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2. graduate school
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Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium
VOL.
Fall
NEWSLETTER
Supporting Annie Fisher STEM Magnet
…………….
School’s Participation in SSEP
FIND PICTURE
Student Spotlight: Amanda Zaleski
HERE
may ‘tip the balance’ besides
travel. With that inforUniversity of Connecticut in the Department of Kinesiology mation, Amanda will then be able to ask the big question,
and pursuing her degree in exercise science under the ad- “What can we do about it?”
Amanda states, “the CT Space Grant Fellowship is
visement of Dr. Linda Pescatello. To put it simply, exercise
the single mechanism that has afforded
science is the study of movement and
me the opportunity to expand upon this
the body’s response to it, whether
exciting line of research while allowing
that be on a cellular or a functional
me to pursue a terminal degree at Unilevel. Amanda’s path began as an unversity of Connecticut.” Specifically,
dergraduate Biology major and then
Amanda’s fellowship project is examining
she received her Master’s degree in
the influence of oral contraceptives on
Allied Health from the University of
blood clot risk in women who travel for
Connecticut in 2008. She has been
long periods of time. “Because a majorifortunate to work at Hartford Hospital
ty of women in the military and NASA
under Drs. Beth Taylor and Paul
Ms. Zaleski collecting data at the
take oral contraceptives for menstrual
Thompson.
Hartford Marathon finish line
suppression and regulation during mis“Dr. Taylor’s sister suffered a
medical tent
Inside the
Issue:
sions,
this line of research is highly releblood clot shortly after a cross country
1—K-12vant”,
STEMmentions
EducationAmanda.
Spotlight
flight after running a half marathon. This event precipitatFOCUS:
Energy
She statesCCAT
that their
findings
will provide imed our first research study in 2010 documenting marathon
2—K-12
STEM
Education
Spotlight
efficacious
interrunners who travel greater than 4 hours and compete in an portant preliminary data to establish
Ms.
Susan
Pedrick
ventions
to
reduce
blood
clot
risk
during
extended
travel,
event have increased levels of blood clotting factors in
3—Industrial
Internship Spotlight
particularly
in high-risk populations
such as
their blood compared
to runners who
compete
locally”,
Connecticut
Space
Grant
aviation
crew
members,
active
women,
mili- .
Lucas
Johnson
says Amanda.
.
College Consortium
and Recipients,
eventually everyday
4— Award
Affiliates & Contact Info
Since then, Amanda, Drs. Tay- tary personnel…
people
taking
commercial
flights
to space. 
lor, Pescatello and Thompson have
extended their collaborative research
PAGE 1
WWW.CTSPACEGRANT.ORG
to try to determine what other factors
Amanda is a first year doctoral student at the
“D es cription”
Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium
VOL. VII
SPRING 2015
Faculty Spotlight:
Jeremy (Zheng) Li, Ph.D.
Student Spotlight: Casey Beasley
Casey is a graduate student at the University of Hartford. Her interest in studying Prosthetics
and Orthotics was stimulated by an independent
study she completed her
senior year of high school
where she focused on upper extremity prosthetic
design and human anatomy. Since then, she has
been influenced and inspired to push on through
the graduate program by
the faculty at University of Hartford, clinical preceptors, her
supportive peers, and unmet needs of the upper extremity prosthetic patient population.
Casey was awarded a project grant, which was used as
seed funding for the Hartford Hand, a design project based
around developing the most biomimetic and anthropometrically
adjustable robotic end effector for prosthetic application.
Beasley states, “I chose the topic with the help of my advisor Dr.
Wininger and a strong preexisting interest in prosthetic design.
Prior to receiving the Project Grant we had been exploring this
area of prosthetic design as part of my honors independent
study project but had little means to produce definitive prototypes. Together we decided that while small in scope this project had the ability to have both an effect on the lives of patients as well as the way the prosthetics industry views patient
priorities.”
By the end of spring, Casey will be walking away from
her project with a host of new skills such as rapid prototyping,
dissemination of research, and most importantly with the ability
to foster relationships for interdisciplinary collaboration.
Beasley gratefully describes, “Without the assistance of
the Connecticut Space Grant, development on the Hartford
Hand project would have been far more difficult and the opportunities to extend this project to the University community potentially would have been stunted on account of resources
alone.”
The project grant overall has not only assisted Beasley
and her project, but as well has led various team members to
receive more project funding, develop a basis of work leading to
nationally competitive scholarships, and created many opportunities to develop as professionals in the research world. 
WWW.CTSPACEGRANT.ORG
Li is a professor at the
University of Bridgeport in the
department of mechanical engineering. His research field of
study includes nanocoating technology, automation, automated
machinery system, automated
manufacturing systems, solar
energy system, structure analysis, and flow analysis. Previously,
Li has been granted 3 research
projects, published two books,
published seven book chapters,
35 journal papers, and 44 conference papers.
In Li’s current research project: Computer-aided Analysis and Experimental Study of Nanocoating Technology Applied
to NASA and US Aerospace Industry, Connecticut Space Grant
College Consortium has funded an amount of $20,000. Li states,
“The grant will be used to apply nanotechnology to the
aerospace products through fundamental and theoretical
studies, computational modeling and numerical analysis, and
prototype experiment on nanomaterial products to help
improving NASA’s existing research and engineering technique,
enhance product performance and prevent materials from
corroding in the products of U.S. aerospace industries, such as
flight engine blades and compartments.” He explains that the
development of new anti-corrosion technology is very important because corrosion problems have cost NASA and US
aerospace industry multi-billion dollars each year.
Applications of his research that are related to NASA’s
strategic enterprises in aerospace technology include space
product function in the International Space Station and the renovation of crew exploration vehicles. Li intends for his research
to assist US aerospace industry to design their products for a
more durable, energy-saving, and long life-cycle while making
them lighter in weight, safer in flight, higher in efficiency, and
more reliable in performance. The project will help US aerospace industries to ease product overall maintenance, meet
product quality, reduce backorders, and to improve reliability. Li
states that “five university students have been recruited to help
PI in fundamental model study, anti-corrosion mechanism analysis, computer-aided modeling, numerical simulation, and
prototype experiment to gain frontier research experience.”

PAGE 2
Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium
VOL. VII
Supporting Annie Fisher STEM Magnet
School’s Participation in SSEP
The Annie Fisher
STEM Magnet School
opened in August 2010 as
a Kindergarten through
eighth grade intra-district
magnet school. It brings
together students of different social, economic
and ethnic backgrounds, to create a rigorous learning environment rich in advanced academics through the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
The teaching staff at Annie Fisher STEM Magnet School has
participated in a three year training sequence with the Connecticut Science Center which is designed to seamlessly infuse inquiry
-based instruction into all core and specials content areas. The
inquiry approach allows for hands-on experiential learning where
students are guided through a process of questioning, investigating, and communicating their findings. The school has become a
state and national model in STEM education. In 2014, Annie Fisher STEM Magnet School had the highest science scores in the city
of Hartford and some of the highest scores in the state of CT.
This is a huge gain from a school where 6 years ago science was
almost nonexistent.
Annie Fisher STEM Magnet School, a national award winning
school, continues to seek opportunities that will enhance their
students STEM education. The Connecticut Space Grant Consortium will support and assist with funding the school and their participation in the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP)
for 2015. SSEP gives typically 300+ students across a community
the ability to design and fly real experiments into low Earth orbit,
first aboard the final flights of the Space Shuttle, and now on the
International Space Station (ISS)– America’s newest National
Laboratory.
In Mission 7, 366 students in grades K-8 will be fully immersed in SSEP program. Students in grades K-8 will participate
in mission patch competition in which the winning patch will fly
onboard the ISS. Students in grades 5-7 designed microgravity
environment experiments and wrote scientific proposals that
went through several review panels just like those used for research scientists. A minimum of 35 flight experiment proposals
are expected to be submitted by student teams.
Mission 7 will be the third flight experience for the community. Their first experiment flew on the final flight of the space
shuttle program and their second flight flew on another historic
launch, the first commercial flight to the ISS.
WWW.CTSPACEGRANT.ORG
SPRING 2015
Annie Fisher STEM Magnet School will partner with Betances
STEM Magnet School for the Mission Patch design portion of
SSEP Mission 7, and a total of 605 students in grades K-8 will
participate. 
Aircraft Readiness Workshop: A View
Through the Student’s Eye
Featuring Damaris Zachos
The Aircraft Readiness Workshop is hosted in Havlock, NC. It is
centered around introducing students
into the world of military aircraft and
the needs of the engineers starting in
that field. Before Damaris attended
the workshop, her academic goals
were to go into material creation for
sound attenuation. She mentions that
she had no intention of even trying
aerospace. Professor Thomas Filburn,
of University of Hartford, suggested
the workshop to her. Damaris describes, “He is not someone of
the acoustics department, but a professor who understood my
need for knowledge, and he knew I would give it a try because I
was still testing the waters of the potential engineering has.”
After the recommendation by Dr. Filburn, she was accepted into
the program and decided to join because, as Damaris states, she
“thought it would been an interesting topic to learn about.”
Damaris mentions how she finds out that acoustics and helicopter design go hand in hand, and that the program made her rethink what she wanted to do once her formal education was finished.
Damaris describes the entire week as a highlight:
“Anything and everything that I experienced was a blast. The
people I met were easy to get along with, everyone had such
potential and charisma, it made me really excited and proud to
say I was going to be an engineer. And is if that fun wasn’t
enough, there were plenty of additional exciting activities to
become involved in.” Damaris’ favorite part was the model plane
competition. For the competition, everyone was given the same
template for basic hull and wing design, but each group did
something completely different: “Some groups aimed for a more
sleek and military design, others aimed for more original material. It's hands on material like what I learned at ARW that make
me really want to be an engineer, and I can honestly say that was
one of the best weeks of my life.” 
PAGE 3
Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium
VOL. VII
SPRING 2015
Space Grant Award Recipients (Fall 2014)
Faculty Research Grants
Dr. Dana Casetti (SCSU)
Dr. Khaled Hammad (CCSU)
Industrial Internships
Anthony Mastromarino (UNH)
Stephen Mondak (UCONN)
Erica Primovic (Hartford)
Lucas Shearer (Hartford
Faculty Seed Research Grants
Dr. Jason Goldstein (ECSU)
Dr. James Greenwood (Wesleyan)
Dr. Neal Lewis (Bridgeport)
Student Project Grants
Devin Cody (Yale)
Phillip MacEachron (Yale)
Thomas O’Connor (CCSU)
Jessica Patrizi (ECSU)
Thomas J. Ryan (Yale)
Warren Zhang (Yale)
Faculty Collaboration Grant
Dr. Aaron Clark (SCSU)
Faculty Curriculum
Development
Dr. Sarah Tasneem (ECSU)
Faculty STEM Education Research Grants
Dr. Elizabeth Cowles (ECSU)
Dr. John Tapper (Hartford)
Faculty Travel Grants
Dr. Elizabeth Cowles (ECSU)
Dr. Jason Goldstein (ECSU)
Dr. Viatcheslav Naoumov (CCSU)
Associate Director:
Dr. Mary “Cater” Arico
Assistant Director:
Dr. Beth Taylor
Program Coordinator:
Janet Spatcher
Office Assistants:
Chris Cutler, Tyler Cottrell,
Erica Primovic - Newsletter
Author
860.768.4813
[email protected]
www.ctspacegrant.org
Community College Scholarships
Michael Bond (Gateway)
Brian Dignan (NVCC)
Margaret DuCasse (CCC)
Jonathan Granville (CCC)
William Sennett (Gateway)
Suzanne Wigglesworth (NVCC)
Brandon Wolcott (NVCC)
Senior Design Project Grants
Juan Murillo (CCSU)
Lisa Yamada (Trinity)
Undergraduate Travel Grants
Samuel Factor (Wesleyan)
Lisa Korn (Wesleyan)
Juan Murillo (CCSU)
Stephany Santos (UCONN)
Contact Info
Program Director:
Dr. Hisham Alnajjar
Undergraduate Directed Campus
Scholarships
Brittanie Albera (UNH)
Mohammad El-Abid (Bridgeport)
Joanna Grzymala (CCSU)
Adrian Gutierrez (Yale)
Jesse Lieman-Sifry (Wesleyan)
Jessica Patrizi (ECSU)
Patricia Santos (UCONN)
Luis Mauricio Uyaguari (Trinity)
Damaris Zachos (Hartford)
Academic Affiliates
Central Connecticut State University
Eastern Connecticut State University
Fairfield University
Southern Connecticut State University
Trinity College
University of Bridgeport
University of Connecticut
Univ. of Connecticut Health Center
University of Hartford
Non-Academic Affiliates
Connecticut Science Center
CCAT (Connecticut Center
for Advanced Technology)
Discovery Museum
Connecticut Invention
Convention
Connecticut Corsair
NEAM (New England
Air Museum)
University of New Haven
Wesleyan University
Yale University
Capital Community College
Gateway Community College
Housatonic Community College
Naugatuck Valley Community College
Three Rivers Community College
Tunxis Community College
Industrial Affiliates
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft
UTC Aerospace Systems
UTC Research
Sikorsky Aircraft
KAMAN Aerospace
Dymotek
Doncasters
Pioneer
Aerospace
Proton OnSite
CT Space Grant Lead Institution:
University of Hartford
200 Bloomfield Ave, West Hartford, CT 06117
WWW.CTSPACEGRANT.ORG