Spring 2023 Awardees Announced

Faculty-Student Summer Research Grant

Tom Filburn
University of New Haven
NASA Life Support Primer Update

This project is intended to update a life support training primer and class that was created in 2007 for NASA’s Exploration System Mission Directorate. The training extended for 3 days with a focus on systems and materials required to support crewed exploration vehicles and habitats. The ultimate product was a 3 day seminar that covered Vehicle Thermal Control and Crew Comfort (Day 1), Air Revitalization (Day 2), and Water Reclamation (Day 3). This project will provide an update to sections 1 and 2 (Thermal Control, Air Revitalization) of that training primer. Dr Tom Filburn will lead a team of two undergraduate researchers to enhance those topical sections of the 2007 primer.

Haoyu Wang
Central Connecticut State University
Robotic Deburring and Blending of Aerospace Parts Based on 3D Vision and Differential Geometry

This project will contribute to NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. The goal of the research is to use differential geometric method and 3D vision in path planning and motion planning to improve current robotic deburring and blending of aerospace parts. The shape operator of a surface does not only provide the mean curvature of the surface (its trace), the Gauss curvature (its determinant), but also the radius of the circle that best fit the curve generated by intersecting the surfaces. The project will use properties of the shape operator to find an analytical formula/algorithm for deburring and blending.

Brian Wells
University of Hartford
The University of Hartford Multiscale Metamaterial Undergraduate Student-Faculty Research Summer 2023

This research will be conducted with Professor Brian Wells at the University of Hartford Multiscale Metamaterial Research Laboratory, focusing on fabricating and characterizing multiscale metamaterial designs with a particular focus on application in satellite communication, astronomy, and astrophysics. This project is significant for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The work will include two undergraduate students, one from the University of Hartford and the other from a two-year Community College, and will span eight weeks during the Summer of 2023. The available projects will include (1) investigating and developing multiscale metamaterial beam steering technologies for application in satellite communications and (2) designing and fabricating high-index 3D-Printed Metamaterial compact flat lenses for application in broad-band microwave imaging.

Faculty STEM Education Programming Grant

Marco Bonett-Matiz
University of Bridgeport
Summer Math Preparation Workshop for Underrepresented STEM Students

UB School of Engineering incoming freshmen typically place in MATH 103 Introduction to College Algebra or MATH 106 College Algebra (versus MATH 109 Pre-Calculus or MATH 110 Calculus). This generally positions the student at least a year behind in their engineering courses leading to a longer timeframe to graduation, education costs and often retention loss. A virtual math-focused summer preparation workshop with an on-campus residential component will be conducted to support 25 incoming underrepresented freshmen STEM students with on campus accommodation for up to four students. The project aligns with all mission directorates, but most closely the Science Mission Directorate.

Philip Gee
Norwalk Community College
Norwalk STEM Science Fair

Hold a STEM Fair at Norwalk Community College. High School students will present the research they have conducted to panels of judges to demonstrate the Scientific Method and what they learned from the findings/research.

Meng-Ju Sher
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan Girls in Science Summer Camp

Female faculty members from Wesleyan’s natural science and mathematics, in partnership with Middletown Public Schools, run a one-week “Girls in Science Summer Camp” for underserved elementary school girls from Middletown, CT, and surrounding communities. The camp is designed to reveal to 32 girls, 9-12 years old, the science that surrounds them in their daily lives, while also giving them exposure to (1) scientific concepts and vocabulary, (2) equipment and experiments, and (3) female scientist role models, including both faculty and female Wesleyan science students. Campers explore science topics ranging from neural activity, renewable energy, to biochemistry through hands-on activities and science-inspired art projects.

Faculty STEM Education Research Grant

Candice Etson
Wesleyan University
Supporting Spatial Thinking to Improve Physics Learning

Our goal is to help build the diverse and skilled workforce our nation needs by removing barriers to student success in introductory physics. We aim to do this by developing online tutorials that use computer simulations students can manipulate and explore on screen to help them learn about the behavior and relationships between electric and magnetic fields. Preliminary data suggests this approach can benefit all students, but especially women, with weaker spatial reasoning skills more than tutorials without simulations. As we pilot additional tutorials, we expect to learn more about the factors that impact how students learn physics.

Faculty Project Grant

Mihai Duduta
University of Connecticut
Dielectric Elastomer Actuators as Solid State Grippers for Space Application

Soft robots offer new solutions for longstanding challenges in Robotics, particularly operation in unstructured environments. The proposed research aims to develop and evaluate soft robotic grippers based on dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs). Operating as completely solid state devices, DEA grippers can provide the operator rich information on gripping parameters through embedded proprioception. The project will support a student in demonstrating a four digit gripper that can be deployed from a confined space, and withstand low pressure and damaging radiation, in a controlled laboratory environment.

Faculty Research Grant

Danushka Bandara
Fairfield University
Memory Retrieval Under Stress

This project aims to explore the effect of stress on memory retrieval in simulated virtual environments. Since astronauts face high-risk situations such as extravehicular activities, they are constantly exposed to stress, affecting their memory retrieval. This project will quantify the effect of stress on memory retrieval in simulated 3D environments and the effect of various factors on memory retrieval (timing of stress, sensory modality, and emotion). This interdisciplinary project will move the study of memory forward as well as train students on human subject experiments and analysis of physiological data. This project supports NASA space operations mission directorate’s human research program and NASA Exploration systems development mission directorate’s Extravehicular (xEVA) and Human Surface Mobility program.

Djedjiga Belfadel
Fairfield University
Autonomous Drone Swarm Navigation in a GPS denied Environment

This project aims to provide an alternative navigation system to enable a swarm of drones to conduct autonomous missions in a Global Positioning System (GPS) denied environment. To achieve this goal, we propose a relative navigation system, using an extended Kalman Filter (EKF) to fuse the observation from the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), and the range sensor. This methodology uses two waveforms to achieve a secure and high communication data rate using a low-cost beam-switching phased array. This system thus enables drone operations even in GPS- denied environments. This cost-effective solution aligns with NASA’s Space Technology strategic enterprise.

Chandranil Charkraborttii
Trinity College
Analyzing Anomalies from Solar Observations to Detect, Predict and Interpret New and Existing Solar Phenomena

This research will analyze observations from multiple NASA’s solar observatory missions to find, explain and predict anomalies in solar observations. Leveraging the time series nature of data, we will use unsupervised machine learning techniques to detect anomalies. Using cluster analysis techniques, the flagged anomalies will be correlated with existing phenomena for future prediction of these events and to find new potential solar phenomena. Automated interpretation will be performed to generate reasons why the model flagged certain observations as anomalies. The project will promote scientific understanding of solar effects on Earth and the interplanetary environment in accordance with Science Mission Directorate.

Kehan Gao
Eastern Connecticut State University
Exploring the Potential of Deep Learning for Mars Image Classification and Analysis

Deep Learning (DL), which uses multiple layers of artificial neural networks to learn and process information, has achieved breakthroughs in a wide range of applications, including image recognition. In this project, we will apply three DL convolution neural network models to classify two NASA image datasets: MSLNet and HiRISENet, featuring Mars surface and Mars orbital images, respectively. Undergraduate students participating in the project will gain valuable research experience in the fascinating field of Mars image classification. By applying state-of-the-art image classification approaches, the project aims to produce valuable research outcomes that will be published and shared with data science classes.

Yuriy Garbovskiy
Central Connecticut State University
Controlling Ions in Advanced Liquid Crystal Materials Tailored to Space Applications

Electrically driven liquid crystals have the potential to revolutionize existing and emerging technologies critical to space exploration, space imaging, space communication, and space navigation. Because the electric field induced effects can be altered by ions typically present in liquid crystal in minute quantities, the control over ions in liquid crystal materials is essential for the development of advanced space applications. This project related to NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and Science Mission Directorate focuses on the development of new approaches to control ions in liquid crystals by utilizing ion-capturing and ion-releasing nanomaterials and thin films.

Huan Gu
University of New Haven
Evaluating the Impact of Microgravity on the Virulence and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Staphylococcus Aureus

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen and part of astronauts’ skin microbiome that constantly mutates in response to environmental changes. The extreme gravitational forces (g-forces) during space traveling could alter S. aureus’s activities and astronauts’ skin such as thinning, providing opportunities for multi-antibiotic resistant skin infections. However, how the change in g-forces affects S. aureus’s activities, specifically, virulence and antibiotic susceptibility, remains unknown. In this project, we developed a new method to rigorously control g-force and evaluate its effects on S. aureus’s activities, enabling the development of effective strategies to prevent and treat mediated infections during space traveling.

Shivanjali Khare
University of New Haven
Channel Anomaly Prediction with Multi-granularity Fusion and GRUs

This proposal presents an approach for improving anomaly prediction in large telemetry datasets generated by NASA missions. The proposed method combines a multi-granularity encoder-decoder-based fusion network with a Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) based anomaly prediction model to identify complex spatiotemporal patterns, correlate anomalies across different channels and granularities, and reduce false positives. The resulting approach aims to minimize the risks associated with spacecraft operations and increase mission success. This research is significant to NASA’s mission directorates as it provides an innovative and effective way to improve anomaly detection and reduce false positives, thereby enhancing mission safety, reliability, and efficiency.

Anna Kloc
University of New Haven
Epigenetic Analysis of Chromatin Modifications in Human Heart Tissues Affected by Epstein-Barr Virus

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Inflammation of the heart muscle, known as myocarditis, is a condition most often associated with a viral infection. Such inflammation can have devastating consequences on cardiac function, yet it can be challenging to diagnose due to a wide range of clinical manifestations. Epstein-Barr virus is often reactivated in astronauts during space travels, and it has also been implicated in heart disease. However, despite the association between viral infection and heart disease, the molecular networks that guide disease progression and outcomes are not fully understood. This research project will elucidate how viral infection in the heart is regulated on an epigenetic level, with emphasis on histone modifications. This analysis will contribute to a better understanding of cardiac disease associated with Epstein-Barr virus induced pathology.

Yingcui Li
University of Hartford
Novel Method to Study Bone Loss Cellular Mechanism Using Computer Controlled Image Analysis from High-Throughput, Multi-Image Cryohistology on Growth Plates

During space missions lasting six months or longer, astronauts can experience bone loss equivalent to two decades of aging. and they only recovered about half of that loss after one year back on Earth. This bone loss may not completely be recovered even years after returned to earth (1). Bone loss would cause bones to become brittle and likely to fracture (break), resulting in osteoporosis, or weak bones. Bone loss therefore poses a great danger to astronauts’ health and their ability to carry out basic functions during space travel and after returning to earth and it is a significant and unresolved health risk.

Our bodies have a natural cycle for removing old bone cells and rebuilding new bone cells. The balance of bone formation and bone turnover (bone loss) needs to be maintained so that bone structure and density are stable. Bone undergoes continuous cycles of modeling and remodeling (2, 3). With advancing age, at the cellular level, the amount of bone resorbed by osteoclasts (bone removing cells) is not fully restored with bone deposited by osteoblasts (bone forming cells) and this imbalance leads to net bone loss. Thus, aging and osteoporosis are intimately linked. After age 50, human start losing bone faster than our body can build it. In fact, due to this accelerated process of bone loss, women can lose up to 20% of their bone density within 5 to 7 years following menopause (4). Many other risk factors have been linked to bone loss such as diet lacking calcium, family history of osteoporosis, limited mobility, and long-term space travel under low or micro gravity (4, 5).

The underlying molecular mechanisms of osteoporosis are believed to be the increased activity of osteoclasts, decreased activity of osteoblasts, or a combination of both, which lead to an imbalance in the bone remodeling process with accelerated bone resorption and attenuated bone formation. There is an urgent need to fill the gap of a direct measurement of the rate of bone formation and turnover to understand the cellular mechanism of this process. In this study a novel method is developed using laboratory mice and in vivo vital mineral injections to a) measure the rate of bone formation b) measure the rate of bone turnover c) identify cell types in order to detect anomalies during this process. Using computer-controlled image analysis quantitative study of bone formation and turnover process at the cellular level can be achieved for the first time. This is significant because with the result of this study we will learn for the first time the detailed cellular mechanism of bone loss, and this may provide valuable insight into new preventive and treatment methods to this condition.

Solaleh Miar
University of Hartford
Interdisciplinary Student Engagements in the Development of a Novel Preventive Approach with the Potential to Mitigate Space-Induced Muscle Atrophy

Muscle atrophy in astronauts is a life-threatening condition during spaceflights. In this proposal, we aim to design a modulated drug delivery system to provide biochemical and electrical cues to eliminate muscle loss and promote muscle function. This novel research focuses on the development of an electrosensitive drug delivery system capable of releasing Myostatin Inhibitors (chemical cue) paired with external stimulation to prevent muscle atrophy with the application of muscle loss prevention in astronauts. To evaluate the efficiency of the designed system, the impact of the combination of chemical and electrical stimuli on muscle volume and function will be studied in-vitro.

Cameron Oden
University of New Haven
Degradation of PPCPs Using Metal Oxides Native to Martian Soil

Access to clean water is a challenge for NASA’s space exploration missions. Current technologies rely on membrane filtration and adsorbents to generate potable water. Planetary exploration missions, however, will require water treatment technologies that are not dependent on consumables. The Martian surface has an abundance of metal oxides, including iron, manganese, and titanium oxides, that could potentially be used to degrade water contaminants. The primary goal of this research is to evaluate the use of metal oxides native to the Martian surface for the photocatalytic and thermocatalytic degradation of aqueous contaminants resulting from pharmaceuticals and personal care products.

Hao Sun
University of New Haven
Design of NIR-Induced Self-Healing Polymer/Polydopamine Composite Materials with Radiation Resistance

Self-healing polymer materials that can autonomously repair their physical damages are highly desired for various applications in biomedical devices, electronics, and aerospace. However, the lifetime of self-healing polymers would be significantly compromised by high frequency ionizing radiation such as gamma and X-rays. In the proposed research, we aim to develop polymer/polydopamine nanocomposite-based self-healing materials which not only can repair themselves, but also resist ionizing radiation. We envision that this study will present the next-generation polymer materials for NASA’s space-related applications by constructing self-healing spacecrafts, and protecting astronauts from cosmic radiation during the space exploration.

Sriharsha Sundarram
Fairfield University
Innovative Thermal Protection Systems for Space Vehicles based on Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) Polymer Nanocomposite Structures

The goal of this project is to explore innovative ablative thermal protection systems for space vehicles through the fabrication of flexible polymer nanocomposites with triply periodic minimal surface architectures. A fabrication approach using 3D printing is employed to manufacture custom designed lightweight conformal structures that serve not only as thermal protection system but also offer load bearing capabilities. The thermal and mechanical properties of these structures will be characterized. This project ties in directly with the Space Operations Mission Directorate which has identified conformal ablative thermal protection systems as one of the technology area relevant to the agency’s mission.