Civil Engineering Doctoral Student named NASA Fellow, Maine Edge Reports

The Maine Edge published a University of Maine news release about civil engineering doctoral student Andrew Young being named a 2015 NASA Space Technology Research Fellow for his work on the Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) project at the Advanced Structures and Composites Center. A HIAD is a nose-mounted device on a spacecraft that slows the craft as it enters a planet’s atmosphere. UMaine is assisting NASA by testing its structures in the lab and analyzing stresses and deformations in the HIAD. NASA annually selects a group of graduate and doctoral students to become fellows. The goal is to sponsor U.S. citizen and permanent resident graduate students who show significant potential to contribute to NASA’s goal of creating innovative new space technologies for the nation’s science, exploration and economic future. The yearlong fellowship includes a 10-week visiting technologist experience, providing the opportunity to work and collaborate with engineering experts.