Wichita State University
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The SNAPPY prototype satellite created at WSU will be a topic at the NASA NIAC Symposium.
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Some of the newest and boldest ideas in space exploration will be featured Sept. 15-17 at the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium at Wichita State University.
The symposium is free and open to the public at the Eugene M. Hughes Metropolitan Complex and available via livestream. Register for the symposium.
Wichita’s role as host highlights the strong connection between NASA and Wichita State, which includes groundbreaking faculty research, university STEM programs and work with WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research.
Solomey
For example, the solar detector prototype satellite project led by Wichita State’s Dr. Nickolas Solomey has its roots in the NIAC Symposium. In May, the WSU-designed CubeSat satellite was launched into low Earth orbit with two main goals: to prove the detector can operate in space; and to measure the background rate of the double pulsed interaction signature.
“This conference was important for me over the last few years because it funded my idea of a neutrino detector close to the sun to study the fusion core of our sun,” said Solomey, professor of mathematics, statistics and physics. “This is a great time to host the NIAC Symposium and highlight our project in NIAC at Wichita State University.”
Solomey will deliver the keynote speech at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 15. WSU President Dr. Rick Muma will deliver the welcome address at 9:10 a.m.
The NIAC Program seeks innovative, technically credible, advanced concepts. The NIAC Symposium is an annual programmatic meeting featuring progress presentations from NASA’s currently funded Phase I, Phase II and Phase III Fellows. This year’s portfolio of NIAC studies addresses critical research areas including- revolutionary exploration systems, novel propulsion, human systems and architectures for extreme environments, sensors, and imaging for deep space exploration.
NIAC is a component of the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
About Wichita State University
Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 25,000 students between its main campus and the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech), including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student-centered and innovation-driven.
Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students. The National Science Foundation ranked WSU No. 1 in the nation for aerospace engineering R&D, No. 2 for industry- and defense-funded engineering R&D and No. 9 overall for engineering R&D.
The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.
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