Students' Research Soars in Satellite Competition

Utah State University students presented their research to legislators at Undergraduate Research Day on Capitol Hill as part of the 2006 Legislative session Thursday, Jan. 26. Among those students was a team from mechanical aerospace engineering who presented a satellite they designed and built.

“Utah State believes that research is invaluable for a student’s intellectual growth and development,” said Joyce Kinkead, vice provost for undergraduate studies and research at Utah State. “Undergraduate research provides a unique hands-on experience that enhances learning and improves the value of students’ degrees.”

The satellite project is called TOROID, which stands for Tomographic Remote Observer of Ionsopheric Disturbances. TOROID is the third generation of satellites built under this program at Utah State.

The satellite operates much like a CAT scan or an MRI to collect extreme ultraviolet photon intensities through the equatorial region. The information is used by government agencies, including the Department of Defense, to track radio transmissions and interpret GPS and communication data. This sort of information allows a GI to better understand his location, as well as the location of the enemy.

Matthew Carney, a graduate student in electrical engineering, served as the project’s systems engineer. He began working in the program while pursuing his undergraduate degree. He said the project gave him experience and training that could not be taught in a classroom.

“This project allowed me to look beyond the details being taught in my classes and to look at the big picture,” said Carney.

The program consists of both undergraduate and graduate students. The graduate students focus primarily on project management and research, and the undergraduate students are the primary designers and testers on the project.

“While the undergraduate students may take direction from the graduate students, they are the ones making the design choices and actually implementing their designs,” said Carney. “So often, we design something for a class assignment, but it stays on paper. With a project like this, we make that design, but then it is manufactured and tested. It makes our college experience much more real and tangible.”

TOROID is part of a NASA and U.S. Air Force sponsored competition between 11 universities. The satellite that wins the competition will receive a free ride on a launch vehicle and be placed into low earth orbit. The purpose of the competition is to provide workforce training through design and fabrication of a satellite and to develop the small satellite technology area.

The findings of undergraduate research enhance Utah State’s reputation as a research institution and make significant contributions to the state’s economy and intellectual capital.

“Research programs provide an unparalleled education opportunity for Utah’s deserving students,” said Stan L. Albrecht, president of Utah State. “They create technologies, jobs and skilled professionals for the statewide economy.”