Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) recently held its Space Science and Technology Day, a free all-day event highlighting the institution’s ongoing contributions to space exploration. This event, which took place on September 30, 2024, was part of RPI’s year-long Bicentennial celebration. The day featured presentations from RPI faculty and students, as well as insightful discussions from notable alumni.
“We’ve all looked up at a starry night and wondered, what’s out there? Our researchers, students, and alumni work every day to answer that question,” said Martin A. Schmidt ’81, Ph.D., president of RPI, emphasizing the university’s commitment to the field. “They are using their passion and dedication to help humankind, a true extension of our founding principal, first articulated 200 years ago, to apply science and technology to the common purposes of life.”
The event featured a distinguished lineup of alumni speakers, including:
- Rick Mastracchio ’87, a NASA Astronaut and veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and two ISS expeditions.
- Norm Eng ’87, Manager of Engineering and Manufacturing Personnel for the James Webb Space Telescope.
- Michael Meyer ’74, Ph.D., Retired Lead Scientist at NASA’s Mars Exploration and Mars Sample Return programs.
- Charles Norton, Ph.D. ’96, Deputy Chief Technologist at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/CalTech.
- Naveed Hussain ’89, Vice President and Chief Engineer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Following their individual presentations, the alumni participated in a panel discussion and Q&A session, providing an opportunity for direct interaction with the audience. Kurt Anderson, professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering and associate dean for undergraduate studies noted, “From the time of George Low, who played a critical role in landing astronauts on the moon, to today, when we have Commander Reid Wiseman preparing to lead the Artemis II mission, RPI alumni have been instrumental in a staggering number of NASA and commercial aerospace programs. We are grateful to have this stellar group of accomplished alumni back on campus to share their stories.”
Earlier in the day, attendees also learned about current research and student projects being undertaken at RPI. These presentations included:
- Karyn Rogers, Ph.D.: “Astrobiology at Rensselaer – Four Decades Searching for Life’s Origins”
- Leonid Pogorelyuk, Ph.D.: “Future Space Instruments to Search for Life Outside the Solar System”
- Yong Zheng, Ph.D.: “Mapping Gaseous Galaxy Halos with Space Telescopes”
- Sandeep Singh, Ph.D.: “Spacecraft Trajectory Design Leveraging Natural Pathways in Astrodynamical Systems”
- Heidi Newberg ’87, Ph.D.: “The Milky Way Galaxy in Motion”
- Rensselaer Rocket Society: “Ascending the Kármán Line: Design of a Two-Stage Sounding Rocket to Space”
“As an institution we’ve had a remarkable influence on all things space — and there is a lot more on the horizon,” said Antoinette Maniatty ’87, Ph.D., professor and head of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering. “We are thrilled to have members of the local community and the RPI campus hear directly from the people making big contributions to the field.”
This comprehensive event showcased RPI’s dedication to space exploration and highlighted the contributions of its students, faculty, and alumni, demonstrating the university’s enduring legacy in the field of space science and technology.
