The California Space Grant Consortium is pleased to announce the first in a series of Undergraduate Engineering Seminars designed to introduce undergraduate students to funded research opportunities.

Information for first seminar, May 8, 2013:

Speaker: Deepak Atyam, sophomore in Aerospace Engineering

Topic: Deepak will speak about his experiences at NASA centers working on projects such as Curiosity and the Mars 2018 three-stage mission. He will also discuss research he conducted at Langley Research Center last summer that concluded in a Technical Paper presented and awarded at the AIAA Region VI Student Conference this fall.

When: May 8, 2013 from 3:00 to 4:00

Where: UC San Diego’s Jacobs Hall, Room 2512, Henry G. Booker Room

Abstract: A new photogrammetry system manufactured by Vicon has been tested as a means of determining shape and dynamic behavior of a rotorcraft model in a low speed wind tunnel facility. The Vicon system is able to utilize a series of cameras to triangulate retro reflective targets in 3D space with a high degree of accuracy. The Vicon system is an off the shelf system, primarily in the entertainment industry, used to produce accurate 3D biomechanical reconstructions of human movements. It was created for the tracking of biomechanical operations but will be evaluated in this case for its accuracy in measurements of rigid body motion. A discussion of the utilization of the entertainment industry system for tracking rigid body deformation including the lighting, design, calibration, and testing process is included. The successful tests were conducted in the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) 14×22 Low Speed Wind Tunnel.

Bio: Deepak’s interests are in rocketry and space travel. During the past three summers he interned with NASA’s JPL, Marshall Flight Center, and Langley Research Center. Atyam will intern again at Langley this summer in the Space Launch System Projects Office. He is currently leading an undergraduate group conducting research on 3D-Printed Rocket Engines for Marshall Space Flight Center and hopes to continue his research into graduate school.

For Flyer: Please click here.

For More Information: Please email or call Aundrea Dominguez; (858) 822-1597.