MIT Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics | November 2023 | |
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Newly announced Department Head Steven Barrett has appointed Prof. Kerri Cahoy as AeroAstro’s Associate Department Head. She will be responsible for the department's education portfolio and continue her leadership role in DEI. She will work closely with department leadership to advance our strategic vision, foster a culture of excellence and inclusion, and support our faculty, staff, and students in their academic and professional endeavors.
The Department and the Schwarzman College of Computing are seeking applications for a joint tenure-track faculty position in computing for climate science and policy. This position aligns with AeroAstro's environmental monitoring and mitigation strategic thrust, SCC’s Computing for Health of the Planet focus area, and the Institute’s Climate Action Plan. Applications close on January 15, 2024.
The Roundup is a monthly newsletter to keep the AeroAstro community up-to-date on research, community news, and important happenings across the department and MIT.
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The AeroAstro community gathered in gratitude before the Thanksgiving holiday to share a meal and connect with colleagues from across the department. Cheers to another Thankful Gathering! | |
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MIT’s ARTEMIS Steelworks Team won the Big Picture award at NASA’s 2023 BIG Idea Challenge for their project demonstrating the production of various alloys of lunar steel using the Molten Regolith Electrolysis (MRE) process.
James Dingley, a PhD student in the Engineering Systems Lab, has been named a Top Prize winner in the National Academies’ 2023 Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications for his short film, “Restoring the Sound of Notre Dame” (Atomic Frontier).
Prof. Kerri Cahoy won a grant from MIT's Fast Forward Faculty Fund (F^4) to launch her project "Onboard Autonomous AI-driven Satellite Sensor Fusion for Coastal Region Monitoring," a project aimed at bettering data collection from satellites, where technology can be “20 years behind,” says Cahoy. PhD students Madline Anderson (EECS) and Mary Dahl (AeroAstro) will work on this project with Cahoy.
In the search for life-friendly exoplanets, Prof. Sara Seager and an international team of colleagues won funding from the European Research Council for the joint research project REVEAL, aiming to unravel which traces in starlight point to a life-friendly exoplanet and which are an expression of the star itself. In the long run, REVEAL may help answer one of humanity's oldest questions: Are we alone in the Universe?
Thomas González Roberts earned a spot on Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science for 2024. His research aims to evaluate how well space actors follow the rules that govern the space domain as the number of satellites continues to grow at an accelerated rate.
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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | |
The AeroAstro HBCU Partnership Program was thrilled to host a fall visit weekend in October. Seven visiting scholars from Howard University, Morgan State University, and North Carolina A&T had a chance to learn about the graduate program, research opportunities, and the 13 fields of graduate study by engaging with our community. | |
A new student group, AeroAstro Latin-American Students (ALAS), is dedicated to community building and professional development for grad students of Latin-American heritage in the department. For questions about the group, contact Thomas González Roberts.
Upcoming events:
MLK Scholar Christine Taylor-Butler presents "The Importance of Dreaming: Why Diversity Matters in STEM and Children’s Literature"
Tuesday, December 5, 12 – 1pm
Check out the AeroAstro website for the DEI committee meeting schedule, programs, and more.
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Thanks to all who made Woody Hoburg’s visit to MIT an unforgettable experience. Check out photos from the visit or watch the video of Woody’s talk: From MIT to the ISS. | |
Announcing the MIT ARCLab Prize for AI Innovation in Space: Competitors of all backgrounds are invited to submit cutting-edge AI algorithms for automated satellite pattern-of-life characterization using astrometric time-series data. With support from the USAF-MIT AI Accelerator, the prize includes a $25,000 cash award pool and travel to Hawaii for the 2024 AMOSTech conference. | |
Six AeroAstro students participated in the 2023 Path of Professorship program offered by MIT Career Advising & Professional Development and the Office of Graduate Education. Pictured: Jasmine Jerry Aloor, Joanna Zou, Annick Dewald, Niamh Keogh, Adriana Mitchell, and Golda Nguyen. | |
The AeroAstro GA^3 team for participated in the Cambridgeside 5k, with eight of 18 runners finishing among the top 50 – check out their times! | The MIT Space Resources Workshop’s WORMS reconfigurable lunar robotics team, represented by AeroAstro undergraduate students Jacob Rodriguez and Juan Alvarez, participated in an exhibition for children at the Museum of Science LatinX Heritage celebration in October. SRW mentor George Lordos and members of the WORMS team are invited to demonstrate the WORMS system at Jeff Bezos’ annual "Machine learning, Autonomy, Robotics and Space (MARS)” conference in March, 2024. | AeroAstro had a strong showing at ASCEND 2023, the AIAA’s premier global space conference. Professors hosted panels and presentations, students showcased their work, and alum Jasmin Moghbeli dropped in – from aboard the ISS! | Alum David Oh, Chief Engineer for the NASA-JPL Psyche mission delivered an interactive guest lecture in 16.853 Advanced Satellite Engineering with Prof Olivier de Weck and at the STAR group meeting on Thursday, November 16th. | |
Students shared their stories and advice for the next generation of future STEM researchers – and future MIT students – for National STEM Day. Follow us on Linkedin and Instagram to read them all! | |
The department celebrated Daniel Hastings' tenure as Department Head in late October. | |
In Memoriam
Professor Emeritus Walter Hollister, an expert in flight instrumentation and guidance, passed away Sept. 9 at age 92. In 40 years at MIT, Walt Hollister authored or co-authored more than 75 technical papers on flight instrumentation and guidance, and co-authored the textbook “Gyroscopic Theory, Design, and Instrumentation.”
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