Research Projects Directory

PI Alan Stolzer

CO-I Tim Brady

CO-I Steven Hampton

CO-I Michael O'Toole

CO-I Cass Howell

PI Frederick Mosher

PI Pedro LLanos

CO-I Erik Seedhouse

PI Theodore von Hippel

PI Alberto Mello

CO-I Paulina De La Torre Morales

CO-I Open Position - New students are welcome

PI Robert Walton

Student learning assessment is necessary at most universities, the question is whether or not student learning assessment though the use of tests can be turned into a less anxiety-provoking experience and, most ideally, into a summative learning experience for students. Using a three-test format student assessment this research examined an alternate testing paradigm, aiming directly at anxiety associated with tests and grades.

PI Dothang Truong

PI Marc Compere

PI Alberto Mello

CO-I Kiran Kumar Avula

CO-I James Pembridge

This project is in partnership with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation under MMSE program.

Birds pose a major threat to aviation. Bird impact can lead to significant damage of the aircraft and can be sometimes catastrophic. For a damage tolerant design of an aircraft structure, the structure has to fulfill the airworthiness specifications prescribed by FAA or EASA. 

PI Pedro LLanos

CO-I Sathya Gangadharan

This research conducted with Co-Investigators Sathya Gangadharan (ERAU) and Kristina Andrijauskaite (MUSC/UTHSCSA), funded by ERAU’s Faculty Research Development Program, was ERAU's first suborbital payload aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard launched December 12, 2017. The main aim of this research was to investigate the effect of microgravity on T-cells and to understand how this research could be used to develop T-cell-based therapeutics for cancer patients. A second goal was to monitor the environment that T-cells encountered during suborbital flight. The recorded data will be used to better understand the behavior and functionality of the T-cells when exposed to different stressors.

PI Pedro LLanos

CO-I Sathya Gangadharan

The following studies were conducted with Co-PIs Dr. Sathya Gangadharan (ERAU) and Kristina Andrijauskaite (University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio [UTHSCSA]).

MESSI Summary: This project was ERAU's second suborbital payload aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard launched May 2, 2019. We analyzed the effects of suborbital flight stressors and various light conditions (red, white, no light) on the Arthrospira platensis, commonly known as Spirulina, aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard launch vehicle. Commercially available cyanobacterium species were cultivated and closely monitored in mother colonies several months before the flight. The aim was to estimate biomass production and growth as a potential dietary alternative for prospective human spaceflight's life support system.

McXIMUS Summary: Zebrafish larvae were exposed to the same physiological stressors they would encounter during suborbital space flight: alterations in light, thermal, and centrifugation conditions, and their behavioral responses were analyzed using the DanioVision (Noldus) behavioral tracking system. Our results showed that zebrafish were most active when kept in a dark environment as measured by swim distance. Also, thermal alterations revealed that zebrafish larvae adapted well to the different temperatures ranging from 25°C to 32°C with the highest levels of locomotor activity observed at 32°C. Finally, the centrifugation tests demonstrated that although zebrafish were exhausted initially, their recovery process was short, lasting for approximately five minutes.

PI Birce Dikici

CO-I Nonso Onukwuba

CO-I Remelisa Esteves

Boiling heat transfer is used in variety of industrial processes and applications, such as refrigeration, vapor cycle power generation, heat exchangers, petroleum refining, and chemical manufacturing. Enhancements in boiling heat transfer processes are critical for making these applications more energy efficient.