Graduate Students

Google Maps for space? One grad student is making it happen

Jeff Zehnder — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 16:54:24 +0000

Google Maps for space? One grad student is making it happen Jeff Zehnder Thu, 12/12/2024 - 09:54

Dezell Turner slips on a set of sleek augmented reality goggles in the lobby of the Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences Building. Behind him stretches a floor-to-ceiling mural of space—a deep blue sky dotted with constellations and the cloudy shape of the Milky Way.

In his Microsoft HoloLens headset, however, Turner is experiencing a different kind of outer space.

Turner, a graduate student in aerospace engineering sciences and Smead Scholar at CU Boulder, waives his hands in front of him and pinches his fingers. Inside the headset, which only he can see, curving red and yellow lines appear. They join two dots, one representing Earth and the other the moon. With a few swipes, the lines shift, transforming from a relatively simple arc to more complicated curls and loop-de-loops.

It looks like a more dizzying version of directions you might follow on your phone during a road trip.

“This is like a holographic Google Maps for planning space missions,” he said.

The new tool, which Turner developed working under advisor Jay McMahon, projects various paths a spacecraft could take to get to the moon through what scientists call “cislunar” space. He named the software ASTROMECH, a nod to a class of droids in the Star Wars franchise.

Turner’s work arrives as the moon is having a moment. NASA’s Artemis Program plans to land humans on the lunar surface sometime this decade. Other entities, including a growing number of private companies, have their eyes set on space. Turner hopes that his AR tool will help some of those groups plan out their missions—picking routes and weighing factors like speed versus fuel cost.

For the budding aerospace engineer, the project is a chance to make the technology from some of his favorite movies a reality. Picture the scene in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens in which a droid projects a holographic map that will lead the characters to the location of a missing hero.

“When R2D2 projects the map to Luke Skywalker, we’re creating a real-world version of that that’s hopefully just as intuitive to use,” Turner said.

Dezell Turner in the lobby of the Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences Building. (Credit: Dezell Turner)

According to ASTROMECH, this route from Earth to the moon would take a little over 15 days. The display also includes an estimate for delta-V, essentially how much fuel the spacecraft will need to burn. (Credit: Dezell Turner)

Miniature planetarium

Turner, who’s 24, has loved space for as long as he can remember. When he was 4 years old, his parents bought him a projector that displayed a star map on the ceiling of his bedroom. He spent so long staring at the projection that he memorized many of the constellations.

But space is a lot more complicated than movies or his bedroom planetarium might make it seem. In Star Wars, if Han Solo needs to get somewhere, he just points the Millennium Falcon in the right direction and goes. In reality, spacecraft leaving Earth’s orbit are caught in the push and pull between the planet and its moon.

“Your trajectories aren’t always going to be traditional shapes like ellipses and circles,” Turner said. “Spacecraft may take all sorts of weird paths, and that can become very mathematically complicated.”

In 1969, for example, Apollo 11 took a relatively direct route to the moon, arriving in an orbit close to the lunar surface in about three days. More recently, NASA’s Artemis 1 mission, which launched in 2022 with no humans aboard, made a more circuitous pass. The mission’s Orion space capsule first circled the moon, using its gravity to slingshot roughly 40,000 miles out into space. That trip took five days.

Turner explained that some small aerospace companies may not have employees versed in those kinds of gravitational intricacies. ASTROMECH does the math for them.

“The ways in which Dezell is leveraging AR in designing ASTROMECH has the potential to make cislunar trajectory design much more understandable for most people in the industry,” said McMahon, associate professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences. “This could be hugely beneficial for training new employees and increasing small companies' ability to operate spacecraft in cislunar space.”

Alternate routes available

Back in the aerospace lobby, Turner demonstrates how he can pinch and swipe to compare those different routes.

Currently, the tool only tabulates fairly simple trajectories, similar to the direct path Apollo 11 took to the moon. But Turner would like to eventually add in more complicated routes. They include ones that take advantage of “Lagrange points,” or special spots in space where gravitational forces allow spacecraft to, essentially, park. The tool also includes an estimate for what aerospace engineers call delta-V, a calculation that roughly captures how much fuel a spacecraft will need to burn making maneuvers. Do you want to get to the moon fast and spend a bit more money or take your time and save on fuel?

Turner has a lot more work to do before aerospace companies can begin using ASTROMECH. One day, he envisions laying out trajectories for undertaking journeys even deeper into the solar system.

For now, he’s happy to have space at his fingerprints—just like Rey gazing at R2D2’s map.

“Getting to wear the headset really makes my day, especially when I’ve been fighting bugs in my code,” Turner said. “Getting to play with holograms makes me feel like a little kid.”

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Robotics in action: CU Engineering demonstrates interdisciplinary research at showcase

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 21:33:11 +0000

Robotics in action: CU Engineering demonstrates interdisciplinary research at showcase Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/24/2024 - 15:33

Caroline Harrah

Standing-room-only event was part of CU Boulder’s annual Research & Innovation Week held Oct. 14-18

The College of Engineering & Applied Science welcomed a packed audience to its Robotics Showcase on Oct. 17. The standing-room-only event, part of CU Boulder’s annual Research & Innovation Week, drew students, faculty and robotics enthusiasts, including middle and high school students and the general public, eager to explore the latest advancements in research shaping the future of the field.

The event emphasized the interdisciplinary nature of CU’s robotics research, showcasing collaborations across electrical, computer and energy engineering; mechanical engineering; aerospace engineering sciences; and computer science to tackle complex societal challenges.

Attendees were treated to demonstrations of bio-inspired robots (Kaushik Jayaram and Nicole Xu), autonomous drone systems (Nisar Ahmed), robots with human-like dexterity (Nikolaus Correll), and robot skin technology (Alessandro Roncone), as well as Boston Dynamics’ Spot. The demos highlighted technologies poised to transform fields such as search and rescue, deep-sea exploration and industrial maintenance in challenging environments, while improving human-robot capabilities and interactions.

In addition to the research on display, CU Engineering introduced its new graduate degrees in robotics— two master’s programs (Master of Science in Robotics thesis option and Master of Science in Robotics nonthesis option) and a PhD in Robotics—launched in 2023. These programs offer students immersive, hands-on research opportunities that engage them with the technologies featured at the showcase, preparing them to lead in the evolving robotics landscape.

CU Engineering’s Research Support Office extends its thanks to all the participants who made the event a success. For more details, check out media coverage by the Boulder Daily Camera in the article “Take Humans Out of Dangerous Equations: CU Boulder Showcases its Progress in Robots” and Denver7’s “CU Boulder Hosts Robotics Showcase to Celebrate Research & Innovation Week,” which spotlight CU Boulder’s leadership in robotics research and innovation.

Showcase Highlights

The Robotics Showcase featured a range of innovative research that exemplifies CU Boulder’s interdisciplinary collaboration and commitment to addressing real-world problems. Highlights included:

Shape-Morphing Insect-Scale Robots
Kaushik Jayaram (ME, Robotics)
Hari Hari Prasad presented insect-scale robots capable of changing shape to adapt to their environment. These shape-shifting systems demonstrate agility and adaptability, essential for real-world applications in challenging environments.
Human-Centered Autonomy for Dynamic sUAS Target Search Operations
Nisar Ahmed (AERO, Robotics)
Hunter Ray demonstrated advances in autonomous drone systems that enhance collaboration with human operators. These drones are designed for search and rescue missions, leveraging real-time data from operators to improve decision-making.
Open World Manipulation
Nikolaus Correll (CS, Robotics)
William Xie demonstrated robots with human-like dexterity, integrating sensors, actuators, and communication capabilities into composite materials to create robots that mimic the functionality of muscles, skin, and bones.
Bioinspired and Biohybrid Robotics
Nicole Xu (ME, Robotics)
Yunxing Su demonstrated research on aquatic robots for environmental monitoring. These robots combine natural and engineered designs to create energy-efficient, maneuverable systems for tracking climate change.
Robot Skin and Dynamic Human-Robot Interaction
Alessandro Roncone (CS, Robotics)
Dusty Woods, Caleb Escobedo and Claire Lohrmann demonstrated robot skin technology that enhances human-robot interactions. These modular sensor units, placed on robot manipulators, enable robots to safely and intuitively respond to external contact.
NSF IUCRC Center for Aerial Autonomy, Mobility, and Sensing (CAAMS)
Zachary Sunberg (AERO, Robotics)
Sunberg’s lab demonstrated autonomous drones in wilderness search and rescue operations. By integrating human operators into the decision-making process, these drones improve the efficiency and safety of missions in remote environments.

CU Engineering welcomed a packed audience to its Robotics Showcase on Oct. 17. The event, part of CU Boulder’s annual Research & Innovation Week, drew students, faculty and robotics enthusiasts, including middle and high school students and the general public, eager to explore the latest advancements in research shaping the future of the field.

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CU Engineering welcomes largest doctoral class in college history

Caroline Harrah — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 19:29:26 +0000

CU Engineering welcomes largest doctoral class in college history Caroline Harrah Thu, 09/19/2024 - 13:29

Caroline Harrah

College tops 1,100 PhDs with most diverse class

The College of Engineering and Applied Science at the �鶹��Ƶ is celebrating a milestone, welcoming its largest-ever cohort of doctoral students. With a 25% rise in PhD enrollment year-over-year, CU Engineering continues to solidify its reputation as a leader in graduate education, particularly among women and students from minoritized communities.

“CU Engineering is dedicated to becoming a top destination for the brightest minds across engineering fields, where novel research and innovation have the potential to impact everyday lives,” said Keith Molenaar, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. “Our growth in PhD enrollment is a testament to the success of this strategy, and our strong enrollment of women and students from diverse backgrounds reflects the inclusive and supportive environment we seek to cultivate.”

The incoming class includes a record percentage of female doctoral students, with women making up 37% of new PhD enrollees, surpassing the national average of 29%, according to data from the American Society for Engineering Education. CU Boulder stands as the top large public institution for the percentage of women doctoral students enrolled—among institutions with more than 1,000 PhD students—holding a lead over peer institutions.

The overall PhD enrollment at CU Engineering now has 10% of its students from minoritized communities, higher than the national average of 7%. These gains are part of the college’s broader efforts to attract and support a more diverse student body through targeted recruitment and funding opportunities.

Among the incoming and continuing doctoral students, 18 have been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, putting CU Boulder in the top 15 for NSF GRFP recipients nationwide across all disciplines and the College of Engineering and Applied Science at No. 7 nationwide in engineering disciplines. This recognition, which supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, further proves the academic excellence found within CU Boulder Engineering’s doctoral programs.

Doctoral Program Strengths and Expanding Opportunities

The college’s growth extends beyond traditional engineering fields, in line with its strategy to continuously innovate a portfolio of programs that address emergent needs and opportunities in climate, space, health and quantum.

Newer programs, such as engineering education, biomedical engineering and robotics, have attracted significant interest from prospective students. These interdisciplinary programs are designed to meet the evolving needs of the workforce and offer doctoral students cutting-edge research opportunities in emerging fields.

"Exploring physics during my bachelor’s and master’s studies sparked a deep curiosity about how complex systems function and their potential to drive innovation, and encountering Kaushik Jayaram’s research at CU Engineering introduced me to the fascinating world of bio-inspired robotics," said Mija Jovchevska, incoming PhD student and CU Boulder Chancellor Scholar. "At first, I wasn't sure how my background would fit, but after meeting Jayaram and Nicole Xu, I knew CU Boulder was the right choice. Their pioneering work in bio-inspired robotics and biohybrid systems, along with CU’s interdisciplinary approach, supportive community, and Boulder lifestyle, made it the perfect place to bridge my physics background into this exciting, emerging field of research."

CU Engineering’s doctoral programs continue to gain national recognition, with recent rankings placing the college at No. 12 among public institutions and in the top 25 overall for graduate engineering education, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Boulder: A Top Destination for Graduate Students

In addition to academic prestige, CU Boulder’s location in the heart of Boulder, Colorado, offers doctoral students an unparalleled quality of life. Boulder is consistently ranked among the best places to live in the United States, known for its access to outdoor recreation, vibrant cultural scene and innovative tech ecosystem.

The region’s proximity to national laboratories and leading technology companies also provides CU Engineering students opportunities to collaborate on research and internships, further enhancing their graduate experience.

As the College of Engineering and Applied Science continues to grow, it remains dedicated to providing students with the resources, mentorship, and opportunities they need to excel in their fields and become leaders in research and innovation. With a record-breaking doctoral class and strong enrollment gains in female students and students from historically underrepresented communities and minoritized identities, CU Engineering is well-positioned to continue its upward trajectory.

Prospective students interested in joining CU Engineering’s growing doctoral programs can learn more and apply online.

For more information on the college and programs, visit our main engineering program page.

CU Boulder's College of Engineering and Applied Science welcomed its largest-ever cohort of doctoral students in 2024. With a 25% rise in PhD enrollment year-over-year, CU Engineering continues to solidify its reputation as a leader in graduate education, particularly among women and students from minoritized communities.

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