The Hawai'i Space Grant Consortium awarded undergraduate fellowships in the Fall of 2002 to students at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa and Hilo.

University of Hawai'i at Manoa:

• Clyde Campos, a senior in Mechanical Engineering, will work with mentor Dr. Carlos Coimbra of the Department of Mechanical Engineering on a rocket project for placing 10-kg payloads into Earth orbit. Clyde's project, titled "Dedicated Orbital Rocket for Small Payloads (DORSP)" will emphasize principles of rocket propulsion and orbital dynamics. Clyde hopes his research will help emphasize the benefits of new, efficient, and smaller-scale rockets for use with small payloads.
• Donielle Chittenden, a senior in Geology and Geophysics, is interested in evaluating the use of remote sensing data of different spatial resolutions to differentiate pahoehoe from a`a lava flows. She will focus on data and field work on Mauna Loa before applying her ideas of resolution limits to satellite images of volcanic terrain at Olympus Mons, Mars. Donielle's project, titled "Comparing Lava Flows on Mauna Loa to Olympus Mons, Mars through Remote Sensing," is being conducted under mentor Dr. Scott Rowland of the Hawai`i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology.
• Westin Fujii, a senior in Mechanical Engineering, will work with mentor Dr. Mehrdad Ghasemi Nejhad of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Westin's project, "Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Precision Joints for the Integration of Active Composite Struts and Panels into an Adaptive Platform for Vibration Suppression and Precision Positioning," is part of a larger research program that has included former Space Grant Fellows. Westin is helping to design, test, and monitor structural positioning performance of metals for intelligent aeronautical and aerospace structures. Final Report
• Seth Kamemoto, a senior in Electrical Engineering, will work on a robot vision project titled, "Visual Sensing in Autonomous Robots." Under the direction of mentor Dr. Tep Dobry of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Seth is designing hardware and software to optimize the path taken by an autonomous robot through a maze. This research benefits the space industry's need for unpiloted or robotic systems that can function in remote, extreme environments.
• Conred Maddox, a junior majoring in Philosophy and English, will be working on a project, titled "High School Science Curriculum Based on Model Rocketry" under the guidance of mentor Dr. Jeff Taylor of the Hawai`i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology. Lessons in the curriculum will be aligned with National and Hawai`i State Educational Standards and will involve physical sciences, engineering concepts, and computer technology. Conred is collaborating with a local high school to help test and evaluate the curriculum, which will eventually be available online.
• Alex Niemi, a senior in Mechanical Engineering, will be working with a microgravity simulator, using rotary vessels to study heat flux for boiling in space. His work, titled "Determination of the Onset of Nucleate Boiling Under Microgravity Conditions," will be performed under mentor Dr. Carlos Coimbra of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Alex's project compliments his interests in the broad field of fluid mechanics and its application in the aerospace industry.
• Aaron Ohta, a senior in Electrical Engineering, has just completed a Summer Fellowship and will continue working on the project titled "CubeSat: Student Projects in Satellite Technology." Mentor for this project is Dr. Wayne Shiroma of the Department of Electrical Engineering. Together with a team of more than 50 students and eight faculty, Aaron is serving as overall Project Director and is working on the tracking, telemetry, and command subsystems. Aaron's technical responsibilities in the project are with the Active Antenna group helping to design a working grid oscillator. Final Report
• Karl Santa, a senior in Mechanical Engineering, will work with composite and piezoelectric materials with mentor Dr. Mehrdad Ghasemi Nejhad of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Karl's project, "Design, Analysis, and Optimization of a Circular Smart Composite Panel with Vibration Suppression and Precision Positioning Capabilities," is part of a larger research program, including former Space Grant Fellows, to design, test, and monitor structural positioning performance of metals for intelligent aeronautical and aerospace structures.
• Michael Tamamoto, a senior in Electrical Engineering, has just completed a Summer Fellowship and is continuing his work with mentor Dr. Wayne Shiroma of the Department of Electrical Engineering on the CubeSat project. In addition to serving as Co-Director of this 50+ member team, Michael is working directly on the communication requirements of the satellite system as part of the Active Antenna group. The title of Michael's project is "CubeSat: Active Antennas and Circularly Polarized Antennas for CubeSat Applications." Final Report
• Kristen Teranishi, a junior in Zoology, will research cooling regimes and their affects on freezing and dehydration survival of nematodes. Kristen's project, titled "Cooling as a Primary Stress to Enhance Cryobiosis/Anhydrobiosis," will be conducted under the guidance of mentor Dr. Christopher Womersley of the Department of Zoology. This research on metabolic adaptations under low-temperature stress has important implications in the broader context of bioastronomy and life in extreme environments.
• Adam Vorsino, a a junior in Biology, will work on a project titled, "Enhancement of Dehydration Survival and Suspended Animation." Adam aims to study the effects of certain sugars to enhance the ability of organisms, in this case nematodes, to enter into prolonged suspended animation induced by dehydration. The work has implications for research into the stability of dry biological systems, organisms, and foodstuff during extended space flights. Dr. Christopher Womersley of the Department of Zoology will serve as mentor for this research.

• Lisa Wedding, a senior in Marine Science, will map and classify coral reefs using color infrared aerial photographs and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software. Lisa's project, titled "Habitat Mapping in Hawaiian Marine Protected Areas Utilizing Remote Sensing Data" will be performed under mentor Dr. Barbara Gibson of the Geography Department. The results of this work will benefit conservation and management of coral reef ecosystems in Hawai'i. Final Report