On Wednedsay, December 6th, Dr. Persad’s undergraduate senior design capstone group presented at the Nuclear Sciences Building. This is a culminating design course for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering students, and they worked to develop a conceptual design for external clients.

This semester, student teams worked with the Astro Restoration Project (ARP), a not-for-profit, all volunteer organization, operating for charitable and education purposes, to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education through restoration and preservation of the Astro payload, which flew on the Space Shuttle. https://www.astrorestorationproject.org/

Students came up with ideas for a display stand and interactive exhibit for the Astro Payload that is now being further developed and prototyped in Mechanical Engineering Design 3.

Scott Vangen, retired NASA engineer, shared that the Astro Restoration Project was formed by volunteers who worked for both NASA and contractor experiences. “Dr. Persad was very good about facilitating this….. I am thoroughly impressed,” stated Scott Vangen.

Dr. Persad is proud to share all the hard work his students have completed contributing to the Astro Restoration Project stating, “It was fulfilling to see student teams work with experienced Spacelab Engineers on a real world problem, and apply their design skills learned over the course of their undergraduate study. Students were motivated in tackling the design problem with faculty and client mentorship, and they matured as young engineering professionals in the process. They now have a segue into the world of professional engineering practice with practical skills that will get them up and running quickly – making them an asset to industry.”