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The University of Idaho trains its students to be leaders and make a global impact. Six University of Idaho engineering students put that training to work this summer when they showcased their research in front of a worldwide audience at the fifth annual International Planetary Probe Workshop in Bordeaux, France.

Accompanied by advisers David Atkinson, Idaho professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Touraj Assefi, director of the university's Microelectronics Research and Communications Institute (MRCI), students traveled to Bordeaux where they attended the workshop's short course and presented their own research at the workshop poster session.

The six students were awarded scholarships by the International Planetary Probe Committee to attend the event. A seventh University of Idaho student, Tye Reid, a senior in mechanical engineering from Firth, also received a scholarship for the probe workshop, but was unable to attend.

Student research papers included:

• Austin Howard of Boise presented "Miniaturization of atmospheric entry probes options for future planetary exploration missions" with Anthony Colaprete at the NASA Ames Research Center. He is a graduate student in mechanical engineering.
• Justin Schlee of Moscow presented "Thermal Protection System Embedded Sensor Technologies" with Atkinson. He is a senior in electrical and computer engineering.
• Jennifer Founds of Lewiston presented "High-Voltage Series Mosfet Output Driver in CMOS Technologies for Extreme Environments." She is a senior in electrical and computer engineering.
• Nathan Bialke, a senior in electrical and computer engineering from Seattle, Wash., presented "A Small, High Velocity Reentry Probe Capable of Reconstructing Atmospheric Parameters." Marc Murbach from the NASA Ames Research Center advised on this project. Other students contributing to the research, but not in attendance at the conference, include the following University of Idaho students: Joshua Benton, a senior in mechanical engineering from Salmon; Sean Bradburn, a senior in electrical and computer engineering from Pocatello; Liana Garbowski, a senior in mechanical engineering from Fairbanks, Alaska; Robert Lane, a senior in electrical and computer engineering from Palouse; and Garrett Manfull, a senior in mechanical engineering from Orofino.
• Greg Swansen, an electrical engineering student from Eagle, and Daren Berk, an electrical engineering student from Othello, Wash., both members of the University of Idaho ThermaSense senior design team from the electrical and mechanical engineering departments, presented "Wireless Sensors in Thermal Protection Systems." Their team competed at the Engineering Design Expo this past spring, and won the award for outstanding student poster at the Planetary Probe Workshop. Additional ThermaSense team members not attending the conference include: Reid and James Wagoner, a mechanical engineering student from Idaho Falls.

Bialke also presented research based on his senior design project. On behalf of his team, Terminal Velocity, Bialke's poster described a small spherical Teflon entry probe designed to launch on a sub-orbital rocket and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere at speeds up to 4 km/sec.

The probe currently is scheduled to launch in October with the Sub-Orbital Atmospheric REntry Experiments (SOAREX-VI) flight from Wallops Flight Center in eastern Virginia. The probe is being readied for flight by Manfull, Benton and Lane at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.

"The project was a great challenge to work on as a culmination of my engineering experience at the University of Idaho," said Bialke. "There aren't many opportunities like it available to undergraduate students. When I was at Bordeaux, the people I talked to were quite surprised to learn that a team of undergraduate students completed the project independently."

The Planetary Probe Workshops, co-created by Atkinson, are co-sponsored by the University of Idaho's College of Engineering, NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium, MRCI and the University of Idaho Research Office. For more information about the International Planetary Probe Workshop, contact Atkinson at atkinson@ece.uidaho.edu.

The NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium was established in 1991 as part of the NASA National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. Comprised of 22 higher education, non-profit, government and industry organizations, the ISGC serves as the voice of NASA in Idaho through statewide research and educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).