Shuttle_guy questions....

[drwayne]

I was very lucky that I took the time to ask about advisors - I ended up with a super one. A very smart, insightful guy, the consumate professional and gentleman. I am sure my undisciplined nature vexed him from time to time, but he never showed it.<br /><br />I have made the suggestion that they need to teach a mini-course in proposal writing, and funding sources.<br /><br />During my time there, we got a low temperature regrigeration unit, so I was able to irradiate and examine radicals at about 20 K. Beat the heck out of liquid helium in a dewar feeding a cold finger for sure.<br /><br />Wrote a lot of software to control the spectrometer, take ESR and ENDOR data.<br /><br />Got to do some neat work looking at radical pairs in N-phenyl N-benzo hydroxamic acid (PBHXA). I like to say that because it sounds cool. It was neat because the lines moved so far, it was *easy* to get good fits.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[silylene old]

Astrosag: for me it wasn't hard getting into school. However I cannot say the same is true for everyone. I think right now it should be easier to get in, since graduate school admissions have dropped noticably due to fewer foreign applicants.<br /><br />After school I sought and found a good industrial job in the field I wanted (photoresists). Then cofounded my own company, sold it, and continued to work as a chemist in the same field for the acquiring company, currently as a "research fellow". <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature" align="center"><em><font color="#0000ff">- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</font></em> </div><div class="Discussion_UserSignature" align="center"><font color="#0000ff"><em>I really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function.</em></font> </div> </div>

 

[drwayne]

Photoresist showed up in my work, laying down focal plane arrays on epitaxial HgCdTe.<br /><br />Of course, I was around more Bromine-Methanal than I ever wanted to be in the process too.<br /><br />Exposure to all sorts of things has not impacted me a bit.<br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[najab]

><i>I was very lucky that I took the time to ask about advisors - I ended up with a super one.</i><p>I will second, third and fourth that comment. I had an aweful supervisor. She is a great person, but her supervision left a <b>lot</b> to be desired. She was very "hands-off" in her supervision and never really got involved or showed much interest in my research. Of course, never having been a grad student before and being in a small department of a small university, I didn't know that she was bad.<p>I ended up wasting a couple of years with little progress to show for it. Now I'm trying to finish my thesis basically on my own. I have a new supervisior, but he's in Trinidad, so we don't get to meet too often.</p></p>

 

[drwayne]

My advisor also understood the difference between a Masters project, and a PhD project. On my Masters project, my advisor was quite hands on, helping keep me on track. On my PhD work, he backed off, and made me make it *my* project.<br /><br />Dr. Alexander was a sage man.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[nacnud]

I had a very hands off supervisior for my MSc/MRes I would not recomend it! Although I learned a lot, as you tend to do when you have to work things out for yourself in the end all I really ended up with was a good understanding of what I should have been doing rather than useful results.<br /><br />

 

[drwayne]

The flip side of things was that I also knew people for whom their PhD was essentially a second Masters. Their advisor set up the project, planned it, interpreted the results, all they basically did was take the data.<br /><br />They basically got scr**ed in a different way.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[nacnud]

True, MSc and PhDs do need very different supervisor styles if your to get the best out of them. I suppose that it must be as equaly frustrating in a Phd if your research is leading in one direction but your supervisor is pulling in another.

 

[drwayne]

My advisor was tapped to do a lot of work to bring a tri-campus materials science program into being about the time my dissertation work was heating up, so he was gone a lot during that time - which turned out to be great for me. He said after the fact that the way I approached solving the problem was a lot different than what he would have done.<br /><br />It was also good for me that I was working in the same group with at least one other (and sometimes more) grad students doing different, but related work. Because resources were shared, we ended up working with each other taking data on each others projects, which meant a lot of late nights and a lot of intense (and broader) learning. The sort of thing I could never have done if I was working and going to school.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[najab]

><i>It was also good for me that I was working in the same group with at least one other (and sometimes more) grad students...</i><p>Another reason not to do grad work at a small university - I don't really have many people to work with. There aren't any other students doing network research on my campus. There are a few other CS students but they are mainly in algorithms and one guy who just finished up in data wharehousing.</p>

 

[Astrosag]

Najab you seemed very interested in space (astronomy), our future in space, and space programs in general. And from what i see, you are pretty educated in it- have read up quite a bit. Seeing that you're doing Comp Sci, what do you plan on doing once you graduate with your degree?-anything related to aerospace engineering or the space programs?

 

[drwayne]

"Another reason not to do grad work at a small university "<br /><br />You know, its interesting you should say that. The number of graduate students in Physics at UofA was not that large. There were several classes in which Majid (my best friend and a great gentleman - how he put up with a rotten guy like me is known only to God) and I were the only students in the class. I think the max in a class was 5 or 6 in my whole career.<br /><br />As it turned out, Majid also elected to work with Dr. Alexander - we both did low temperature ESR work, mine was mostly on a purine molecule, his was mostly with Theophylline - and ended up doing many hours of work on each others projects.<br /><br />Your probably not wrong in your observation, I was probably just lucky.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[drwayne]

Its....interesting to know if you miss class, attendance is down 50%, and *most* of the professors notice.<br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[najab]

My campus is small overall - about 3,000 fulltime students and another 1,500 part timers.

 

[drwayne]

My graduating class for my BA from Vassar, I was 50% of the graduating physics students.<br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[silylene old]

When I graduated from Wisconsin, the university had about 40,000 students total. Back then, about 70 PhD's in chemistry were awarded each year. Our research group had about 5 post-docs and 15 grad students. My professor was a very hands-off type and let us explore, learn, define our own projects and pursue our curiosity as we saw fit.<br /><br />The environment was very collegial - we grad students and post-docs talked, debated, lived and breathed chemistry every day. I learned so much, it was a fantastic and unforgettable time. I TA'd courses and chem labs for a couple of years, and won a research assistantship the remaining two yrs (not counting the time I did grad work at the IBM labs in San Jose). By the time I graduated I was supervising a some undergrad researchers, had my own special projects, and also had a big joint project my professor arranged with researchers at IBM. My research projects succeeded, making some novel discoveries and generating a lot of good papers. I know most everyone who has been to grad school says this, but I cannot imagine a more enriching academic environment, and learning and experience were well worth the four and a half years of (fun!) sweat. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature" align="center"><em><font color="#0000ff">- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</font></em> </div><div class="Discussion_UserSignature" align="center"><font color="#0000ff"><em>I really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function.</em></font> </div> </div>

 

[propforce]

silylene,<br /><br />Wisconsin chemistry department was in the top 5 in the nation when you were there. It's a tough, tough program !!! A friend of mine went there for his Ph.D., failed his qualifier exam twice, turned around applied and got admitted to Columbia University dental school instead. Today he's a very rich dentist but living in a boring life !! <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /><br /><br />I was in Wisconsin undergraduate chemical engineering department shortly before you got there (graduated in '81). I took enough chemistry classes to thought about getting a double degree instead. But my brain was sufficiently fried after chem. E. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[propforce]

<i> ".... My graduating class for my BA from Vassar....." </i><br /><br />And what was it like to have gone to an ex-all-girl school? <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /><br /><br />I'd imagine you had no trouble meeting women there? <img src="/images/icons/cool.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[drwayne]

Welll.....I was a physics major, which screwed up the demographics pretty badly.<br /><br />And....<br /><br />I was a town student, i.e. I lived at home with my folks<br /><br />And...<br /><br />I was shy as could be <br /><br />So...<br /><br />I had like 2 dates in my whole career there.<br /><br />I believe the phrase is:<br /><br />What a putz!<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[drwayne]

Oh goodness, I just realized that next summer will be the 20th anniversary of passing my written exam.<br /><br />Oh golly....<br /><br />Time for that mid-life crisis I think.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[mrmorris]

SG:<br /><br />I'm trying to find information on the LiOH/Carbon Filter cannisters used on the shuttle orbiters. Specifically, I'm looking for specifications (size, weight, change-schedule), part numbers, costs, etc. If nothing else -- the part number and/or official name might be enough for me to Google up the data I need. Thanks...<br />

 

[SpaceKiwi]

""Specifically I'm working on a new (and not much improved) protocol for Voice over IP.""<br /><br /><br />najaB,<br /><br />Care to elaborate a little on your thesis work? Can your inability to come up with a very much improved and whiz-bang protocol be summed up by the old adage, "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear"? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>

 

[SpaceKiwi]

Here's another in my occasional series of musings on the SSME's, directed to the Prez of our gang, or to any of the other amateur & professional "rocket scientists" among us.<br /><br />This was a bit of afternoon office day-dreaming inspired by the photo of the day of one of Discovery's SRB segments being wheeled into the VAB.<br /><br />I got to thinking about how impressive the SRB segment looked in that photo, shown off in an "unusual" way if you like. Normally you see the fully assembled version bolted to the Shuttle stack. Anyway, it got me to re-appreciating the power those suckers churn out on ascent. Which led me to considering centre of gravity issues with the stack and what must surely be a tendency for it to "flip" over on top of the Orbiter, all other things being equal. Which in turn led me to consider the placement of the SSME's on the Orbiter, angled "upwards" as they are.<br /><br />So, by this convoluted thought process (or not!), my question is as follows. On the assumption that the SSME's angled placement is in part due to a necessity to stabilise the stack as it makes the powered ascent, what part of the SSME's thrust is directed to this task, and what part is providing thrust in the direction of travel? Could someone express this in percentage terms, or are my assumptions flawed to begin with?<br /><br />Thanks! <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>

 

[dan_casale]

Shuttle_guy:<br />On the thread: New Poll: Moon Yes, Mars No<br />We are talking about thermal management problems. As NASA now has experience in both places, I though I might direct the questions your way, as a place to start.<br />Where can I find information about the Lunar rovers that the astronauts drove around on the moon? And specifically, how did they keep the electric engines cool and the batteries warm? What were the issues of sun vs shade for the rovers? Were the thermal gradiants a problem?<br /><br />These questions also apply to the 3 rovers on Mars.<br /><br />If we were to put heavy equipment on Mars or the Moon, what are the thermal issues we would need to deal with?<br /><br />Thanks for any help you can provide. : />

 

[drwayne]

You can find a lot by googling, here is an example:<br /><br />http://www.beagle2.com/technology/technology9a.htm<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>