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UTSI Students Receive Top Presenter and Best Presentation Awards at the 2017 AIAA Young Professionals Symposium

Photo of award winners at AIAA Symposium

L – r: Theron Price, Top Presenter in the Propulsion Technical Session; Adam Harris, Best Presentation winner in the Aerodynamics I Technical Session and Brian Kocher, Top Presenter, Aerodynamics II Technical Session proudly display their certificates won at The Greater Huntsville Section (GHS) 2017 AIAA second Young Professionals Symposium held at The University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Three students from the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) won “Top Presenter and Best Presentation Awards” at the 2nd Annual AIAA Young Professionals (YP) Symposium, hosted by The University of Alabama in Huntsville, October 23-24, 2017.  The purpose of the event is to “provide an opportunity for YP’s in the aerospace community to present their technical work while gaining valuable mentorship from industry leaders”.

Over 35 presentations were presented by students and other young professionals at the Symposium this year.  Participants each gave a 20-minute presentation followed by a 5 minute Q&A from observers and judges.  Keynote speakers included Alica Ryan (CEO of LSINC), LTG James H. Dickinson (Commanding General USASMDC/ARSTRAT), and Jody Singer (Deputy Director of NASA MSFC).

Winners from UTSI won Best Presentation in Propulsion, Best Presentation in the Aerodynamics I Technical Session and Top Presenter in the Aerodynamics II Technical Session. Each received a certificate of recognition in their respective category.  Dr. Kurt Polzin, AIAA Region II Director and Research Engineer at NASA MSFC; Matthew Hitt, Doctoral student at UAH; Andrew Herron, Jim Parsons and Robert Tramel were judges.

Adam J. Harris, of Clarksville, Tennessee, won Best Presentation in the Aerodynamics I Technical Session. His presentation was entitled “Laser Differential Interferometry and Schlieren Analysis of a Forced Perturbation in a Mach 2 Flow.” Harris is a master’s student in Aerospace Engineering at UTSI under the direction of Dr. John Schmisseur.

Brian D. Kocher, of Tullahoma, Tennessee, received the Top Presenter Award at the AIAA GHS YP Symposium in the Aerodynamics II Technical Session.  His presentation entitled, PIV measurements over distributed roughness floor inserts in Mach 2 flow,” was a “summary and explanation of the data collected during his first test campaign.  The research goal stated Kocher is to characterize how distributed surface roughness effects a supersonic boundary layer.” He further stated the “material is based upon research supported by the SMART Scholarship as well as internal funding provided by UTSI.” He is currently pursuing a Master degree in Aerospace Engineering under the direction of Dr. John D. Schmisseur.

Theron J. Price, of Morristown, TN, interested in rocketry with a focus in propulsion and the aerodynamics of atmospheric reentry, won “Top Presented” in the Propulsion Technical Session for his paper, “Preliminary Experimental Results of Transverse Mode Nozzle Damping.” Price is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering under the direction of Dr. Trevor Moeller.

Other UTSI graduate students participating included Andrew Bell, Andrew J. Broadbent, Philip L. Clarke, Autumn Douthitt, Matthew J. Schwartz, Katherine Stamper and Katrina Sweetland.