raytheon Missile Systems, speaks to scouts. Credit: AIAA Tucson Section

The K–12 STEM Outreach Committee would like to recognize outstanding STEM events in each section. Each month we will highlight an outstanding K–12 STEM activity; if your section would like to be featured, please contact Elishka Jepson (elishka.jepson@raytheon.com).

On 2 February, Raytheon Missile Systems held its 8th annual Scouts Day, an event where engineers volunteer their time to assist nearly 300 scouts in their quest to acquire a STEM-related merit badge. Volunteers developed lessons and activities that cover all of the requirements for specific merit badges. This year, 13 different badges were offered, ranging from robotics to space exploration. The AIAA Tucson Section was pleased to offer the Aviation merit badge as a part of this program.

In 2011, several Tucson section members volunteered at the second Raytheon Scouts Day. They were so impressed by the event, and the positive impact on the scouts, that they decided to develop their own merit badge curriculum. They decided on the Aviation merit badge, a logical fit for AIAA. The Tucson Section held its own Aviation merit badge day later in 2011. With a developed curriculum in hand, and some experience under their belt, the section approached the Raytheon Scouts Day organizers about adding the Aviation merit badge to their event. AIAA was welcomed enthusiastically, and has participated in every Raytheon Scouts Day since 2012.

During the day, Aviation merit badge participants gain a variety of aerospace knowledge. They start with a lesson on how an aircraft flies, then move on to the fundamental aircraft flight instruments and how to read them. Scouts then rotate through a series of activities, including foam glider construction, and taking the controls of a Cessna 172 flight simulator. The section also provides career speakers for the scouts. One of the long-time aviation merit badge volunteers, Tom Mouch, is an engineer and former Air Force Academy instructor; the scouts always learn a lot from his experience and career path.

If you are interested in hosting an Aviation merit badge day in your section, please contact Elishka Jepson at tucsonaiaa@gmail.com. The Tucson Section would be more than happy to share their slides, handouts, and activities, and offer any assistance in helping you start your own program.

Technical Committees 2017 AIAA Space Systems Technical Committee Essay Contest—Juno Spacecraft

In this sixth year of the AIAA Space Systems Technical Committee’s (SSTC) middle school essay contest, the TC continues to improve its commitment to directly inspire students and local sections. Each year, additional local sections start parallel contests to feed into selection of national winners awarded by the SSTC.

Seventh and eighth graders were asked to write about the 2017 essay topic: “Choose one of the aspects of the Juno spacecraft, and describe how it works and why it helps discovery about Jupiter.” Nine sections, including Cape Canaveral, Greater Huntsville, Greater New Orleans, Hampton Roads, Long Island, Niagara Falls, Rocky Mountain, Southwest Texas, and the “At-Large section,” submitted official entries to the contest. For each grade, there were first-, second-, and third-place winners, which included $100, $50, and $25 awards for the students, respectively, plus $250, $150, and $100 for their classroom toward STEM materials or activities. The six students also receive a one-year membership with AIAA.

The first-place winner for 8th grade was Nikhil Keer (and teachers Leslie Maynard and Vanessa Kowalczyk) from Levittown, NY. The second-place winner for 8th grade was Spencer Tanenholtz (and teacher Rob Stannard) from Denver, CO. The third-place winner for 8th grade was Julia Gignac (and teacher Tracy Thomas) from San Antonio, TX.

The first-place winner for 7th grade was Taylor Honeycutt (homeschooled by Kim Honeycutt) from Harvest, AL. The second-place winner for 7th grade was Gary Nepravishta (and teachers Leslie Maynard and Vanessa Kowalczyk) from Levittown, NY. The third-place winner for 7th grade was Ana Gent (and teacher Jill Whitacre) from Melbourne, FL.

All 2017 winning essays can be found on the Aerospace America website in the September AIAA Bulletin section. The topic for 2018 is “In 2017, NASA selected 12 new astronaut candidates. Describe the role of astronauts and their impact on NASA, their impact on the future of the United States, and their impact on international partnerships.” If you, your school, or section is interested in participating in the 2018 contest, please contact Anthony Shao (ant.shao@gmail.com), or your local section for more details.

Technical Committees 7th Grade AIAA Space Systems Technical Committee Essay Contest Winning Essay

Juno’s Magnetometer is MAG-nificent

By Taylor Honeycutt

How It Works:
Juno spacecraft’s magnetometer, also known as MAG, is an instrument that measures the magnetic field of Jupiter. It consists of two components: the Fluxgate Magnetometer (FGM) and the Advanced Stellar Compass (ASC). The FGM measures the strength and direction of Jupiter’s magnetic field, and the ASC measures the orientation of the spacecraft. Both sets of the MAG instruments are positioned away from the rest of the spacecraft on a boom to isolate it from the spacecraft’s magnetic effects caused by Juno’s other instruments. Juno circles Jupiter in a polar orbit which allows MAG to measure the strongest and weakest magnetic fields. This orbit also provides Juno access a larger fraction of the surface than are permitted by other orbits.

Why It Helps:
Jupiter’s surface is divided into bands, which includes the famous Great Red Spot and other, smaller storms. A limited number of previous missions to Jupiter measured its magnetic fields. Few probes have penetrated the surface of Jupiter; the ones that have were frozen and crushed by the planet’s pressure, and thus did not live to tell the tale. Because no probe has been able to measure the inside of a gas giant planet, we don’t understand the insides of gas giant planets’ well. Studying Jupiter’s magnetic field via MAG will allow us to learn more about this topic and help us better understand other gas giant planets.

The Sun goes through an 11-year cycle, and Jupiter’s magnetic fields are strongly affected by the Solar wind. This Solar wind has a big impact on the overall “space weather”. The measurements which Juno makes likely measure the planet in conditions never measured before.

What’s Next:
The orbit of Jupiter’s innermost seven moons (including Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) are all within the magnetosphere. The upcoming mission to Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, is currently being designed, and the launch is being planned for 2022. It would be immensely helpful to have a better grasp on the magnetosphere of Jupiter so we can ensure the spacecraft is designed to survive the mission. An example of this is the fact that sometimes Jupiter releases bursts of its trapped particles in the form of cosmic rays, the most energetic particles in nature. The speed of these particles is close to the speed of light. Having some of these cosmic rays released when the Europa mission spacecraft is near could be disastrous. It would be good to understand these effects in order to better design the Europa spacecraft.

The Juno mission may help improve models of star formation for the smallest stars that are only a few times more massive than Jupiter itself. This may help us answer questions raised by the discovery of solar systems like Trappist-1, a collection of planets surrounding a very small star similar to Jupiter that was discovered recently. While the Sun is one thousand times larger than Jupiter, the Trappist-1 star is only 80 times more massive than Jupiter. The magnetic field of the Trappist-1 star may be much closer to Jupiter’s than it is to the Sun’s, so the Juno mission might be able to help us better understand other solar systems. Perhaps Juno will be able to help us answer some of mankind’s oldest questions.

Technical Committees 8th Grade AIAA Space Systems Technical Committee Essay Contest Winning Essay

Nikhil Keer Credit: AIAA Long Island Section

Juno Instrument: The “JEDI” on Flight

By Nikhil Keer

Anyone interested in Roman mythology, is probably familiar with the myth related to the king of gods, Jupiter and his wife, Juno, the goddess of marriage. It is believed that to conceal his affairs, Jupiter hid himself behind a veil of clouds, but Juno peeked through the clouds and unveiled his true nature. With about 67 moons orbiting it, the largest planet Jupiter bears resemblance to the Roman god, and spacecraft Juno that entered Jupiter’s orbit on July 4, 2016, has reached beneath its clouds to unlock its secrets. Certainly no misbehavior is expected there, but the mission will definitely shed light on Jupiter’s origin and evolution and in turn enhance our understanding of the history of the solar system.

Built by Lockheed Martin and operated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, spinning spacecraft Juno was launched on August 5, 2011 aboard an Atlas V551 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. With this ninth mission, Juno is closer to the gas giant than any other spacecraft in the past. Powered by the sun, this environmentally friendly spacecraft is the first to make the farthest solar-powered trip in the history of space expeditions. Juno, unlike the previous Galileo spacecraft that faced major radiation problems as it orbited around Jupiter’s equator and had to be terminated, Juno will orbit elliptically over Jupiter’s poles at least 37 times, avoiding its densest radiation belts while observing and collecting information about its gravity and magnetic fields, atmospheric dynamics and composition, and evolution.

Although Juno is unmanned, there are some special guests hitchhiking a ride aboard the spacecraft, the three mini aluminum Lego toy figurines, that of the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno, and Galileo, who made several important discoveries about Jupiter. But along with these celebrities, gracing the spacecraft with its powerful presence is a shoe-box size JEDI, The Jupiter Energetic Particle Detector Instrument. The JEDI is one of the nine scientific instruments that Juno is carrying to study the planet, namely, Gravity Science Experiment, Magnetometer (MAG), Microwave Radiometer (MWR), Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment (JADE), Waves, Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVS), Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM), and JunoCam, each performing an important task. The Gravity Science Experiment and Magnetometers study Jupiter’s deep structure by mapping the planet’s gravity field and magnetic field. The Microwave Radiometer probes Jupiter’s deep atmosphere and measures how much water is there. The JEDI, JADE and Waves test electric fields, plasma waves and particles around Jupiter to determine how the magnetic field is connected to the atmosphere, and especially the auroras. The UVS and JIRAM use ultraviolet and infrared cameras to take images of the atmosphere and auroras, including chemical fingerprints of the gases present and JunoCam takes spectacular, first ever, close-up, color images of Jupiter.

The Jupiter Energetic Particle Detector Instrument was developed by the investigation team led by Barry Mauk at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Its measurement techniques are based on technologies used by the previous Galileo mission and New Horizons Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation (PEPSSI). In January 2016, even before Juno reached Jupiter, the JEDI was turned on to perform science operations to investigate the space that lead up to Jupiter. The JEDI is located on the spacecraft’s upper deck and consists of three identical, fast processing shoebox-sized detectors with six ion and six electron views. These detectors are placed every 120 degrees producing a continuous 360-degree view of the space around Juno. Being the largest planet, Jupiter has an enormous magnetic field (second most intense in the solar system) which traps clouds of charged particles (electrons and ions) within its space environment called the magnetosphere. These high speed energetic particles (the electrons, proton (hydrogen) ions, helium ions, sulfur ions, oxygen ions, and neutral atoms) come under the influence of the magnetic field, and get drawn towards Jupiter’s poles. The detectors use microchannel plates and foil layers to detect the energy, angle and types of ion within a certain range. They measure electrons in the energy range of 25 kilo electron Volt (keV) to 800 keV and ions in the energy range of 10 keV to 8000 keV. The JEDI measures the high energy component of the ions and electrons in conjunction with the JADE instrument that measures the lower energy components (below 30 keV). The JEDI detectors measure these particles by the amount of energy they carry, their type and the direction in which they are moving around Jupiter. An important feature of these detectors is that they can measure particles coming from many different directions, all at the same time. They also study these particles’ interactions with Jupiter’s atmosphere, which create its brilliant and enormous polar auroras (the bright northern and southern lights), the most powerful ones in the entire solar system. This data captured by the JEDI will help scientists answer questions like where the particles come from, how they are energized, and what triggers the release of energy from these particles into brilliant auroras. The JEDI works in conjunction with the other instruments, JADE and Waves, and collectively they contribute to Juno’s overall mission to learn more about Jupiter’s origin, structure, atmosphere and magnetic field.

Just like all good things must come to an end, after over more than a year in orbit, sometime in 2018, Juno’s mission will be complete and it’ll dive into Jupiter’s atmosphere, disintegrate and burn up like a meteor. But until it deorbits and sacrifices itself, just as the peacekeeping Jedi from Star Wars studied, served, and used the mystical energies of the Force, Juno can rely on the scientific powers of its JEDI that feels the Force of the particles and will ensure successful mission completion. As the end draws closer, NASA scientists eagerly await new discoveries, the rich “Returns from the JEDI” and wish it good luck while bidding goodbye, as a Star Wars Jedi might say….. “May the Force be with you”.

Technical Committees Society and Aerospace Technology Integration and Outreach Committee (SAT IOC)

SAT IOC committee leadership hand-off (left to right): Amir S. Gohardani and R. Steve Justice. Credit: AIAA SAT IOC.

By Dr. Amir S. Gohardani, SAT IOC, Chair

The Society and Aerospace Technology Integration and Outreach Committee (SAT IOC) marks the new name for the former Society and Aerospace Technology Technical Committee under a new AIAA governance structure. SAT IOC combines different activities linked to AIAA’s mission to inspire and advance the future of aerospace for the benefit of humanity. One of the strengths of this IOC is the diverse interest of its membership ranging between Astrosociology to more traditional perspectives of measuring the societal impact of aerospace activities.

Recent committee endeavors included collaboration with the AIAA Tucson Section for a joint booth at the Phoenix Comic Con. This event was attended by over 100,000 people and exemplifies a new way to enable the members of the general public in gaining unprecedented insight into AIAA activities. During the AIAA forums, SAT IOC generally supports the Space History, Society, and Policy Track examining the history of our time in space, space law and policy, international cooperation, the societal impacts of aerospace technologies and an educated and trained workforce, and the evolution of our spacefaring society.

At a recent event, R. Steve Justice, SAT IOC Past Chair (2015–2017), was recognized for his committee leadership and commitment. “I would like to thank Mr. Justice for his exceptional committee leadership and for his many contributions that have assisted in shaping a diverse and active committee. We will continue pursuing key committee objectives with the same enthusiasm as before,” the new SAT IOC Chair, Dr. Amir S. Gohardani stated. SAT IOC looks forward to collaborating with other AIAA committees.

Member News AIAA Members Recognized

Several AIAA members were recently recognized with a NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal.

Dr. Forman Williams, Professor Emeritus at the University of California at San Diego and AIAA Fellow, was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal for his outstanding contributions to the field of combustion science and for his pioneering work using microgravity space experiments to reveal new phenomena in combustion.

Kauser Imtiaz, Technical Fellow, Structures & Mechanisms, Space Exploration, The Boeing Company, and an AIAA Associate Fellow, was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal for distinguished service and leadership in international cooperation and advancements in International Space Station Structural Integrity and Fracture Control.

Roger D. Launius, NASA’s Chief Historian from 1990–2002, and an AIAA Associate Fellow, was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal for distinguished service, promoting our nation’s history in aeronautics, space, and selfless leadership in promoting the highest standards in federal historical endeavors.

National Technology Day Award to Dr. PC Jain

Dr. PC Jain, AIAA Senior Member and a scientist with Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) Hyderabad, has been given the National Technology Day Award. Dr Jain, an alumnus of IIT Roorkee, IIT Bombay, and BOYSCAST (DST) fellow from Pennsylvania State University, is an expert in the areas structural optimization, structural dynamics, and nonlinear structures technologies. He has significantly contributed toward the success of various national projects. Dr. Jain delivered the Technology Day Oration on the topic Aero Structures Technologies – Criticalities and Challenges. The talk focused on critical technologies, methodologies adopted, and the resulting robust products.

Shri MSR Prasad, Distinguished Scientist and Director DRDL Hyderabad, presented the National Technology Day Award to Dr. Jain.

Obituary AIAA Fellow Lynn Died in May

Bell Helicopter and American Helicopter Society leader Robert R. Lynn passed away on 27 May. He was 90.

Lynn received his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering and his M.S. degree in aeronautical engineering from Princeton University. He later attended MIT’s senior executive program.

In 1950, Lynn began his career as a draftsman with the Bell Aircraft Corporation, in Buffalo, NY. The following year, he was transferred to Bell’s new division in Fort Worth, TX. He served as a project engineer and later as Bell Helicopter’s chief of research and development, director of test and evaluation, and director of design (1974–1977). He retired in May 1991 as senior vice president for research and engineering. During his time at Bell, he was instrumental in the design of the Huey Cobra and the Osprey.

Lynn joined the American Helicopter Society (AHS) in 1952; he earned status as part of the AHS Gold Circle Club (1977) and then as an AHS Emeritus Member (2002). He was the recipient of the prestigious 1983 AHS Alexander Klemin Award and was the 1992 AHS Alexander A. Nikolsky Lecturer. He served AHS in many capacities, including as editor-in-chief of the Journal of the AHS (1970), technical director, president (1978–1979), chair of the board (1979–1980), and chair of the AHS Vertical Flight Foundation (1980–1981; 1982–1983).

Lynn was also the recipient (with Robert J. Tapscott) of the 1973 AHS Paul E. Haueter Award for “outstanding technical contribution to the field of vertical take-off and landing aircraft development other than a helicopter,” as well as the 1983 AHS Harry T. Jensen Award for “outstanding contribution to the improvement of vertical flight aircraft reliability, maintainability, and/or safety through improved design.”

A Fellow of AIAA and the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), and an AHS Honorary Fellow, he authored more than 40 publications and held multiple patents. In 1996, Lynn presented the Cierva Lecture to the RAeS. He was a registered professional engineer in Texas, and a chartered engineer in Great Britain.

Lynn served many organizations such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the US Army, the NATO Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), AHS, the Aircraft Industries Association’s Technical Council, the White House’s Office of Science & Technology Policy’s Aeronautical Policy Review Committee, North Texas Association of Higher Educations Council of Business and Industrial Executives, Engineering Advisory Boards for Georgia Tech and University of Texas in Arlington, the National Research Council’s Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, and the FAA Technical Oversight Group on Aging Aircraft (TOGAA); he later received the FAA Award for Extraordinary Service for his participation with TOGAA.

Obituary AIAA Fellow Ghia Died in June

Professor Kirti “Karman” Ghia, aerospace educator, research scientist, and pioneer in the field of Computational Fluid Dynamics, passed away on 13 June. He was 80 years of age.

Ghia came to the United States from India in 1961, following his baccalaureate degree in Mechanical Engineering. He completed his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology. For 47 years he was a faculty member of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Cincinnati (UC), where he founded the Computational Fluid Dynamics Research Laboratory. He received the university’s Rieveschl Award for Distinguished Scientific Research, the George Barbour Award for outstanding Student-Faculty Relations, the Dolly Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching, and was named University Distinguished Professor. Ghia held visiting appointments at NASA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, the University of Southern California, and Brown University, as well as at international institutes.

Ghia’s pioneering CFD research has provided fundamental solutions for three basic incompressible flow problems: the driven-cavity, curved square-cross-section duct exhibiting Dean’s instability, and the backstep geometry. These have served as benchmark solutions for numerous subsequent incompressible flow code developers.

His separated-flow work on 2-D pitching airfoils led to unmasking the mechanism for dynamic stall; and a key result from this work was published in the Smithsonian. His co-authored editorial statement on Numerical Uncertainty became the cornerstone of ASME’s policy on numerical uncertainty, and AIAA’s current statement is drafted around this policy.
Ghia was very involved with AIAA, including as a faculty advisor to the AIAA UC Student Branch, a member of the AIAA Fluid Dynamics Technical Committee, and an associate editor of the AIAA Journal. He was a technical chair for serveral conferences, including Fluid Dynamics for the 2001 Aerospace Science Meeting, technical committee chair for the 7th AIAA Computational Fluid Dynamics Conference (1985), technical committees for the 16th Fluid and Plasma Dynamics Conference (1983), and 2nd CFD Conference (1975).

Obituary AIAA Fellow Leavitt Died in June

Laurence D. (Larry) Leavitt died on 21 June 2017.

He earned a B.S. Degree in Aerospace Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1975, and an M.S. Degree in Fluid Dynamics from The George Washington University in 1980.

In 1975, he was employed as a research engineer at NASA Langley Research Center. While working as a researcher in the Propulsion Aerodynamics Branch, he was involved in research aimed at the improvement of aircraft performance, primarily military high performance aircraft. He worked on many technologies, but was known for his work in multi-axis thrust vectoring exhaust nozzles, thrust reversers, and propulsion simulation test techniques. Mr. Leavitt was involved in the development of an efficient propulsion airframe integration on the B-2 Stealth Bomber. In 1987 he became the group leader for the Advanced Nozzle Concepts Group within the Branch. In 1990, he became the assistant head of the Propulsion Aerodynamics Branch and was responsible for the research program and operations of the Langley 16 Foot Transonic Wind Tunnel. In 1997, he was named the head of the Configuration Aerodynamics Branch and remained in that role for 12 years. In 2008, Mr. Leavitt was selected as chief engineer for Aerosciences within the Research Directorate. Prior to his retirement in 2015, he served as acting chief engineer of the Langley Research Center.

Mr. Leavitt was an active member of the NATO Research and Technology Organization and a member of the Applied Vehicle Technology Panel from 2001–2013. He chaired the Performance, Stability and Control, Fluid Physics Technical Committee. Mr. Leavitt received many individual and group awards including two of NASA’s prestigious honor awards — the Outstanding Leadership Medal and the Exceptional Service Medal.

An AIAA Fellow, Mr. Leavitt was an active member for over 40 years serving in every office of the Hampton Roads Section, on the Region I Advisory Committee, and on multiple national committees. In 2005, he was the recipient of the section’s highest honor receiving the Allen Taylor Memorial Award for sustained, significant volunteer contributions. At the time of his death, Mr. Leavitt was an active member of the Air Breathing Propulsion Systems Integration Technical Committee and the Green Engineering Program Committee, and was serving as Chair of the Associate Fellows Committee.

Obituary AIAA Associate Fellow Rosenberg Died in July

M. David Rosenberg died on 5 July at the age of 87.

Mr. Rosenberg received his degree in Chemical Engineering from New York University in 1950 and was a Registered Professional Engineer in Delaware and New York. From 1951 to 1952 he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps in the United States and Korea. He began his career as an assistant engineering manager for Stein Davies Co. in Long Island. In 1958, he was hired as a program manager for Thiokol Propulsion (now Orbital ATK) in Elkton, MD.

For 37 years (1958–1995) Rosenberg served as a program manager and team leader at the Thiokol Propulsion facility (now ATK Alliant Tactical Systems) for a wide variety of solid propellant rocket motors, gas generators, and ordnance devices. He was a program manager on Air Force contracts to improve solid propellant specific impulse, to extend propellant shelf life, and to evaluate and extend operational temperature limits for propellant performance. Derivatives of the high performance propellants evaluated were later used for the Space Shuttle Rocket Motor.

Programs that Rosenberg managed included development and production of Subroc rocket motors, Poseidon Fleet Ballistic Missile TVC and Post Boost Propulsion Gas Generators, Trident D5 Gas Generators, Peacekeeper (MX) Launch Eject Gas Generators, and Stage Separation Motors for the LMSC Theatre High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Missile. He also was a program manager for development and production of ordnance safe-and-arm devices for STAR™ space motors and ignition and flight termination systems for use on Titan II, Koreasat, GPS, and other launch vehicles.

After retiring from Thiokol in 1995, he worked as an engineering consultant for The CECON Group. He was a consultant for a variety of missile programs for Thiokol (ATK) including the Extended Range Guided Munition (ERGM), the AEGIS Third Stage Rocket Motor, the Air Force Tactical Hybrid Rocket Motor, the Vertical Launch ASROC Program, and the Solid Divert and Control System for the SM-3 Missile.

An AIAA Associate Fellow Rosenberg was involved with the AIAA Delaware Section since 1958 when it was the American Rocket Society. He served in every office on the Delaware AIAA council including chairperson, vice chair, secretary, treasurer, historian, membership chair, newsletter editor, etc. Rosenberg was the Delaware Section Regional Activities Committee (RAC) Representative for 15 years and also served as National Membership Deputy Director for AIAA Region I. He also served as the coordinator of the Delaware Section Evolution of Flight (EOF) Program activities. He was a speaker and lecturer on rocket propulsion at local public schools, civic associations, and at the University of Delaware.

Obituary AIAA Associate Fellow Heubusch Died in July

Henry Ph. Heubusch died on 11 July. He was 92 years old.

Mr. Heubusch earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from Canisius College. He worked as quality control manager for the Direct Sales Pharmaceutical Co. before joining Bell Aerospace in 1951.

He was chief chemist at Bell Aerospace from 1951 to 1984. A research scientist and expert in propellant chemistry, he designed, staffed and directed Bell’s Propellants Research Laboratory. Heubusch also worked on projects for NASA, including the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Minuteman II projects. He did work for the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. Among his consulting clients were ARDE, British Aerospace, Ford Aerospace, General Dynamics, Lockheed and Lorel Aerospace.

At Bell, Heubusch was the author of numerous papers. He held seven patents and was the recipient of the NASA Medal for support of efforts to land the first man on the moon. After retiring from Bell, he joined the faculty at Canisius College and set up a propellant consulting business. In 1992, the college gave him an honorary doctorate for his work in aerospace.

A member of AIAA since 1961, Heubusch was involved with the AIAA Niagara Frontier Section, and served a term as chair of the section.