If you plan on attending this seminar please contact Terri Lavorgna or call the Academic Affairs Office at 471-7995 at least one day before the seminar.
Development of an Autonomous Satellite Control Center
PRESENTED BY:
Dr. E. Glenn Lightsey, Associate Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering
& Engineering Mechanics
OVERVIEW:
The Satellite Control Center (SCC) is a facility in the W. R. Woolrich
building that is used to track satellites. The facility has had increasing
capabilities since its initial operation in 2003. There will be a major step up
in the responsibility of the SCC next year when it is used to communicate with,
command, and control satellites that were built by students at UT-Austin and
will be launched into space in 2009-2010.
In preparation for this new role, an Academic Development Funds grant was used
to support work in the SCC in Fall 2007. The grant was used to improve the
functionality and autonomy of the ground station. Remote operations, scheduling,
and autonomous operations are some of the features that have been added to the
fully operational station. In addition, software was developed that allows a
user to control other participating ground stations in a global satellite
tracking network.
The Energy Problem: Creating an Online Teaching Tool for analyzing the Tradeoffs of Energy
PRESENTED BY:
Dr. Michael E. Webber, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
OVERVIEW:
A serious debate is raging across the state of Texas and the entire nation about our energy needs in the context of concerns about national security, economic well-being, the environment, and global climate change. an important missing piece from this debate, however, is a useful set of objective, non-partisan, no-ideological facts about the tradeoffs related to different fuels and energy technologies. Five courses related to energy have been developed through the Center for Lifelong Engineering Education (CLEE): "The Energy Problem", "The Engineered World: Energy", "Energy, Technology and Policy", "Energy, Environment and Society", and "Energy & Society". This proposed project will add key information to the nation's energy debate and provide a critical teaching tool that can be used by educators, policymakers, and leaders to understand and evaluate the impacts and benefits associated with different fuel mixes and energy choices.