STRATA-1: A Public/Private/Academic Partnership for Undergraduate Applied Research
Undergraduate students learn and assimilate more when motivated. Few activities are more motivating to a young engineer than working on real-world, applied research projects. The Mobile Integrated Solutions Laboratory (MISL) at XXXX University has been highly successful in developing space-based embedded hardware/software products and systems. Many of these are used to monitor and control science experiments that are slated for operation on the International Space Station (ISS). Texas Space Technology Applications and Research (T STAR), a small start-up company, was recently contracted by NASA-JSC to assist in creating an experiment that will study the effects of micro-gravity on Regolith for over a year on the ISS. T STAR then approached MISL to provide the embedded intelligence system that will monitor, control, record and report all aspects of the experiment during its year-long investigation. Three undergraduate students were assigned to the project which was delivered approximately six weeks after grant funding was received. NASA plans to have its experiment (STRATA-1) aboard the SpaceX-9 launch later this year. This paper provides an overview of the project, the students’ approach to translating the problem statement into a functional and tested product, the lessons learned from a multi-partner development effort and an update of the project following its installation and operation on the ISS
Joseph A. Morgan has over 20 years of military and industry experience in electronics and communications systems engineering. He joined the Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution Department in 1989 and has served as the Program Director of the Electronics and Telecommunications Programs and as the Associate Department Head for Operations. He has served as Director of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer in the private sector and currently a partner in a small start-up venture. He received his BS degree in electrical engineering (1975) from California State University, Sacramento, and his MS (1980) and DE (1983) degrees in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University. His education and research interests include project management, innovation and entrepreneurship, and embedded product/system development.
Jay R. Porter joined the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution at Texas A&M University in 1998 and is currently a Professor in the ESET program and the Associate Department Head for Undergraduate Studies. He received the BS degree in electrical engineering (1987), the MS degree in physics (1989), and the Ph.D. in electrical engineering (1993) from Texas A&M University. His areas of interest in research and education include product development, analog/RF electronics, instrumentation, and entrepreneurship.
Dakotah Karrer is a senior undergraduate student in the Electronics Systems Engineering Technology major within the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. He also serves as the Mobile Integrated Solutions Laboratory (MISL) Manager and has been the hardware engineer for the STRATA-1 design team that developed flight hardware electronics for use on the International Space Station. Dakotah is pursuing a job in the private sector as a hardware/application engineer upon graduation from Texas A&M University.
Vincent Rodriguez is an senior undergraduate student in Electronic Systems Engineering Technology major at Texas A&M University. He is currently Associate Lab Manager for the Mobile Integrated Solutions Laboratory (MISL), and is the Software Lead for the STRATA-1 project, a NASA experiment that will run on the International Space Station (ISS). Vince is seeking a job in the private sector as a software engineer after the spring 2016 semester.
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