Two groups of PSU undergraduates were recently chosen by NASA to work on experiments in simulated zero gravity as part of the Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program. Jennifer Jones, Jessica Pierry, Jesse McCormack and Pete Levno traveled to NASA Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston yesterday and will run their experiment from April 21 to April 25.
In short
Students experiment in zero gravity at NASA
Two groups of PSU undergraduates were recently chosen by NASA to work on experiments in simulated zero gravity as part of the Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program.
Jennifer Jones, Jessica Pierry, Jesse McCormack and Pete Levno traveled to NASA Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston yesterday and will run their experiment from April 21 to April 25. A team of students performing a different experiment returned from Houston last week.
The students will fly in a C-9 aircraft that will enter a steep climb and then quickly descend to temporarily simulate weightlessness.
The team was chosen by NASA to perform its experiment, called “Conduit Phase Separation Team II,” which they developed along with former NASA employee and PSU Mechanical Engineering professor Michael Weislogel. The experiment is based on separating liquid and gas in zero gravity.
The fact that two teams have been chosen in the same year from PSU, Weislogel said, reflects well on the school and quality of the students’ work.
For more information, visit www.web.cecs.pdx.edu/~micro-g/.
–Stover E. Harger III
Symposium presents student research today
The annual Student Research Symposium will be held today in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom, showcasing undergraduate and graduate research in engineering, social science and other science fields.
The public may attend the symposium from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Posters detailing the research will be displayed at the event. This is the fourth year for the symposium, organized by the Columbia-Willamette chapter of Sigma Xi, which consists of scientists from PSU and OHSU.
According to a press release, the symposium gives students from the Portland area a chance to practice presenting research within their own discipline. Creators of the posters will be at their displays from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. to answer questions. Awards will be given in several categories to graduate and undergraduate students.
Free parking will be available in Parking Structure 3, and admission to the event is free.
For more information on Sigma Xi, visit www.web.pdx.edu/~bath/sxcwc/inde.htm.
–Stover E. Harger III
25-mile city bike ride to be held on Earth Day
In celebration of Earth Day, a 25-mile city bike ride and rally will be held today starting and ending at the Native American Student and Community Center on campus.
Along with the bike ride, City Commissioners Sam Adams and Dan Saltzman are scheduled to speak at the rally along with representatives from Portland State. Food and refreshments from Wild Oats and Bob’s Red Mill will be provided.
The event is a benefit for Bicycles and Ideas for Kids’ Empowerment (b.i.k.e.), a group founded by PSU student and former Vanguard writer John Benenate.
“It’s basically a celebration of Earth Day, and it’s a day where we’re doing the right thing and also contemplating what the future is,” he said.
The event costs $2.50 for students with a PSU ID and $25 for non-students, although event organizers say no one will be turned away if they do not have enough money.
Registration for the ride begins at 11 a.m., and the rally is set to begin at noon before the 12:30 p.m. ride kick-off. The event is designed to be family friendly.
–Stover E. Harger III
