Findings Staff Report | June 24, 2022
Every day, the University of Cincinnati Space Research Institute for Discovery and Exploration (SRIDE) is building upon Ohio’s rich history in aviation and spaceflight. One important way is by investing in UC students whose interests are aligned with the myriad activities related to space exploration and aerospace systems.
SRIDE is delighted to announce its next class of student fellows; one undergraduate selected to receive a $3,000 Discovery Fellowship for the Fall 2022 semester and five graduate students selected for a full-year $24,000 Exploration Fellowship. Each fellow will embark on a research project aligned with the mission of SRIDE beginning this August.
“The Space Research Institute understands the importance of investing in our future thinkers, doers and makers,” says Vice President for Research Pat Limbach. “These students epitomize the creativity of our student researchers. It is critical that the University of Cincinnati ensure Ohio and our nation remain at the forefront of space exploration. These awards are one example of how we seek to create and train the workforce required to maintain space leadership.”
The Space Research Institute, which officially launched in 2020, has participated in the Ohio Space Forum and organized and hosted a virtual forum on the Future of Aeronautics with the NASA Glenn Research Center.
This class of fellows are all from the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, says SRIDE Director Charles Doarn, but he strongly encourages applicants from all colleges and disciplines around UC as space is a multidisciplinary frontier.
“Space exploration and discovery are not merely engineering constructs,” Doarn says. “We’re talking about human beings living in other parts of the universe, so there are many human factors that are important to study.” For example, one past recipient—a graduate student in political science—conducted a study on the reporting about space exploration by the U.S. mass media.
Without further ado, our Fall 2022 fellows:
SRIDE Fellowship for Exploration
(Open to graduate students.)
Shraddha Barawkar
College of Engineering & Applied Science, Mechanical Engineering
Project: NASA's Ingenuity on a leash!
$24,000
Andrew Barth
College of Engineering & Applied Science, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Project: Cooperative Spacecraft Control for Close Proximity Operation
$24,000
Piero Paialunga
College of Engineering & Applied Science, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Project: Surrogate Modelling for Structural Health Monitoring of Aerospace Assets
$24,000
Elizabeth Rochford
College of Engineering & Applied Science, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Project: Systems Engineering for Refueling Satellites using AI Technology
$24,000
Matthew Verbryke
College of Engineering & Applied Science, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Project: Towards Resilient Operations for Humanoid Space Robots
$24,000
SRIDE Fellowship for Discovery
(Open to undergraduate students.)
Rebecca Gilligan
Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering & Applied Science
Project: Collaborative Multimodal System for Long-Distance Planetary Exploration
$3,000
SRIDE accepts applications for the undergraduate Discovery Fellowship every fall and spring semester and applications for the graduate Exploration Fellowships each spring. For additional information visit our Funding Opportunities webpage.
For more information on SRIDE, visit our homepage.