Caitlin Milera

The annual Francis Alison Lecture is scheduled for 3 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 18, in Gore Recital Hall, featuring the 2024 recipient of UD’s highest faculty honor, William H. Matthaeus, the Martin A. Pomerantz Professor of Physics and Astronomy.

The title of the lecture is “Riding the Turbulent Solar Wind: A Journey through Space Physics.” It is free and open to the public; a reception will follow in the Center for the Arts lobby. To register, click this link.

Matthaeus is director of the Delaware NASA Space Grant and the Delaware NASA EPSCoR program. He is co-investigator on several current and upcoming spacecraft missions, and he is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the Institute of Physics, the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for Advancement of Science.

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Original Post Date: 1.28.25

Author Credit: Mike Chalmers

Image Credit: University of Delaware

When future astronauts head to the Moon, they may very well be wearing space suits created, in part, through a collaboration between two University of Delaware academic departments, a new UD alumnae and a company founded by UD alumni.

This interdisciplinary project included Norm Wagner, the Unidel Robert L. Pigford Chair,  Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Huantian Cao, chair of the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies; Richard Dombrowski, former associate research scientist in UD’s Department of Chemical Engineering and co-founder of STF Technologies, and Michelle Yatvitskiy, who graduated this year with a master’s degree in fashion and apparel studies and a graduate certificate in sustainable apparel business.

The outcome of their collaboration is a new fabric for the outer layer of space suits, called the environmental protection garment (EPG) shell, that will prevent lunar dust particles from penetrating the material.

“Our fashion apparel studies program covers everything related to clothing, and space suits are a form of clothing,” said Cao. “Quite a few of our alumni work with ILC Dover, a major space suit manufacturer.”

Author Credit: Brenda Lange

Image Credit: Evan Krape

Original Post Date: Oct. 1, 2024

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Students pursue higher education with worthwhile goals in mind. They want to learn from experts, explore more of the world, earn a degree, find a good job and contribute to a better future.

It’s safe to say that not many expect to lead a NASA-supported mission during their undergraduate studies. But at least a dozen University of Delaware students will have done that by the time they collect their diplomas in the next few years.

All are part of a team creating Delaware’s first orbital spacecraft, which was selected by NASA for launch in 2026 as part of its CubeSat Launch Initiative. The NASA program, which started in 2011, aims to give students an opportunity to be part of real missions and gain extraordinary experience in what it takes to do space research.

CubeSats are small, modular, inexpensive satellites that carry experiments for science investigations and/or technology demonstrations. About 160 CubeSats have been launched in the NASA program over the years, many deployed from the International Space Station (ISS).

Delaware’s mission — the Delaware Atmospheric Plasma Probe Experiment (DAPPEr) — will launch its CubeSat spacecraft from the ISS and orbit independently through Earth’s upper atmosphere.

When he was just 4 or 5 years old, Timothy “TJ” Tomaszewski lay in the grass one warm summer evening mesmerized by the glowing full moon and the stars moving across the sky.

“I clearly remember taking it all in, the majesty of the night sky and space and what might be up there … space has always symbolized the future to me,” he said.

The University of Delaware junior’s future includes making history as leader of UD’s Delaware Atmospheric Plasma Probe Experiment (DAPPEr) team, which will build the state’s first spacecraft to orbit the Earth.

Funded by NASA, the group of 18 undergraduates and two graduate students will create a three-unit CubeSat, a small satellite about the size of a loaf of bread that uses a standard size and form and standardized parts, to study how the sun affects the Earth’s upper atmosphere. It is one of 10 satellites being built at institutions in eight states to have the opportunity to be placed into orbit. Launch is scheduled for early to mid-2026.

“It’s always been part of my makeup and my goal to work with space science, preferably at NASA where I can work on rockets,” he said. “And now I have this incredible opportunity to lead a mission — to have a team and build something that we send into space.”

Author Credit: Brenda Lange

Image Credit: Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and courtesy of TJ Tomaszewski

Original Post Date: June 28, 2024

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