Three AE faculty have been selected to work with NASA researchers this summer at the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Participants in the JPL Summer Fellowship were chosen by Georgia Tech’s Center for Space Technology and Research (C-STAR) and include Aerospace Engineering faculty Brian Gunter, David Spencer, and Panagiotis Tsiotras, as well as James Wray from the Institute’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Peter Ngo, a graduate student in the School of Mechanical Engineering. Each of the Georgia Tech faculty will be partnered with a researcher from the NASA laboratory.

“These competitively awarded research grants build on the strengths of both JPL and Georgia Tech,” said C-STAR Director Robert Braun.

“They are designed to foster future research collaborations between these two institutions, and are well aligned with our nation’s future needs in space science and space technology.”

The JPL Summer Faculty Research Program provides opportunities for science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) faculty to engage in research of mutual interest to the faculty member and a JPL researcher.

The faculty's research will span a number of areas:

Brian Gunter: Utilizing nano-satellite technology for improved monitoring of Earth’s time-variable gravity.

David Spencer: Developing Mars technology demonstration missions in lower Earth orbit and deep space micro-spacecraft.

Panagiotis Tsiotras: Autonomous energy-projecting systems for robotic exploration of extreme environment.

James Wray: Icy satellite surface compositions from infrared spectroscopy.

"The C-STAR summer faculty program provides an excellent opportunity to connect leading Georgia Tech faculty with researchers at JPL,” said JPL Chief Scientist Daniel McCleese.

“The exciting projects chosen this year will open up new collaborations, and enhance both JPL and Georgia Tech's space science efforts.”

C-STAR is an interdisciplinary research center that serves to organize, integrate and facilitate the impact of Georgia Tech's space science and space technology research activities. C-STAR brings together a wide range of Georgia Tech faculty, active in space science and

space technology research, and functions as the Georgia Tech focal point for growth of the space industry in the state of Georgia.

Georgia Tech and JPL are involved in a strategic partnership designed to promote and encourage collaboration between the institutions, with a focus on research collaborations and personnel exchanges in science and engineering fields of mutual interest. C-STAR serves as the Georgia Tech liaison for this newly established partnership.