2011 VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize Winner Announced

NASA has announced the winner of the 2011 VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize. Lyle Roberts from The Australian National University will spend 10 weeks at the NASA Ames Research Center, as part of the NASA Academy program, where he will meet leading NASA scientists and engineers, and visit cutting edge research facilities such as JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and Kennedy Space Center. During his stay he will work on a current NASA research project “Understanding warning signs of major earthquakes” under the supervision of Principal Investigator, Friedemann T. Freund, San Jose State University Physics Dept. and Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute.

Lyle Roberts, Winner of the 2011 VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize (Photo: VSSEC)

 “Winning the VSSEC-NASA Space Prize and the opportunity to attend the NASA Space Academy at Ames is an incredible honour. This is one of those career defining moments that aspiring engineers dream of. My mind is still blowing itself apart; I think it will take a while for reality to sink in. My deepest gratitude goes to VSSEC and the other sponsors for providing me with (and supporting me through) this once in a lifetime opportunity.” said Lyle. The Engineering category of the prize is supported by the Engineers Australia National Committee for Space Engineering.

“The Engineers Australia’s National Committee for Space Engineering is pleased to note that this year’s winner of the EA Undergraduate Prize for Space Engineering, Lyle Roberts, has also been awarded the VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize. Congratulations Lyle, your excellent thesis made you a truly worthy winner. The committee is a strong supporter of this competition and would like to thank VSSEC and NASA for making the opportunity, to attend a 10 week NASA Academy program, available to Australian University undergraduates. We are confident that opportunities like this will inspire more young people to pursue a career in engineering and science.” (Mirek Vesely, Chair: National Committee for Space Engineering)

Australia presented NASA with five very strong candidates; selected from a national undergraduate thesis competition. Lyle’s project, High-Speed Digitally Enhanced Heterodyne Interferometry, presented a technique for increasing sensitivity and reducing the risk of critical mission failure of the proposed NASA GRACE ‘follow-on’ mission scheduled for launch in 2015. Other potential applications of this technique include high-sensitivity fibre-optic sensing, which is a rapidly expanding industry within Australia and around the world, and attracting significant interest from NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

When he returns to Australia Lyle will work with the Victorian Space Science Education Centre to share his NASA experience with secondary students and teachers to inspire Australia’s future scientists and engineers.

(SpaceBoomerang Note: This article has been re-produced from the VSSEC Media Release)

VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize 2011 Category Winners Announced

The 2011 VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize category winners have been announced. The prize is open to all Australian undergraduate students who are currently completing their final or honours year at an Australian University.

This year 17 applications were received from nine Australian Universities, with a host of Australian industry experts reviewing the applications to determine the category winners.

This years category winners include:

Engineering:

Lyle Roberts from The Australian National University 

High-Speed Digitally Enhanced Heterodyne Interferometry

Geology and Planetary Geology: 

Cynthia Rathini Mahendran from the University of Technology Sydney 

Modelling the age relation of impact crater profiles on Mars

Space Physics and Astrophysics: 

Paul Stewart from The University of Sydney 

Postcard from the Edge of the Solar System: Cassini’s Ringside View of Mira

Data Processing and Electronics: 

Anthony Cheetham from The University of Sydney 

Cophasing JWST’s Segmented Mirror Using Sparse Aperture Interferometry

Biology and Human Physiology: 

Amy Spark from Monash University 

Injectable Tissue Scaffolds: Using Hollow Nanofibres to Form Hybrid Gels

All Category winners will now be submitting a seperate application to NASA who will determine the final VSSEC-NASA Australian Space prize winner in March. The ultimate prize winner will spend 10 weeks at the NASA Academy, working directly with a lead scientist or engineer.

For more information on the VSSEC-NASA prize and this years winners, head here.

Congratulations to all Category winners!

Australians in Space - VSSEC Space Week Video Conference Program

In continuing with their wonderful series of events, The Victorian Space Science Education Centre is putting on a series of video conferences to demonstrate a range of different Australians working in Space from across the world.

The sessions are running from the 17th to the 21st of October, and will feature different speakers each day. For school or university students it will be a great chance to see and speak to different Australian space professionals, and find out just how the ended up where they are.

Here is the background from the VSSEC website:

The space industry is a challenging and exciting industry to work in. It employs people from all backgrounds, and brings them together to provide essential services like Earth Observation, satellite communication and GPS, as well as explore our solar system and beyond. Talk to Australians working at NASA, the European Space Agency and in Australia. Meet an engineer designing the next Optus satellite and a scientist exploring Mars. Every one of them is inspirational and in a job you could have! 

Duration:45min per session

Target audience:Year 10-12

Cost: FREE

Limit 3 classes per session

Email lynnette.whitfield@polycom.com to book a session

Sessions will be recorded and loaded on VSSECs YouTube site 

For more information and to download the flyer - head here

2010 VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize Winner Announced

The following article is reproduced from the VSSEC Press Release - for more information on the prize and the VSSEC - head to their website http://www.vssec.vic.edu.au/

NASA has announced the winner of the 2010 VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize. Emily Bathgate from the University of Technology Sydney will spend 10 weeks working at NASA Ames Research Center as part of the NASA Academy program. She will work on a current NASA project under the direction of a Principal Investigator, meet leading NASA scientists and engineers, and visit cutting edge research facilities such as JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and Kennedy Space Center.


“I am extremely grateful and humbled by this amazing opportunity to be involved in the NASA mission by attending the Ames Academy. The opportunity to work with leaders in my field on a current NASA project will be an amazing experience I will never forget” said Emily.

Emily is looking for geological evidence on the Planet Mars of the presence of ice sheets and the possibility of an ancient ocean. Her work contributes to the further exploration of Mars and at the NASA Academy she will have the opportunity to collaborate with leaders in this field.

The Geology and Planetary Geology category of the space prize was supported by the Geological Society of Australia: Specialist Group in Planetary Geoscience. “We are delighted to support young Australian geoscientists and to encourage them in the pursuit of their aspirations. Emily’s Honours work is an outstanding example of the quality of the planetary geoscience research carried out in Australian universities by Australian students and their supervisors, and of the wealth of information and knowledge of planetary geology provided by data collected by NASA missions. ” (Dr Graziella Caprarelli, Chair: Specialist Group in Planetary Geoscience).

The Prize was established to promote quality space related research in Australia and raise awareness of study and career opportunities for students. The winner of the 2009 VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize, Elizabeth Blaber, has continued her work with NASA and developed an ongoing collaboration between UNSW School of Biological Sciences and NASA Ames. Elizabeth was invited to return to the US in late 2010 and is back at Ames doing more work on the STS-133 Mouse Immunology II experiment after being part of the post-flight recovery team at Kennedy Space Center.

Emily will work with the Victorian Space Science Education Centre to share her NASA experience with secondary students and teachers to inspire Australia’s future scientists and engineers.

Space Boomerang: Congratulations Emily! It sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime.

VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize 2010 Category Winners Announced

The 2010 VSECC-NASA Australian Space Price Category Prize winners have just been anounced, however we'll have to wait until March to find out the overall Prize winner.

The VSEC-NASA Australian Space prize gives one (very lucky) Australian undergraduate student to spend 10 weeks working along side a NASA scientist or engineer as part of the NASA Academy Program at Ames Research Center, Goddard Flight Center or Marshall Flight Center. The four category winners will now be asked to explain their chosen research topic to NASA, and outline what the chance to attend the NASA academy would mean to them. NASA will then decide the the winner in March of 2011.

The four category winners include:

Category: Space Engineering:
Winner: Joel Cappelli from the University of Sydney
Topic: CliffRider: The Abseiling Face Inspection Robot

Category: Geology and Planetary Geology:
Winner: Emily Bathgate from the University of Technology Sydney
Sub-ice Volcanism on Mars

Category: Space Physics and Astrophysics:
Winner: Kate Snow from the University of Wollongong
Determining the Vertical Profile of Reflectivity for Long-Range Radar Measurements

Category: Data Processing and Electronics
Winner: Matthew Steventon from the University of Adelaide
ASRI Multi-Stage Launch Vehicle: Mechatronics

This follows the successful winner of the 2009 VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize: Elizabeth Blaber, from the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales, who investigated the influence of microgravity on human cellular function at NASA. You can find her blog here.

For those who are interested in finding out more about the VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize - head here.

NASA - VSSEC Talks

Two NASA space scientists (Dr Adrian Brown - an Australian, and Dr Jennifer Heldmann) are visiting Australia shortly and will be giving a series of public talks titled "Mars Science Laboratory Mission: The Search for Methane and Carbonate on Mars", as well as promoting the NASA - VSSEC Space prize. The talks will be given in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and Melbourne - and they're free! For further information, head here.

Dates and Venues
Brisbane: Wednesday 30th June (Dr. Brown only)
2.20-3.20pm
In association with AeroSpaceFutures www.aerospacefutures.com.au
Rydges South Bank

Sydney: Thursday 1st July (Dr. Brown only)
1:00-2:00pm
Everyone welcome. No booking necessary.
UNSW, Biological Sciences Building, 1st floor, Biomed B Theatre

Canberra: Monday 5th July (Dr. Heldmann only)
4:00-6:00pm
In association with Australian Earth Sciences Careers Night
Everyone welcome. No booking necessary.
Sir Harold Raggatt Theatre, Geoscience Australia, Cnr Jerrabomberra & Hindmarsh Drv.

Adelaide: Monday 5th July (Dr. Brown only)
8:00-9:00pm
Everyone welcome. No booking necessary.
RiAus, Science Exchange, Exchange Place, Adelaide

Melbourne: Friday 9th July (Dr. Brown & Dr. Heldmann)
6:30-7:30pm
In association with Australian Mars Exploration Conference www.marssociety.org.au
Victorian Space Science Education Centre

Everyone welcome email bookings@vssec.vic.edu.au to reserve a seat
*ALL EVENTS ARE FREE* 

Hayabusa Return Interactive Event

To correspond with the Hayabusa spacecraft return to Earth at Woomera on the 13th of June, the Hayabusa project manager, Dr Junichiro Kawaguchi, and Australian Scientist Dr. Trevor Ireland, will be participating in an Interactive Event on the 6th of June. The even will be hosted by Questacon in Canberra, as well as The Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) in Melbourne.

For full details about how to attend (tickets are free), head here.