For the second year in a row, Ryan Udell, a senior in mechanical engineering (MECH), has received an honorable mention in the Distinguished Undergraduate Awards sponsored by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA).
Eleven honorable mentions were selected from 126 applicants representing 61 universities by a panel of faculty members from USRA’s member institutions. Participants must address questions in space research and exploration, with emphasis on astrophysics, astronomy and engineering, and demonstrate leadership abilities.
Since 2018, Udell has been the president of the Rice chapter of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS). The club developed OwlSat, one of 18 small research satellites, known as CubeSats, selected by NASA to serve as a payload in launches scheduled for the next three years. OwlSat is tentatively slated for liftoff in January 2022.
The satellite will contain sensors to monitor the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation emitted by the sun. Such emissions become more intense during periods of solar flaring, and can alter the path of satellites in low-Earth orbit.
USRA was founded in 1969 as a nonprofit corporation administered by the National Academy of Sciences. Membership now stands at 113 universities with graduate programs in space science or technology.