Three UTRGV Teams made it to The Space Grant Consortium Design Challenge

Congratulations to the 3 teams that made it to the 2015 Design Challenge Teams by the Texas Space Grant Consortium. The teams are:

CHRONOS

Intelligent Lighting Control System, Semester I of II
Department Represented: Engineering Physics
Team: Angelica Cortez*, Alberto E. Vilano Reyna, Aaron Barrera, Christian Yair Miranda Solis, Andrea Karina Martinez, Diana Mendoza Ramirez, Miguel Angel Payns Villalobos
Faculty Advisor: Yong Zhou
Mentored By: George Salazar, NASA JSC

MARSTEK

Mars Drill Design And Automation, Semester I of II
Department Represented: Mechanical Engineering / Computer Engineering
Team: Raul Alberto Espinosa Perez*, Yeznith Del Pilar Gutierrez, Jorge Eduardo Lecea, Silvia Fabiola Perez Hinojosa
Faculty Advisor: Yong Zhou
Mentored By: Dr. Hum Mandell, University of Texas Center for Space Research

MOTTIOXIS

Intelligent Lighting Control System, Semester I of II
Department Represented: Mechanical Engineering
Team: Christian Feliciano*, Mario Alonso, Aaron Millan, Israel Vasquez
Faculty Advisor: Yong Zhou
Mentored By: James P. Smith, NASA JSC

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About the Design Challenge

Sponsored by NASA and administered by the Texas Space Grant Consortium, since Fall 2002, the TSGC DESIGN CHALLENGE is a unique academic experience offering undergraduate students an opportunity to propose, design and fabricate a solution to a topic of importance to NASA and its mission.

DESIGN CHALLENGE topics are submitted by researchers working with NASA or its contractor community on current projects of interest. Student teams work on the topic of their choice over the course of one or two semesters. The overall experience pairs the student team and faculty advisor with a research-directed mentor; and provides student team members with an opportunity to engage in scientific research, hands-on design, space-related career opportunities, meeting presentation and educational outreach.

As DESIGN CHALLENGE teams progress through a series of Levels and Option Areas, they are involved in taking a real-world research topic of interest from the idea-stage to an actual workable design.

Because progress is team-directed, the overall program is able to accommodate a variety of design sequences taught in institutions of higher learning throughout the State of Texas [one-semester design, two-semester design, design and build, etc.]. Six team-directed increments [BASE, three specific design Levels, and two Option Areas] allow teams to decide how far they will take the design initiative while accumulating funds to support the team's effort. Up to two teams per year per institution will be fully-funded to participate - based upon availability of projects and funding.

Monetary awards are made available to individual teams upon satisfactory completion of design Levels. Teams are also eligible to receive travel grant funds to support team travel to the end of semester Design Challenge Showcase and assist student-members with off-campus learning, site visits, outreach ventures or meeting participation.

Read more at TSGC.UTEXAS.EDU