NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Pamelia Caswell
Media Relations Office
(216)433-5795
p.caswell@grc.nasa.gov

Summer of 'Give and Get' for Professors at NASA Glenn

This month, 45 guest researchers from 28 colleges and universities around the country and the world will begin a summer of collaboration, research and learning at the NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH.

The guests, participants in the Glenn summer faculty fellowship program, will delve into diverse subjects -- from Earth science to rocket science. A few highlights of the summer activities are the fellows' work on improving the dissemination of satellite imagery of Ohio farmlands; a novel idea for sound suppression within a jet engine; a technique to make jet engines virtually emissionless, that is, very clean; improving the durability of ion rocket engine components; and developing testing techniques for new types of batteries.

Although most are engineers, the fellows include geologists, chemists, physicists and astronomers. Each fellow works with a Glenn professional peer and has use of Glenn's many research laboratories and facilities such as high-speed wind tunnels for studying jet engine performance at flight conditions and drop towers for Earth-based studies of low-gravity conditions. Weekly lectures on technical subjects and a several social events round out the summer program.

"The summer faculty fellowship program is tightly woven into the fabric of Glenn, and the research staff eagerly anticipates the arrival of professors each summer," said Francis J. Montegani, university programs manager and Glenn codirector of the program. "Their brief stays with us often develop into lasting professional relationships and long-term benefits to our programs."

The summer faculty fellowship program at Glenn is conducted by Glenn and Case Western Reserve University working through OAI (the Ohio Aerospace Institute), both of Cleveland, OH. The other program codirectors are Joseph M. Prahl, chairman of the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Case Western Reserve University, and Theo G. Keith, Jr., vice president for programs at OAI.

Since 1964, NASA and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) have supported summer fellowships for full-time engineering and science educators at U.S colleges and universities. The major goals of the fellowships are to improve engineering education in the United States by reinvigorating faculty with new knowledge and experiences and to infuse NASA research with fresh ideas and approaches.

The list of the year 2000 Glenn summer faculty fellows and their universities follows:

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