Riddle-Roundup

Students Build Twin Towers Replica for 9/11 Ceremony

Student-built replicas of the World Trade Center’s twin towers were the centerpiece of a Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus this fall. For several days, student groups led by the campus’s Air Force, Army, and Navy ROTC detachments decorated plywood boards, which carpenters hammered together into 24-foot-high towers that were later raised during the ceremony. Hetalsinh Solanki, a senior from Jersey City, N.J., who is majoring in aerospace engineering, spoke about what he witnessed from his high school after the trade center was attacked in 2001. More than 100 Embry-Riddle students, faculty and staff, and local residents attended the event.

Aero-Propulsion Center Established at Embry-Riddle

Capitalizing on its strength in aerospace engineering and a recent multi-million dollar grant from the State of Florida, Embry-Riddle has established in its College of Engineering a center of excellence devoted to advanced research in aeronautics and propulsion systems.

Embry-Riddle is a member of a consortium, with Florida State University, University of Central Florida, and University of Florida, funded by the State of Florida to develop next-generation technologies for aerospace and aviation and to strengthen ties with industry leaders.

The university’s researchers will concentrate on three areas of advanced research:

1. • Flow control mechanisms, turbulence control, and noise generation in jet engines to improve fuel efficiency and operational performance.
2. • Advanced turbine and alternative power technology – developing new engines that use renewable energy sources such as hydrogen. Researchers also will study new cooling technologies for enabling turbine engines to run at higher temperatures to provide more thrust and engine efficiencies.
3. • Development of analytical tools for the next generation of micro-air vehicles and hypersonic vehicle technologies, as well as other future high-speed aircraft transport.

Engineering Rated #1 for Ninth Year in a Row

For the ninth year in a row, Embry-Riddle has earned the top ranking in the annual “America’s Best Colleges” guide published by U.S. News & World Report magazine.

In the specialty category of “Best Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering Programs at Schools Whose Highest Degree is a Bachelor’s or Master’s,” the Daytona Beach campus has been number one every year since the category was introduced in 2001. Embry-Riddle’s Prescott, Ariz., campus has been number three in that category since 2004.

“This prestigious accomplishment was made possible by top-caliber faculty, staff, and students in our engineering departments and throughout the university” said John P. Johnson, Embry-Riddle president.

Embry-Riddle has one of the largest and best-regarded aerospace engineering programs in the nation. The Daytona Beach and Prescott campuses offer a B.S. in aerospace engineering. The Daytona Beach campus also offers two different master’s programs in aerospace engineering.

Researchers Develop New Lighting for Remote Airports

A leading cause of general-aviation fatal accidents is incorrect aircraft maneuvering and landing, especially during evening and nighttime hours, according to researchers at Embry-Riddle. This is especially critical in remote locations that often depend on air transportation in medical and disaster-related emergencies, but don’t have access to an electrical grid to provide adequate lighting.

To combat the problem, Embry-Riddle researchers and their partners from the University of Alaska-Anchorage, University of North Dakota, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed an innovative, low-cost, and highly portable Remote Airport Light System that uses LED lights and retro-reflective markers.

The system uses reflective panels like those on road signs to assist the pilot in safely landing the aircraft. This kind of marker requires no power and is more visible when lit by an airplane’s landing lights. The corners of the landing strip are marked by low-powered LED lights that flash in synch with GPS time to give pilots improved cues for airfield identification and landing.

According to Chris Grant, leader of Embry-Riddle’s research team and associate dean of the College of Engineering at the Daytona Beach campus, the LED lights have a lifetime of 25,000 to 30,000 hours, last up to 20 times longer than the incandescent bulbs typically used, and reduce energy consumption by about two-thirds.

The research is funded by the FAA Center of Excellence for General Aviation Research.

Scientist Explores Link Between ‘Space Sickness’ and Fatigue

Ever get dizzy, disoriented, or nauseated on a roller coaster? It’s a feeling similar to space sickness or space adaptation syndrome, and understanding how it works could aid the development of countermeasures for one of the lesser understood problems of human spaceflight.

Jon French, professor of human factors at Embry-Riddle, believes the “vestibular disorientation” experienced by some astronauts can also result in acute fatigue, a condition known as the Sopite Syndrome.

He is exploring this relationship with the help of over 50 volunteers who flew aboard Zero Gravity Corporation’s specially modified aircraft that creates weightlessness by performing parabolic arcs. The volunteers were from a large group of space-industry employees who participated in a two-week-long Florida Aerospace Microgravity Training Program in June.

The goal of French’s research is to quantify the cognitive decline and fatigue associated with motion sickness experienced during spaceflight and re-entry. He hopes to identify new, more precise drugs for nausea and acute fatigue associated with spaceflight.

French’s volunteers wore wrist monitors to measure their sleep patterns for several days before and after their flights. They also donated pre-flight and post-flight saliva samples which were used to measure key hormones related to stress and fatigue.

French plans to enlist other volunteers on future flights to expand his research database.

Army ROTC Dominates 2008 Ranger Challenge

Embry-Riddle’s Army ROTC detachment at the Prescott, Ariz., campus took first place in the male, female, co-ed categories in Arizona Ranger Challenge held Oct. 18 at the campus, which hosted the meet.

The Ranger Challenge is an intense Army ROTC competition of eight individual and team events that stress physical, mental, and leadership skills. Events include day and night land navigation, M16A2 rifle assembly and disassembly, first aid obstacle course, hand grenade assault course, a written test, the Army Physical Fitness Test, and a 10 k road march with full combat load.

Cadets Matt Wright, Ashlee Shattuck, and Carson Wright served as captains.

Other schools attending were Arizona State University, North Arizona University, and University of Arizona.