{"393671":{"#nid":"393671","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Kepler Mission Team Wins National Air and Space Museum Trophy","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Smithsonian\u2019s National Air and Space Museum awarded the 2015 Current Achievement Trophy to NASA\u0027s Kepler Mission Team on March 25 at a black-tie dinner in Washington, D.C. Established in 1985, the award recognizes outstanding achievements in the fields of aerospace science and technology and their history.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAmong the honored team members was Jon Jenkins (BSEE \u201987, MSEE \u201988, PhD EE \u201992), the leader of the Kepler Mission\u2019s data analysis group. During his years at Georgia Tech, Jenkins was advised by Paul Steffes, a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. After Jenkins graduated with his doctorate, he joined NASA Ames Research Center to work for the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. Jenkins then joined the Kepler Mission Team in 1995.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince its launch in March 2009, the Kepler Mission has detected more than 4,000 candidate planets in orbit around other stars, or exoplanets for short. More than 1,000 of those exoplanet candidates have since been confirmed. These discoveries have revolutionized humanity\u2019s view of Earth\u2019s place in the universe by unveiling a whole new side of our Milky Way galaxy \u2013 one that is teeming with planets.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a result of Kepler\u2019s discoveries, scientists are confident that most stars have planets and that Earth\u2019s galaxy may host tens of billions of Earth-sized planets that reside in a distant star\u0027s \u201chabitable zone,\u201d the region around a star where liquid water might exist on the surface of an orbiting planet. The Kepler Mission is also establishing a foundation for future studies of exoplanet atmospheres that could eventually answer the question of whether or not we are alone in the universe.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Kepler space telescope infers the existence of an exoplanet, by measuring the amount of starlight blocked when it passes or transits in front of its parent star. From these data, a planet\u0027s size in radius, orbital period in Earth years, and the amount of heat energy received from the host star can be determined.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring its prime mission, Kepler simultaneously and continuously measured the brightness of more than 150,000 stars for four years, looking for the telltale dimming that would indicate the presence of an orbiting planet. In May 2014, Kepler began a new mission, K2, to observe a series of fields along the ecliptic plane, the orbital path of the Earth about the sun, where the familiar constellations of the zodiac lie. This new mission provides scientists with an opportunity to search for even more exoplanets, as well as new opportunities to observe notable star clusters, young and old stars, active galaxies, and supernovae. The spacecraft continues to collect data in its new mission.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdditional information about the group photo:\u003C\/strong\u003E Gen. John \u0022Jack\u0022 R. Dailey, director of the National Air and Space Museum, presents the 2015 Current Achievement Trophy Award to NASA\u0027s Kepler Mission Team. Jon Jenkins (BSEE 1987, MSEE 1988, Ph.D. EE 1992) is the sixth person from the left in the photo.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"ECE Alumnus Jon Jenkins among the Team Honorees"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Smithsonian\u2019s National Air and Space Museum awarded the 2015 Current Achievement Trophy to NASA\u0027s Kepler Mission Team on March 25 at a black-tie dinner in Washington, D.C. Established in 1985, the award recognizes outstanding achievements in the fields of aerospace science and technology and their history.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAmong the honored team members was Jon Jenkins (BSEE \u201987, MSEE \u201988, PhD EE \u201992), the leader of the Kepler Mission\u2019s data analysis group.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Smithsonian\u2019s National Air and Space Museum awarded the 2015 Current Achievement Trophy to NASA\u0027s Kepler Mission Team on March 25 at a black-tie dinner in Washington, D.C."}],"uid":"27241","created_gmt":"2015-04-03 16:16:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:58","author":"Jackie Nemeth","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-04-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-04-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"393781":{"id":"393781","type":"image","title":"2015 Current Achievement Trophy Award Winner, NASA\u0027s Kepler Mission Team (Credit: Image by Eric Long, Smithsonian Institution)","body":null,"created":"1449246346","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:25:46","changed":"1475895110","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:50","alt":"2015 Current Achievement Trophy Award Winner, NASA\u0027s Kepler Mission Team (Credit: Image by Eric Long, Smithsonian Institution)","file":{"fid":"75616","name":"kepler_team_-_trophy_at_smithsonian.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kepler_team_-_trophy_at_smithsonian.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kepler_team_-_trophy_at_smithsonian.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":6203608,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kepler_team_-_trophy_at_smithsonian.jpg?itok=nTdWEKQ4"}},"393771":{"id":"393771","type":"image","title":"Jon Jenkins","body":null,"created":"1449246346","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:25:46","changed":"1475895110","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:50","alt":"Jon Jenkins","file":{"fid":"75615","name":"jon_jenkins.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jon_jenkins.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jon_jenkins.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3397390,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/jon_jenkins.jpg?itok=-F3BD3Su"}}},"media_ids":["393781","393771"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers\/ames\/home\/","title":"NASA Ames Research Center"},{"url":"http:\/\/airandspace.si.edu\/","title":"Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/kepler\/main\/index.html","title":"Kepler Mission"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers\/ames\/research\/2009\/Jenkins.html","title":"Jon Jenkins"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1255","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"1258","name":"Jon Jenkins"},{"id":"1256","name":"Kepler Mission"},{"id":"1257","name":"NASA Ames Research Center"},{"id":"1260","name":"Paul Steffes"},{"id":"166855","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"},{"id":"171400","name":"Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJackie Nemeth\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-894-2906\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jackie.nemeth@ece.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejackie.nemeth@ece.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jackie.nemeth@ece.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}