Wichita native and AE masters student Michael Staabwas recognized with a $10,000 Goddard Scholarship to help him continue his work with Dr. Dimitri Mavris in the Aerospace Systems Design Lab (ASDL).

Christopher Singer, who heads up the engineering directorate for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, was selected to receive the 2015 Astronautics Engineer Award. Singer is a longtime member of AE's advisory board (AESAC).

Staab collaborated with Singer's NASA-based team this past year on a project entitled, "Launch Vehicle Manufacture-influenced Design."

That project is seeking to come up with cost estimates for building and deploying composite-manufactured components for NASA's space launch system (SLS).

"Typically, we'd look at historical regressions to estimate the cost of a vheicle, but, in the case of composites, they have not been used historically, so we don't have anything to go by." said Staab.

The NASA-funded project tasked Staab's team to simulate the manufacturing environment as a means of estimating the true costs of using composites.

Staab says that the project thoroughly engaged him, but that he has many other research interests.

"I’m really interested in conducting system-of-systems level analysis related to human space exploration mission architectures using commercial and government launch assets and conceptual design studies for dedicated launchers for small satellite and cubesat payloads," he said.

Christopher Singer has been deeply involved in the nation's space program for more than 30 years. He is NASA Marshall's primary technical authority, and has contributed his expertise to a number of high-profile projects, including  the Space Shuttle; External Tank Redesign; the Space Launch System; the Dream Chaser spacecraft (Sierra Nevada); Space X; Loral; Orbital Sciences; Mighty Eagle lander; and the Orion programs.