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What's Next for OSIRIS-REx? AME Alumnus Explains

A screenshot of Kris Drozd being interviewed at the OSIRIS-REx launch partyThe OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission saw a flawless launch on Sept. 8. So what happens next?

A KVOA reporter asked alumnus Kristofer Drozd just that on launch day. Drozd, who is pursuing a doctorate in the department of systems and industrial engineering, serves on the spacecraft's operations engineering team. 

Find out what he and his team will do to guide and support OSIRIS-REx over the next seven years.

AME Students and Alumni Are Mission Critical for OSIRIS-REx Success

Concept art of OSIRIS-REx in space with Earth in the background and a UA logo in the top left corner
NASA's OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft is scheduled to start its long journey to the asteroid Bennu tomorrow at 4:05 p.m. MST – thanks in part to the hard work of UA aerospace and mechanical engineering students and alumni, including master's student Tanner Campbell and graduates Kristofer Drozd, John Kidd, Daniel Wibben and Bradley Williams.  

Several of them have trekked to Cape Canaveral to lend a hand at launch. Those of us in Tucson are invited to watch the action at launch parties on campus and around town, and NASA TV will also provide live coverage online....

AME Alumnus Aims to Send Sailplane to the Stratosphere

Ed Warnock, front, and the Perlan crew exhibit their glider at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture show in July 2015 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; photo courtesy of Ed Warnock

As CEO of the Perlan Project, aerospace engineer Ed Warnock is preparing to launch an engineless aircraft to the edge of space and elevate our knowledge about climate, the ozone layer and flying on Mars.

Given his own career trajectory, it is not surprising Warnock was captivated by the Perlan story.

Photo courtesy of Ed Warnock

Alumna Reflects on Need for More Native American Women in STEM

Suzanne SingerSuzanne Singer graduated from the UA with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2003, received a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2009, and now works as an energy and thermal fluids analyst at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 

She recently discussed her experience as a Native American woman in STEM and her ideas for promoting a more inclusive, diverse educational environment in the sciences and engineering.

Treating Arthritis with Cartilage Grown from Stem Cells on Scaffolds

John Szivek points out arthritis damage on a bone; image courtesy of ABC 12 WJRTA technique developed by John A. Szivek, professor of orthopaedic surgery and aerospace and mechanical engineering, may someday help arthritis patients avoid knee replacement surgery.

His research at the UA Orthopedic Research Laboratory grows cartilage from stem cells taken from fat tissue on scaffolding that mimics the structure of a normal bone.

University of Arizona College of Engineering