The Hawai'i Space Grant Consortium awarded undergraduate fellowships in the Fall of 2007 to students at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and Hilo.

University of Hawai'i at Manoa:

• Nathan Britton, a senior in Information and Computer Science, will combine his interests in gaming software and space exploration to create a game engine for diverse space and planetary environments. Nathan's project, "Space Sports/Training Simulation," will address design and software engineering issues as well as accurate physical parameters for humans and objects interacting in a variety of settings. Dr. Kim Binsted of the Department of Information and Computer Science will serve as mentor.
• Dennis Dugay, a senior in Electrical Engineering, will continue as lead engineer on the telecommunication subsystem for the Kumu A'o CubeSat team. Working with mentors Lloyd French and Byron Wolfe, of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, Dennis and undergraduate teammates are working to complete a low-Earth-orbiting CubeSat satellite mission, from design to construction, launch, and operations.
• Windell Jones, a junior in Mechanical Engineering, is joining the Kumu A'o CubeSat team to lead the flight software/data and command handling subsystem. Working with mentors Lloyd French and Byron Wolfe, of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, Windell and undergraduate teammates are working to develop, test, launch, and operate a CubeSat.
• Nelson Lazaga, a senior in Biology, will be working with mentor, Dr. Eric Gaidos of the Department of Geology and Geophysics and the UH NASA Astrobiology Institute, to research the genetics of comb jelly (sea plankton), a member of the last major primitive animal group to have a mitochondrial genome sequenced. Nelson's work, titled "Amplification and Sequencing of the Mitochondrial Genome of the Basal Animal Ctenophore mnemiopsis," is part of the broader goal of understanding the evolution of life on Earth as expressed in NASA's Astrobiology Roadmap.
• Zachary Lee-Ho, a senior in Mechanical Engineering, will continue working as lead project manager and systems engineer for the Kumu A'o CubeSat team. Working with mentors Lloyd French and Byron Wolfe, of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, Zachary and undergraduate teammates are working to complete a low-Earth-orbiting satellite mission, from design to construction, launch, and operations.
• Michael Menendez, a junior in Mechanical Engineering, will continue working on the structure subsystem and thermal control for the bus design and layout for the Kumu A'o CubeSat team. Michael and undergraduate teammates are working with mentors Lloyd French and Byron Wolfe, of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology on a low-Earth-orbiting satellite mission.
• Lori Miyasaki, a senior in Mechanical Engineering, will work with mentor Dr. Mehrdad Ghasemi Nejhad of the Department of Mechanical Engineering on research to improve the mechanical properties and performance of ceramic composite materials for use in space structures. Lori's project, titled "Processing, Performance, and Characterization of Monolith Ceramic Nanocomposites from Preceramic Polymers," will test ceramics with and without added nanoparticles for optimal tension, flexure, and fracture characteristics.
• Matthew Patterson, a junior in Electrical Engineering, will continue as lead engineer on the power generation and distribution subsystem for the Kumu A'o CubeSat team. Working with mentors Lloyd French and Byron Wolfe, of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, Matthew and undergraduate teammates are working to complete an entire low-Earth-orbiting satellite mission, from design to construction, launch, and operations.
• Wade Tonaki, a senior in Electrical Engineering, is working with mentor Dr. Wayne Shiroma of the Department of Electrical Engineering on a project, titled "Design and Test of a Power Management System in a Picosatellite." Wade brings more than two years of experience working on UH CubeSats to this research effort to design the optimal power management system that maintains a positive power budget and increases the longevity of the satellite system.
• Jordan Torres, a junior in electrical Engineering, is joining the Kumu A'o CubeSat team to work on the power system that will provide, store, distribute, and control electrical power for the satellite in orbit. Working with mentors Lloyd French and Byron Wolfe, of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, Jordan and undergraduate teammates are working to complete a low-Earth-orbiting satellite mission, from design to construction, launch, and operations.
• Nicole VanDeBerg, a junior in Geology and Geophysics, will pursue her interests in planetary volcanology with a study of rootless cones on Mars. Using Mars Orbiter Camera data, THEMIS remote sensing data, and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images, Nicole will employ digital image processing and analytical techniques in her project, titled "Lava-Water Ice Interactions on Mars." Dr. Sarah Fagents of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology is serving as mentor.
• Alexis Zamora, a senior in Electrical Engineering, will work with mentor Dr. Wayne Shiroma of the Department of Electrical Engineering on satellite system integration and testing. Alex's project, titled "Packaging and Integration of Systems in Picosatellites" will emphasize designs that insure all the main systems of the satellite are working in tandem and performing efficiently and optimally.

• Melissa Meiner, a senior in Geology and Marine Science, will combine her interests in tsunami research and education to create a permanent Hawaiian tsunami exhibit at the Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo. The exhibit will incorporate invaluable imagery from Earth-observing satellites as well as historical data on causes and effects of tsunami to further illustrate the importance of risk assessment, preparedness, and management. Melissa's project, titled "Pacific Tsunami: Continuing Research and the Formation of a Museum Exhibit" will be conducted under mentor Genevieve Cain of the Pacific Tsunami Museum.

CanSat Fellows:

Space Grant Community College campuses are sponsoring engineering programs for students to design, build, and test CanSats. A CanSat is a scientific experiment package, the size of a soda can and commonly launched by weather balloon or small rocket, designed to retrieve photographic, temperature, pressure, and altitude data for near-Earth low-atmosphere experiments. The CanSat students from the different campuses have worked together and participated in the September 2006 ARLISS Competition (A Rocket Launch for International Student Satellites) in Nevada.

• Honolulu Community College CanSat Fellows
  The CanSat team members at HCC are: Robert Allen, Reynaldo Tabilin, Mark Dalere, Andrew Southiphong, and Nathan Tanoue. Building on their experiences gained at the 2006 ARLISS competition, the team is designing and fabricating components of a new satellite to launch at the 3rd annual CanSat Competition in Texas in June, 2007. The team is busy developing the satellite's enclosure, electronics interfaces, microcontroller software, telemetry system, steerable parachute, and landing system. Mentors working with the HCC team are Vern Takebayashi, Dallas Shiroma, Paul Jacoby, Michael Castell, Helen Rapozo, and Ron Takata.

• Windward Community College CanSat Fellows
  The CanSat team members at WCC are: Damion Rosbrugh, Premo Ames, William Beggs, Robert Forbus, Travis Osurman, and Joleen Iwaniec. The team is continuing its efforts to develop a new satellite to launch at the 2007 ARLISS Competition (A Rocket Launch for International Student Satellites) in Nevada in September. They have completed the initial design phase and are experimenting with weight distributions and different shapes and for the craft, including a fixed-wing lifting body and parasail. Electronics and systems fabrication and testing will continue through the summer. Mentors working with the WCC team are Jake Hudson and Joseph Ciotti.

• Kapiolani Community College CanSat Fellows
  The CanSat "Team Daedalus" members at KCC are: Eric Lee, Sae Yoon, Jeremy Chan, and Jimyleah Castro. They are currently working on a project dubbed "Icarus" to develop the electronics for a low-power air-to-ground telemetry system. The mentor working with the KCC team is John Rand.