Jump to content

NASA, Notre Dame Connect Students to Inspire STEM Careers


Recommended Posts

  • Publishers
Posted

2 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

Portage School of Leaders High School junior Rebecca Anderson, wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and glasses, stands smiling beside NASA Glenn’s Daniel Sutliff, an acoustic engineer, on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. Sutliff is wearing a NASA ballcap and black jacket. He and Anderson are holding an autographed NASA mug, which Sutliff signed with a black ink permanent magic marker. Anderson is holding the black marker and a small cardboard box.
Rebecca Anderson, a junior enrolled at the Portage School of Leaders High School in South Bend, Indiana, spent time with NASA Glenn Research Center’s Daniel Sutliff, an acoustic engineer, on the campus of the University of Notre Dame on Nov. 7, 2024. Students witnessed the operation of the Advanced Noise Control Fan owned by NASA and on loan to the university for STEM experiences.
Credit: Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame

High school students in Indiana are contributing to NASA’s groundbreaking research to develop quieter, more fuel-efficient aircraft engines.

Their learning experience is a collaboration between aircraft noise researchers from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and educators from the University of Notre Dame’s Turbomachinery Laboratory. The collaboration aims to encourage students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers.

Recently, Notre Dame hosted students from The Portage School of Leaders High School and a team from NASA Glenn to see the Advanced Noise Control Fan operate in an outdoor setting. The fan is a NASA-owned test rig that has been configured to enable the study of a quieter aircraft engine technology. Known as the open rotor fan concept, the configuration involves an engine fan without a cover. Ground microphones were used during the test operated by Notre Dame to evaluate the radiated sound as the open rotor fan spun at various speeds.

NASA’s Advanced Noise Control Fan features an open aircraft engine fan concept, which means it is uncovered. The fan is surrounded by a beige frame designed to prevent lateral winds from interfering with the test.
NASA’s Advanced Noise Control Fan is on loan at the University of Notre Dame through a Space Act Agreement. It provides a hands-on learning laboratory for students in STEM.
Credit: Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame

Students from the high school, which is part of the Career Academy Network of Public Schools, used 3D printers from the school’s facilities to fabricate parts for the open rotor test fan. The parts, known as stator blades, help direct and control airflow, ensuring smooth operation of the large, exposed fan blades that are the defining feature of an open fan engine design.

“It was beyond words,” said Rebecca Anderson, a junior from the high school. “The part I enjoyed most was when they got the fan running. It was really impressive to see how quiet it was. I feel like everyone involved in STEM would love to work for NASA, including me.”

NASA researcher Dr. Daniel Sutliff was part of the team from NASA Glenn to spend time mentoring the students.

“This is real-world, hands-on research for them,” Sutliff said. “If airlines are able to use technologies to make flight quieter and cleaner, passengers will have more enjoyable flights.”

The Advanced Noise Control Fan is on loan to Notre Dame from NASA through a Space Act Agreement. The fan research is supported by NASA’s Advanced Air Transport Technology project and its Efficient Quiet Integrated Propulsors technical challenge.

View the full article

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Similar Topics

    • By Amazing Space
      Live Video from the International Space Station (Seen From The NASA ISS Live Stream)
    • By Amazing Space
      Live Video from the International Space Station (Seen From The NASA ISS Live Stream)
    • By NASA
      3 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      NASA’s Langley Research Center Acting Director Dr. Trina Marsh Dyal and Dr. Jeremy Ernst, vice president for Research and Doctoral Programs at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, complete the signing of a Space Act Agreement during a ceremony held at NASA Langley in Hampton, Virginia on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025NASA/Mark Knopp As NASA inspires the world through discovery in a new era of innovation and exploration, NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University are working together to advance research, educational opportunities, and workforce development to enable the next generation of aerospace breakthroughs.
      The collaborative work will happen through a Space Act Agreement NASA Langley and Embry-Riddle signed during a ceremony held Thursday at NASA Langley. The agreement will leverage NASA Langley’s aerospace expertise and Embry-Riddle’s specialized educational programs and research to drive innovation in aerospace, research, education, and technology, while simultaneously developing a highly skilled workforce for the future of space exploration and advanced air mobility.
      Dr. Trina Marsh Dyal, NASA Langley’s acting center director, and Dr. Jeremy Ernst, vice president for Research and Doctoral Programs at Embry-Riddle, presided over the ceremony.
      “NASA Langley values opportunities to partner with colleges and universities on research and technology demonstrations that lay the foundation for tomorrow’s innovations,” said Dyal. “These collaborations play an essential role in advancing aeronautics, space exploration, and science initiatives that benefit NASA, industry, academia, and the nation.”
      In addition to forging a formal partnership between NASA Langley and Embry-Riddle, the agreement lays the framework to support Embry-Riddle’s development of an Augmented Reality tool by using NASA sensor technology and data. Augmented Reality uses computer-generated elements to enhance a user’s real-world environment and can help users better visualize data. Incorporating model and lunar landing data from Navigation Doppler Lidar, a technology developed at NASA Langley, this tool will enhance visualization and training for entry, descent, and landing, and deorbit, descent, and landing systems — advancing our capabilities for future Moon and Mars missions.
      NASA’s Langley Research Center Acting Director Dr. Trina Marsh Dyal and Dr. Jeremy Ernst, vice president for Research and Doctoral Programs at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, sign a Space Act Agreement during a ceremony held at NASA Langley in Hampton, Virginia on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025.NASA/Mark Knopp “As we work to push the boundaries of what is possible and solve the complexities of a sustained human presence on the lunar surface and Mars, this partnership with Embry-Riddle will not only support NASA’s exploration goals but will also ensure the future workforce is equipped to maintain our nation’s aerospace leadership,” Dyal said.
      Embry-Riddle educates more than 30,000 students through its residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, and through online programs offered by its
      Worldwide Campus, which counts more than 100 locations across the globe, including a site at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.
      “We are thrilled that this partnership with NASA Langley is making it possible for our faculty, students, and staff to engage with NASA talent and collaborate on cutting-edge aerospace applications and technology,” said Ernst. “This partnership also presents an incredible opportunity for our students to augment direct research experiences, enhancing career readiness as they prepare to take on the aerospace challenges of tomorrow.”
      NASA is committed to partnering with a wide variety of domestic and international partners, in academia, industry, and across the government, to successfully accomplish its diverse missions, including NASA’s Artemis campaign which will return astronauts to the Moon and help pave the way for future human missions to Mars.
      For more information on programs at NASA Langley, visit:

      https://nasa.gov/langley

      Brittny McGraw
      NASA Langley Research Center
      Share
      Details
      Last Updated Sep 11, 2025 Related Terms
      Langley Research Center Explore More
      4 min read NASA Glenn Tests Mini-X-Ray Technology to Advance Space Health Care  
      Article 1 week ago 4 min read Strap In! NASA Aeroshell Material Takes Extended Space Trip
      Article 2 weeks ago 4 min read Washington State Student Wins 2025 NASA Art Contest
      Article 2 weeks ago View the full article
    • By NASA
      Boarding passes will carry participants’ names on NASA’s Artemis II mission in 2026.Credit: NASA Lee este comunicado de prensa en español aquí.
      NASA is inviting the public to join the agency’s Artemis II test flight as four astronauts venture around the Moon and back to test systems and hardware needed for deep space exploration. As part of the agency’s “Send Your Name with Artemis II” effort, anyone can claim their spot by signing up before Jan. 21.
       
      Participants will launch their name aboard the Orion spacecraft and SLS (Space Launch System) rocket alongside NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
       
      “Artemis II is a key test flight in our effort to return humans to the Moon’s surface and build toward future missions to Mars, and it’s also an opportunity to inspire people across the globe and to give them an opportunity to follow along as we lead the way in human exploration deeper into space,” said Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. 
       
      The collected names will be put on an SD card loaded aboard Orion before launch. In return, participants can download a boarding pass with their name on it as a collectable.
       
      To add your name and receive an English-language boarding pass, visit: 

      https://go.nasa.gov/artemisnames
       
      To add your name and receive a Spanish-language boarding pass, visit: 

      https://go.nasa.gov/TuNombreArtemis
       
      As part of a Golden Age of innovation and exploration, the approximately 10-day Artemis II test flight, launching no later than April 2026, is the first crewed flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign. It is another step toward new U.S.-crewed missions on the Moon’s surface that will help the agency prepare to send the first astronauts – Americans – to Mars.
       
      To learn more about the mission visit:
       
      https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/
       
      -end-
       
      Rachel Kraft
      Headquarters, Washington
      202-358-1600
      rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov

      Share
      Details
      Last Updated Sep 09, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
      Artemis 2 Artemis Missions View the full article
    • By NASA
      Students prepare their robots to enter Artemis Arena during NASA’s Lunabotics competition on May 20, 2025, at the Center for Space Education near the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. NASA/Isaac Watson As college students across the country embark upon the academic year, NASA is giving them something else to look forward to – the agency’s 2026 Lunabotics Challenge. Teams interested in participating can submit their applications and supporting materials through NASA’s Stem Gateway portal beginning Monday, Sept. 8.
      Key dates and challenge details are available in the 2026 Lunabotics Challenge Guidebook. Once all applications and supporting materials are received and evaluated, NASA will notify the selected teams to begin the challenge.
      Student teams participating in this year’s challenge will create robots capable of building berms out of lunar regolith – the loose, fragmental material on the Moon’s surface. Structures like these will be important during lunar missions as blast protection during lunar landings and launches, shading for cryogenic propellant tank farms, radiation shielding around nuclear power plants, and other uses critical to future Moon missions.
      “We are excited to continue the Lunabotics competition for universities as NASA develops new Moon to Mars technologies for the Artemis program,” said Robert Mueller, senior technologist at NASA, as well as co-founder and chief judge of the Lunabotics competition. “Excavating and moving regolith is a fundamental need to build infrastructure on the Moon and Mars and this competition creates 21st century skills in the future workforce.”
      An in-person qualifying event will be held May 12-17, 2026, at the University of Central Florida’s Space Institute’s Exolith Lab in Orlando. From this round, the top 10 teams will be invited to bring their robots to the final competition on May 19-21, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s Artemis Arena in Florida, which has an area filled with a lunar regolith simulant. The team scoring the most points will receive the Lunabotics Grand Prize and participate in an exhibition-style event at NASA Kennedy.
      By encouraging innovative construction techniques and assessing student designs and data the same way it does its own prototypes, NASA casts a wider net to find innovative solutions to challenges inherent in future Artemis missions, like developing future lunar excavators, in-situ resource utilization capabilities, and living on the Moon or Mars. With its multidisciplinary approach, Lunabotics also serves as a workforce pipeline, with teams gaining valuable hands-on experience in computer coding, engineering, manufacturing, fabricating, and other crucial skills, while also receiving technical expertise in space technology development.
      NASA’s Lunabotics Challenge, held annually since 2010, is one of several Artemis Student Challenges. The two-semester competition provides U.S. college and technical school teams an opportunity to design, build, and operate a prototype lunar robot using NASA systems engineering processes. Competitions help NASA get innovative design and operational data, reduce risks, and cultivate new ideas needed to return to the Moon under the Artemis campaign to prepare for human exploration of Mars.
      To learn more about Lunabotics, visit:
      https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/lunabotics-challenge/
      View the full article
  • Check out these Videos

×
×
  • Create New...