Category: News

The Space Research Institute (SRI) at Georgia Tech has initiated an internal search for its inaugural executive director. This new Interdisciplinary Research Institute (IRI) will build upon the foundation laid by the Space Research Initiative.

The SRI is dedicated to advancing cutting-edge research in space-related fields, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, and establishing strong partnerships with industry, government, academic, and international organizations. As leader of the newly established IRI, the executive director will lead the Institute’s strategic vision, nurture a culture of innovation, and champion initiatives that position Georgia Tech, via the SRI, as a global leader in space research and exploration.

The SRI is composed of faculty and staff across campus who have a common interest in space exploration and discovery. Collectively, SRI will research a wide range of topics on space and how it relates to human perspective and be an ultimate hub of all things space related at Georgia Tech. It will connect all the research institutes, labs, facilities, and colleges to pioneer the conversation about space in the state of Georgia. By working hand-in-hand with academics, business partners, and students we are committed to staying at the cutting edge of innovation. 

Click here to learn more about this position and how to apply.

News Contact: For any further details, please contact Rob Kadel at Rob Kadel.

Original story published here.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with its Crew Dragon capsule launches from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in January 2024. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Why does a rocket have to go 25,000 mph (about 40,000 kilometers per hour) to escape Earth? – Bo H., age 10, Durham, New Hampshire

There’s a reason why a rocket has to go so fast to escape Earth. It’s about gravity – something all of us experience every moment of every day.

Gravity is the force that pulls you toward the ground. And that’s a good thing. Gravity keeps you on Earth; otherwise, you would float away into space.

But gravity also makes it difficult to leave Earth if you’re a rocket heading for space. Escaping our planet’s gravitational pull is hard – not only is gravity strong, but it also extends far away from Earth.

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Professor Álvaro Romero-Calvo and a team of Georgia Tech engineers have been selected by NASA for a TechFlights award — an effort managed by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, which demonstrates technologies through suborbital and hosted orbital testing with industry flight providers. 

In the Low-Gravity Science and Technology (LGST) Laboratory, led by Romero-Calvo, Georgia Tech engineers develop novel multiphase fluid management technologies for spacecraft by using electromagnetic and acoustic actuation mechanisms; and in this case, heat. 

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When it comes to finding solutions to climate change, there’s no shortage of technologies vying for attention, from renewable energy to electric vehicles to nuclear energy. One such contender, solar geoengineering, is favored by proponents who say it could quickly cool the planet and give the world time to fully implement efforts to limit emissions and remove carbon from the atmosphere.  

But that promise comes with risks, which include potentially poorer air quality or depleted atmospheric ozone – both of which can cause serious health issues of their own. 

A new Georgia Tech School of Public Policy-led study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) suggests that while those risks deserve further consideration, solar geoengineering could save as many as 400,000 lives a year through a reduction in temperature-related deaths attributable to climate change.

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James Shin, an electrical engineering major from Hoschton, Georgia, has received a 2025 Marshall Scholarship. He will study physics at the University of Cambridge and public policy at the University of Oxford to advance engineering in space.

Shin has coupled his academic program, first, with research in the Space Systems Design Laboratory and the Dynamics and Control System Laboratory at Georgia Tech. He then became interested in extreme environment electronics through his research in Dr. Cressler’s Silicon-Germanium Devices Lab. His expertise in resilient technology earned him coveted internships at Blue Origin and SpaceX, where he was a 2024 Matthew Isakowitz Fellow.

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From deserts in Arizona to salty lakes in Canada, these environments give scientists an idea of what Mars and Jupiter’s moons might be like.

The surface is covered with fine ash. The lava fields stretch for miles, punctuated only by basalt mountains. But life could be found here if you look hard enough.

This barren land isn’t Mars or Pluto, but volcanic deserts in Iceland. The environment is so comparable to Mars’ arid landscape that researchers can use it as an analog. From Earth, they can extrapolate how planets in our galaxy and beyond could sustain life and what tools humans might need to make homes on these planets.

Georgia Tech researchers explore everywhere from Oregon’s mountaintops to Arizona’s deserts to better understand space — and life on this planet.

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Graduate student Lillian Tso, ME 2023, was selected as an analog astronaut for the Asclepios IV mission, a training exercise that simulated a space crew deployed to the moon.

The Asclepios project is a program of analog missions designed by students for students under the mentorship of trained professionals, which began in 2019.

The two-week exercise occurred earlier this year at the Sasso San Gottardo Museum in Switzerland, a decommissioned war fortress near the Gotthard Pass, where the crew remained underground for the entire exercise simulating life at the lunar South Pole.

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Team All Hands on Dec is on a mission to uncover the mysteries of the moon. The team won $1,000 and the top honors for Best Aerospace Engineering (AE) project at Georgia Tech’s Fall 2024 Capstone Design Expo held in the McCamish Pavilion on December 2.

Altogether, 107 student-led teams from nine schools and three colleges showcased their design projects to 120 judges and crowds of onlookers. 

All Hands on Dec team members Lauren Forcey, Frank Frazier, Daniel Gilliland, Bryce Laderoute, Schuyler McCaa, and Sayed Tabatabaei were among eight aerospace teams vying for the best AE project.

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The School of Physics will launch the new B.S. in Astrophysics program in summer 2025. This new major is the latest addition to the College of Sciences’ academic offerings and responds to increased student demand for courses and research opportunities in astrophysics. A minor in astrophysics will also be offered starting next summer.

According to David Ballantyne, associate chair for Academic Programs and professor in the School of Physics, the new major is unique because it focuses on the future of astronomy and astrophysics, especially in the era of discoveries made by the James Webb Space Telescope and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).

“We made a concerted effort when crafting this degree to make it modern and forward-facing,” says Ballantyne. “It is very much focused on the next decade of astronomy and astrophysics, providing a strong emphasis on computational skills, data analysis, and big data.”

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In 2017, a long, oddly shaped asteroid passed by Earth. Called ‘Oumuamua, it was the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system, but it wasn’t an isolated incident — less than two years later, in 2019, a second interstellar object (ISO) was discovered. 

“‘Oumuamua was found passing just 15 million miles from Earth — that’s much closer than Mars or Venus,” says James Wray. “But it was formed in an entirely different solar system. Studying these objects could give us incredible insight into extrasolar planets, and how our planet fits into the universe.”

Wray, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech, has just been awarded a Simons Foundation Pivot Fellowship to do just that. Pivot Fellowships are among the most prestigious sources of funding for cutting-edge research, and support leading researchers who have the deep interest, curiosity and drive to make contributions to a new discipline.

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