Dr. Ryan Terrien
Dr. Ryan Terrien is an assistant professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Dr. Terrien works on instrumentation and techniques for high-precision Doppler spectroscopy and exoplanet detection, including the Habitable Zone Planet Finder (HPF) and NEID spectrographs. He also studies the spectroscopic characterization of low-mass stars. His current collaborations […]
High Altitude Ballooning Team at St. Catherine University
The High Altitude Ballooning (HAB) Team at St. Catherine University is an all-women’s research team devoted to exploring the stratosphere through a multitude of experiments. This research has been conducted at St. Catherine University since 2009 and the collaborative undergraduate research is presented at conferences throughout the year. These experiments are conducted through weather […]
Kei Heltemes
Kei is a current student Augsburg University, double-majoring in Chemistry (ACS-approved) and Physics, and minoring in Mathematics. He is also the president of both the Society of Physics Students (SPS) and the Augsburg Chemistry Society (ACS). He has participated in several different research projects in various disciplines. In the summer of his sophomore year, Kei […]
Kyle Fraser-Mines
Kyle Fraser-Mines majored in physics at Carleton College and is from Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. During the summer of 2020, she worked with Dr. Cindy Blaha on a project to determine the luminosity functions of HII regions in galaxies and dwarf galaxies in the local group. She also created stacked emission line images for these galaxies. In […]
Dr. Abigail Clarke-Sather
Dr. Abigail Clarke-Sather, Assistant Professor at University of Minnesota Duluth’s Mechanical and Industrial Engineering department, is working with Electrical Engineering undergraduate student (’23) Angela Martini on using stitched sensors to monitor human body comfort and function of garments in space. This research is an extension of Dr. Clarke-Sather’s work with Mechanical Engineering graduate student (’20) […]
Studying Emission-Line Survey of Local Group Galaxies at Carleton College
At Carleton College, research is being done on how stars and gas interact to affect the evolutionary history of local galaxies. Their group has been working on M31 and M33, spiral galactic neighbors to the Milky Way, plus seven of our dwaf galaxy neighbors, and they have compiled a complete sample of ionized hydrogen or […]
Lakers Rocket Team at Leech Lake Tribal College
The Lakers Rocket Team at Leech Lake Tribal College creates high-powered rockets yearly to compete in the First Nations Launch in Kenosha, WI. The competition is focused on giving Tribal Colleges across the United States $3000 to build, travel, and launch their rockets at the Bong Recreation State Park in Wisconsin. For a recent competition, […]
Dendrochronology at Bemidji State University
It is uncommon to find field-based teaching in the study of ecology. However, at Bemidji State University, with support from the MN Space Grant, undergraduate students in the Center for Sustainability Studies are given the opportunity to learn material, such as patterns in the growth rings of trees to interpret environmental changes, through hands-on learning. […]
Researching Experimental Plasma Physics at Concordia College
Amy Ott (’21) and Noel Geiger (’22) worked with Dr. Matthew ArchMiller in developing computational tools to support experimental plasma physics. While developing these tools, the students became proficient in Python programming with emphasis placed on specific techniques that are useful for physical modeling. Amy wrote a spectral analysis program that allows the user to […]
Researching Spectroscopic Characterization of Low-Mass Stars at Carleton College
At Carleton College, students Freja Olsen and Adam Ickler developed and tested methods for measuring the chemical abundances of nearby low-mass stars using high-resolution spectra from the Habitable Zone Planet Finder. Their techniques, implemented in modular Python programs, have enabled the measurement of atomic absorption lines with improved precision, and are currently being extended to […]
Taylor-Couette Flow Apparatus Formation at Bethel University
At Bethel University, student Jake Stein worked to build three Taylor-Couette flow apparatuses for their Physics department. The creation of these apparatuses required research and prototyping to be done beforehand in order to best understand the math and science behind these physical devices. After the Taylor-Couette apparatuses have been assembled, future fluid mechanics students and […]
Thunder Rocketry Club at Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College
The Thunder Rocketry Club at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College has been building and launching high power rockets for over ten years. Their first experiences were with the First Nations Competition in Wisconsin but, as of late, they have also been attempting the MnSGC Midwest Competition, which is closer to home. The […]
MnSGC Student Symposium – redirect to 2022
Looking for the March 26, 2022, MnSGC Symposium instead? Click here: https://www.mnspacegrant.org/student-symposium-2022-03-26/ The Minnesota Space Grant Consortium hosted a statewide Student Symposium on Saturday, March 27, 2021 – see link to “abstract booklet” (including recorded video links) posted below. This day-long virtual event included talks from 24 individual students and student teams who have […]
Perseverance Rover Lands on Mars
On Feb. 18, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance Rover landed in the Jezero Crater on Mars. The car-sized rover is set to have a mission duration of at least one Mars year, which is about 687 Earth days. Perseverance is tasked with seeking out signs of ancient life and collecting rock and soil samples for possible return […]
Midwest High-Power Rocketry Competition Cancelled for 2020-2021 Academic Year
Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and uncertainties in Minnesota (and around the country), the Space Grant Midwest High-Power Rocketry Competition for the 2020-2021 school year needed to be cancelled. We are optimistic that by late summer 2021 we will be able to propose a new competition for the 2021-2022 academic year. Stay tuned!
NASA’s Artemis Team Returning to the Moon
NASA recently created the Artemis Team, which is a group astronauts from diverse backgrounds that are planning to walk on the Moon in 2024. This mission will involve the first ever woman to walk on the lunar surface and will be focused around scientific objectives. Furthermore, this mission will prepare NASA for their next large […]
Collecting a Sample from the Bennu Asteroid with NASA’s OSIRIS-REx
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Touch-And-Go (TAG) spacecraft launched on Sept. 8, 2016, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and it plans to return to Earth in 2023 with a surface sample from the asteroid titled “Bennu.” OSIRIS-REx is expected to make contact with on Bennu and it is tasked with gathering 2 ounces of regolith from […]
NASA Launched Perseverance Rover to Mars on July 30, 2020 – will land on Feb. 18, 2021
At 4:50 a.m. PDT on July 30, NASA successfully launched the Perseverance rover from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Perseverance rover was launched on a ULA Atlas 541, which should carry it to the Jezero Crater on Mars where the rover will proceed to explore the landing site region for one […]
Minnesota Space Grant Involved in Mars-Themed Pre-College Robotics Competition
In the summer of 2020 a “Minnesota-Modified” Rover Observation and Drone Survey on Mars (MN-ROADS) student challenge was held with multiple middle school groups from the Minneapolis Public School District. Over the course of six weeks student teams worked with teachers and MnSGC higher education teaching assistants to learn how to code mBot robots then […]
MN Space Grant Is Holding a Quadcopter Competition – Sign up this September
** Preamble ** Here is a “doable in the days of COVID-19” student competition you might be interested in. Participants will learn about drones, soldering, microcontroller programming, electronic sensors, and more. If you have questions, contact Thelma Berquo tberquo@cord.edu at Concordia College – Moorhead. First steps are (1) sign up a faculty adviser no later than the […]
MnDOT Aerospace Teacher Workshops Gallery
MnDOT Runs Aerospace Teacher Workshops
The MN Space Grant program allowed the Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Aeronautics to offer teachers, grades K-12, a chance to learn how to incorporate aviation and aerospace into their classrooms. The Aerospace Teacher Workshop was held for four days during the month of June. Teachers from around the state have participated in […]
Comet NEOWISE makes its closest approach to Earth
Comet NEOWISE passed closest to the Sun on July 3 and will pass closest to the Earth on July 23. It is the brightest comet visible from Minnesota in over 10 years. It should be easy to spot (under reasonably dark-sky conditions) at least through the duration of July, and probably beyond that, as it […]
Concordia College Organizes a 2020 Collegiate Drone-Building Challenge
On March 27 to March 28, nine teams were scheduled to get together and compete in a drone challenge. This challenge required students to work together to learn how to use CAD software, 3D print parts, and to code and wire microcontrollers to build a remote controlled drone that is tasked with navigating an area […]
Space-X’s Demo-2 Crew Dragon Mission
Space-X is planning on launching their first crewed mission to the International Space Station. Inside of the Crew Dragon capsule, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be launched into space using Space-X’s Falcon 9 rocket, which has be tested extensively over the past couple of years. The Crew Dragon spacecraft can fit seven […]