Outreach to Young ladies

I just had the privilege of speaking to eight special young ladies (elementary school aged) who were brought to UH by their teacher to talk to them a little about engineering and science.
My main example was, of course, the balloon research science I am currently doing right now!

Attached here is the slideshow presentation I showed them:


They were very curious girls and had lots of questions for me, which I was very happy to answer. I wanted to make it clear to them I had been a little girl just like them, and that in many ways I still am. I talked about what I love to do and what I like to learn about, and that I got into engineering so I could solve problems.
I didn't talk about math, and I didn't use the word science except maybe twice the entire hour I was speaking to them.
Instead, we had a two-minute dance party to finish off my presentation to the requested song of, "Everything is Awesome!" from the Lego Movie.

I taught them how to do the UH "Whose House?" chant. I talked to them about engineering, and how it's in space, underneath our feet, and even inside of our bodies. They had wonderful feedback for me, such as, "Do you think that the Earth is kind of like an engineer, um, because it helps people to live?" to which I thoughtfully responded that yes, yes I do think the Earth is kind of like an engineer.
Some were very talkative, others needed to be coaxed. Some of them didn't know what they wanted to do, one wanted to be an archaeologist, and another wanted to be an actress when she grew up.

By the end of the talk I mentioned that I do this even with high school kids, and since I had talked to them a little about what Industrial Engineering was, they might know more than some high school students!

I talked about how college was a hard four years to commit to and that deciding to do so was important and felt really good to be near the end of graduating. And I mentioned that engineering classes won't leave you feeling bored by the end of it, because you will always be learning something new. Most of them responded very strongly to that - they don't like being taught things they already know!

I brought a few props: namely, my prototype breadboard and the "in package" prototype that I purchased from http://www.auroralchorus.com/wr3gx2.htm . I told them that I would be finding ways to listen to the light from the aurora borealis. That got them pretty excited.
And I noticed, it got ME pretty excited too. I'd never really thought about what I was doing in that way before. From the big picture viewpoint, what I'm doing is incredibly exciting, and I don't think 10 year old me would have ever guessed I would *REALLY* get a chance to do this.

What a wonderful opportunity! I am so thankful I got to be a part of teaching those girls a little bit about the big world of engineering.

I am hoping to follow up with the same group of students after we come back from Alaska, so I can show them some of the results of what we did.

Log for Jan 18, 2015

Mostly administrative stuff accomplished today. We are scrambling to get everyone's schedules organized, and determine what times we can all meet throughout the next few weeks.

It's a late night here for me. We should all be anticipating more and more of these, since our deadlines are not moving, and our personal lives (not to mention exam schedule) will continue to get in the way.

Cheers to all the late-night workers.

See you guys tomorrow!

-Rachel Gamblin

Crazy Friday! (Jan 16)

WHEEEEW! These past two days have been crazy.
Today is Friday. Classes start on Tuesday. I ordered cabling yesterday. We're looking for houses in Alaska. We're figuring out everyone's scheduling. we're planning regular meetings. We're finalizing payload structures.

I was here last night with Chris and Michelle til 7pm.
I'm here in the lab now with Hamza, Arian, Daniel Canales, and Dr. Bering. John just came in.

This is gonna be crazy next few weeks!

-Rachel Gamblin

Log [12/09/2014]

Log [12/09/2014]:
It's finals week, which is a mixed bag for most of us. Some are completely done with finals, or the end is in sight, so we have more time to devote to the project. Others are swamped and virtually unreachable. We send out our best wishes to our team, and to all other students going through the finals-week(s) struggle!

We have had some progress and updates this week so far, so here we go! 

Data:

Poster update: We did a mock presentation of our first draft of the poster that John, Erika, Daniel Canales, and Hamza will be taking to the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting in San Francisco next week. We got some great feedback and are looking into finalized printing options.

John Cao and Erika Marrero do a review our AGU poster with Dr. Dunbar and Dr. Bering

SD Shield update: We believe it was a hardware error (or soldering problem) that caused out heartache from Thanksgiving. Using another Adafruit datalogger shield we have successfully initialized the SD card and ran a very simple example sketch.

ADC Shield update: We have been fighting with the Iowa Scaled Engineering ADC shield and being baffled by the lack of response when we run the basic sketch that comes with the library. After a weekend of confusion, we verified that one of the jumpers on the board was misarraged. With that mystery solved, it is now time to delve into the library code and learn how to use this two-in-one multiplexer and analog-to-digital converter!

VLF Update: I worked with Dr. Bering today to get to work on the OrCAD layout file. We started from the OrCAD Capture project file, specifically the schematic: where we specific the type of connector I wanted to put into the circuit. However, when we tried to look at the footprint (i.e. the actual shape we wanted for the connector and where it should go on the board) using OrCAD layout, there was a conversion error. Dr. Bering understands what happened better than I do. We'll get back at it tomorrow.

DC EF Update: I'm not smart enough to understand what Chris is doing, but he says he feels really good about the work he's been able to get done with him and Dr. Bering in the lab at the same time, so I'm excited to his end result! He also is optimistic about having a test-able device by January 11th.

Goals For Next Few Days:
- Get ADC shield for Arduino to intake multiple sensors and write to SD card shield (test using power supplies)

- Finalize poster layour

- Print poster

Written By:
Rachel Gamblin (USIP-UH member)

Meet the USIP-UH Team

Ever wonder who the future researchers of tomorrow are? What they look like? What they study and what they do after class? Well here's a psot devoted specifically to you! And anyone else who might be interested in who is behind all this balloon science.

From left to right in the photo, going through the back row, and then looping back from right to left in the front is:

Daniel Canales:

Likes biking, moutaineering, and working hard as a mule. Studying Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Houston.

Sikender Shahid:

Likes coding in his spare time. Arduino projects and Codecademy? Basically a pass-time for him. Studying Biomedical Engineering at the University of Houston.

Edgar Bering:

(wait! He's not a student! ...Check him out here: http://nsmn1.uh.edu/ebering/ )

Hamza Ahmad:

DotA 2 fiend. Studying Electrical Engineering at the University of Houston.

Chris Bias:

Nintendo DS fiend, and an all-around jolly old chap! Best hand-writing of any guy on campus. Studying Physics and Math (double major!) at the University of Houston.

John Cao:

A guy who speaks softly, but jokes strongly. Studying Environmental Science at the University of Houston.

Erika Marrero:

Strong lady who isn't afraid to tell it like it is. Studying Geosciences at the University of Houston.

 Daniel Hermosillo:

Likely to be found any given day on campus. Studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Houston.

Michelle Nowling:

Michelle is new to the team, but she is diving right in with her astronomy based project to be revealed this Friday. She has her very own website detailing all about the cool research she has already been apart of. We're so glad to have her on our team! Her website: http://michellenowling.weebly.com/

 Rachel Gamblin: 

A senior in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Houston. She likes to swim and has a long term goal of competing in a triathlon before she is 25. More reliably, she tends plants in the UH greenhouse, and studies for exams in the Engineering Computing Center. Also she has a tendency to talk for long hours about the various projects she's working on, so for any questions about USIP-UH, being a SWE officer, or UH engineering in general, feel free to contact her at rbgamblin@uh.edu or at (832) 890-9731. She is (normally) very friendly, and always likes to help people out! Obligatory: She is also looking to start a mechanical engineering career in the Aerospace industry.

Megan Pina (gray UH shirt):

Likely to be found saving a dog in need or putting out a family fire any given day. Studying Geosciences at the University of Houston.

Houston- we have a launch!

We don't launch rockets, we launch balloons. Sometimes those balloons have VLF wave recorders, sometimes they have arduinos, and sometimes they have air-tight Astrobiology sample catchers!
We had a launch just today with our very own Daniel Canales, the leader of the Astrobiology team which is attempting to create a device that will help look for creatures (generally microscopic in size) who can survive the incredibly harsh environments of the magnetosphere.

Check out the video here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOpdsAu_lxU&feature=youtu.be

The balloon went up... and then came back down. Into a rancher's yard! Negotiations ensued to retrieve the scientific device (and data!) from the rancher.

All's well that end's well, and now we are patiently awaiting the results from Daniel's report about this test flight!

Arduino logging shield woes

Worked with John Cao today trying to continue the work that Hamza and I did on Friday.

What we did on Friday:
We used a stack (Arduino UNO base, then Adafruit Datalogger shield on top, then ARD-LTC2499 shield on top of that) and connected a sensor (Gaseous Compounds NO2 sensor, which has two HI outputs and two LO outputs). SD card used was SDHC 32GB.
We powered the sensor through the 3.3V port on Arduino pins (SPI bus??), and connected all the GRND to various ground ports.
Then we put the HI inputs to the analog channels (A1 and A2) on the ARD-LTC shield. We used the basic example sketch that came with the ARD-LTC and its corresponding libraries.
Hamza set the output of the gaseous sensor to one of the pins and viewed the output on the serial monitor. He was getting 1's not the actual data, so we think it was right, but we're not sure.

What we did today (Monday):
We used the same stack described above, and tried get the SD card to work.
We used the "Datalogger" sketch example, set the CS pin to 10, and got the error "Card missing" telling us that it didn't initialize properly.
We used the SD card adapter to plug into my laptop and reformatted the card. We got the same error when we tried again.
We used the "Checkcard" sketch example, and got the same initialization error.
We used a different stack (Arduino UNO base, then Adafruit GPS+logger shield on top) and ran the "Checkcard" sketch example on this stack (which had a different SD card in it, SDHC 8GB) and it worked, revealing the file names and dates stored on the card.
We switch in the 32GB card to this new stack, and the "Checkcard" sketch example also worked.
We did NOT do any work with the MUX/ADC shield or code. Plan is to do that tomorrow with Hamza again.


So... It looks like there is an hardware defect with the Datalogger shield. Unless there is some connection the shield that we have to make in order for it to work that we are forgetting?? Which is a bummer, because it seems like we should buy more Datalogger shields, but what if they're just bad-quality shields with bad manufacturing? Or what if they're so delicate that we will regularly break them? I don't think this should be such a big mystery...

-Rachel Gamblin

July 18th

Okay, we’re getting really close to the August test flight, everyone!

What’s Flying

Radiosonde

VLF Detector

Who’s Going

Hamza Ahmad

Erika Marrero

Daniel Canales

Rachel Gamblin

Darrell Anderson (ground support)

We still need to finish the MRR and the CDR. These need to be done in less than a week. Anyone not working on anything needs to obtain information and help put these together. If you have questions while you’re putting a slide together, ask them. Ask the whole experiment team, too; if someone is working and cannot answer, someone else may be able to. This is why we have the GroupMe chat.

We’ve made a lot of progress in the past two weeks and we’re really kicking it into high gear. But it needs to stay in high gear or else all of our hard work will be useless. If you cannot attend a meeting in person, please attend online. If you have currently filed for being unable to attend at all on a certain day please make sure to catch up with both the project management team and your own teams. If you are having issues and the project needs to take a backseat, even for two days, project management needs to know. Rachel and Daniel are happy to work with you if you’re putting serious effort into this project and something comes up. But they can’t work with you if they don’t know what’s going on. They need to be able to plan things and they can’t unless they know who’s on board.

Do your best to keep up with your Asana, it’s where I get these progress updates from. If they’re wrong, edit your team’s Asana and then email me. Those with no updates are ones that have not been edited in weeks, and I do not currently know their status.

Project Updates

VLF Detector: The team is currently assembling their prototype to put on the August 2^nd flight.

Gaseous Compounds: The team is currently compiling the radiosonde to send on the August 2^nd flight.

DC EF/Conductivity: The team is currently working on a circuit design, and plans to order it once it is finalized.

Spectroscopy: The team is currently discussing a project transfer. Details will be given once obtained.

Particle Detector: The team is currently attempting to order parts via Dr. Pinsky, and they are completing their calculations of the Simpsons rule with two pieces of software to ensure their results are accurate.

Astrobiology: The team is currently planning a full test in the lab on July 30^th, in order to be able to fly on the August launch.

TEC: (No update available)

Star Tracker: (No update available)

June 9th-16th

Okay, we've had a pretty hectic week past few weeks, and everyone can agree we have not been communicating. We have to communicate, people. If you're not receiving emails, make sure everyone has your correct email address. If you're paranoid, send a test email, make sure you receive a response. 

We have an August 2nd deadline. We have to make it. We do not have another option. We can make it if we budget time accordingly and talk to each other more. If you cannot make a meeting in person, please please please get on the Google hangout on the appropriate time and give someone (a faculty member) a time you will come to them and give a status update. If you don't know what times are good, ask. We have a vested interest, so do they. Sometimes we can't make meetings, which stinks, but it is a reality. That being said, don't make it a habit. If something comes up at the last minute and you cannot be there in person, get on the Google hangout. There is an app for the iPhone and iPad (for people who have these devices, yes, it is free) and it is easy to access on the computer otherwise. I do not know about Android devices but I will find out and edit this when I have. If you know you cannot make it in advance, notify the appropriate people and schedule to give a personal status update some other time during the week, preferably within two or three days.

Group communication is becoming a problem. Groups aren't talking amongst themselves or to each other. We will not make our deadline like this. Some people are being inundated with work while others who could be helping are sitting there twiddling their thumbs because no one has given them anything to do. During lab time, if you find yourself under-tasked, ask a group leader or faculty member what needs doing (they will have something, believe me, or they can direct you to someone who needs assistance). If you find yourself over-tasked, tell a faculty member or a project leader so they can assign someone to help you.

Alright, now with that out of the way, I have our status updates.

• Gaseous Compounds: A team member is procuring the UPOD from Colorado June 16th. On June 20th, they plan to retrofit it into a much lighter container, calibrate the sensors, determine methods for thermal insulation, and then use these methods to implement insulation in the container. Their planned test flight is Jul 2nd.
• TEC: The team plans to start testing their ordered model so they can be prepared for a test flight on June 30th.
• VLF: Upcoming tasks for VLF include making a VLF Gantt chart, filling out the VLF PDR questions, purchasing the iPod, choosing an appropriate antenna, observing the transfer function frequency response, reading the VLF design paper and then assembling everything with the Arduino.
• Spectroscope: A prototype telescope is built, we still need to mount a diffraction grating and sensor to it. The objective lens and ocular lens have been ordered. Three more lenses and a diffraction grating still need to be ordered. PVC pipe and styrofoam are being considered as possible materials for the casing of the instrument.
• Particle detector: The team is currently waiting on information from Dr. Pinsky on a new medipex sensor. They are in talks with Mr. Garbino about a particle detector and Raspberry pi combination. A Window Shield is being developed so the device can be handled with better care and the attenuation is being calculated.
• Star tracker: The executive decision has been made to use a Raspberry pi instead of an Arduino for image processing. The micro-schedule on Asana has been structured, and the necessary hardware components have been ordered. The team is now working on compiling the steps for a decent algorithm, and plan to use four or five reference documents.
• CPU: The team is currently reviewing their order list.
• Astrobiology: The team is currently replacing a part, which they expect to be replaced by June 18th. Along with that they are gathering various supplies needed for their instrument in order t begin lab testings in July.
• DC EF/Conductivity: The team is currently ordering parts and determining the power requirements. Soon they will move on to the circuit schematic and designing the layout so they can order a board with Surface Mount Technology.
• Telemetry: The team is currently reviewing their order list and discussing whether to have the telemetry system work through i-Met code or a new code.
  
  
  We have test flights planned for whatever projects are ready August 2nd through August 9th in New Mexico. Do your best to have your projects ready. The more we can fly, the better- it means if we messed up, then we know and don't have to panic last minute next year. Hope everyone had fun at the beach party!

Seventeenth-Twentieth USIP Round-Table Meetings

Log Week 23-26 [03/01/2014 - 03/22/2014]:
An online class is set up to cover the basics of individual science experiments. Lab hours became mandatory and all payloads were asked to finish their block diagrams.

Things To Expect:
- A new Google poll has been posted (link).
- Online lecture every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Dr. Bering.
- Expect a lecture on atmospheric science on Monday from Dr. Lefer.
- Meeting with Dr. Lefer on Friday.
- Planning to be done with PDR/CDR sometime later (No ETA on this).
- Hopefully, we will be able to host our site on NSM server as soon as we get an approval from the department.
- Visit Doodle Poll and let us know your availability (link).
- Visit our Google Calendar for specifics and timely updates.

Written By:
Abdul K. Siddiqui (USIP-UH member)

Sixteenth USIP Round-table Meeting

Log Week 21 [02/22/2014]:
Dr. Bering joined us in the meeting and we decided to break up the telemetry/wind vector/navigation team into CPU and well, navigation. We seem to be back in high gears.

Things To Expect:
- A case study from CPU and Navigation team.
- A new Google poll has been posted (link).
- Expect a lecture on atmospheric science on Monday from Dr. Lefer.
- Meeting with Dr. Lefer on Friday.
- Planning to be done with PDR/CDR sometime later (No ETA on this).
- Hopefully, we will be able to host our site on NSM server as soon as we get an approval from the department.
- Visit Doodle Poll and let us know your availability (link).
- Visit our Google Calendar for specifics and timely updates.

Written By:
Abdul K. Siddiqui (USIP-UH member)

Fifteenth USIP Round-table Meeting

Log Week 20 [02/16/2014]:
All the payloads were discussed and requirements for each once again examined. We are still seeking more collaboration amongst groups with similar to redundant data to fit that in narrow bandwidth.

We watched an educational movie about the balloon launch at the end of the meeting and will continue to do so for the lifetime of the project.

Things To Expect:
- A new Google poll has been posted (link).
- Expect a lecture on atmospheric science on Monday from Dr. Lefer.
- Meeting with Dr. Lefer on Friday.
- Planning to be done with PDR/CDR sometime later (No ETA on this).
- Hopefully, we will be able to host our site on NSM server as soon as we get an approval from the department.
- Visit Doodle Poll and let us know your availability (link).
- Visit our Google Calendar for specifics and timely updates.

Written By:
Abdul K. Siddiqui (USIP-UH member)

Fourteenth USIP Round-table Meeting

Log Week 19 [02/09/2014]:
A vote has been taken on groupme and the status meeting is now moved to every Sunday instead of Saturday.
We discussed about PDR and doing each PDR separately for each individual payload and then combine them in the end. But that turns out to be counter-productive or maybe what we decided in the meeting that only one person will be responsible for typing the whole thing with everyone's help.
We watched a movie about the balloon launch at the end of the meeting and will continue to do so for educational purposes.

Meeting with CSBF/NASA took over this Monday(02/10). Notes will be posted on Google drive.

Things To Expect:
- A new Google poll has been posted (link).
- Expect a lecture on atmospheric science on Monday from Dr. Lefer.
- Meeting with Dr. Lefer on Friday.
- Planning to be done with PDR/CDR sometime later (No ETA on this).
- Hopefully, we will be able to host our site on NSM server as soon as we get an approval from the department.
- Visit Doodle Poll and let us know your availability (link).
- Visit our Google Calendar for specifics and timely updates.

Written By:
Abdul K. Siddiqui (USIP-UH member)

Twelveth & Thriteenth USIP Meeting

Log Week 17-18 [01/26/2014 - 02/01/2014]:
Usual on-going round-table meetings seemed to be a step forward towards the efficiency of the entire team.
The team volunteered for junior robotics competition on 01/25. Also, microbes team got in touch with NASA astro-biology staff.

Things To Expect:
- A new Google poll has been posted (link).
- Telemetry team driving this February 10th for a meeting with CSBF/NASA.
- Expect a lecture on atmospheric science on Monday from Dr. Lefer.
- Meeting with Dr. Lefer on Friday.
- Planning to be done with PDR/CDR sometime later (No ETA on this).
- Hopefully, we will be able to host our site on NSM server as soon as we get an approval from the department.
- Visit Doodle Poll and let us know your availability (link).
- Visit our Google Calendar for specifics and timely updates.

Written By:
Abdul K. Siddiqui (USIP-UH member)

Eleventh USIP Meeting

Log Week 16 [01/18/2014]:
The meeting discussed about the trip to Palestine, TX and current progress of all aspects of the project. Pictures were also taken of individual members (will be posted soon). One member left the group due to coming graduation date and relocation.

Things To Expect:
- A new Google poll has been posted (link).
- Telemetry team driving this February 10th for a meeting with CSBF/NASA.
- Expect a lecture on atmospheric science on Monday from Dr. Lefer.
- Meeting with Dr. Lefer on Friday.
- Planning to be done with PDR/CDR sometime later (No ETA on this).
- Hopefully, we will be able to host our site on NSM server as soon as we get an approval from the department.
- Visit Doodle Poll and let us know your availability (link).
- Visit our Google Calendar for specifics and timely updates.

Written By:
Abdul K. Siddiqui (USIP-UH member)

Tenth USIP Meeting

Log Week 15 [01/11/2014]:
Several things were discussed in the meeting from different payloads to general topics. Dr. Bering and Dr. Dunbar also attended the meeting and stressed on more student to student and student to teacher interactions. We also gained two new students in the project.

There was a meeting on gaseous compounds this last Friday with Dr. Lefer. If you are interested in learning more about atmospheric science, please attend Dr. Lefer's meetings/lectures on Monday at 9:00am and/or on Fridays at 1:00pm.

Current Team Members:
Daniel H.
Rachel G.
Diego G.
Abdul S.
Alyssa N.
John C.
Chris B.
Dominic M.
Mo H.
Megan P.
Daniel C.
Daniel S.
Erika M.
Hamza A.
Arian E.

Things To Expect:
- Telemetry team driving this February for a meeting with CSBF/NASA.
- Expect a lecture on atmospheric science on Monday.
- Meeting with Dr. Lefer on Friday.
- Planning to be done with PDR/CDR sometime later (No ETA on this).
- Hopefully, we will be able to host our site on NSM server as soon as we get a approval from the department.
- Re-visit Doodle Poll and let us know your availability (link).
- Visit our Google Calendar for specifics and timely updates.

Written By:
Abdul K. Siddiqui (USIP-UH member)

No Meeting Held

Log Week 13-14 [12/28/2013 - 01/04/2014]:
No activity during the weekend except a lecture from Dr. Coster on Friday Jan. 3rd. She talked about the possible inclusion of Total Electron Content payload and its applications.

Things To Expect:
- Dr. Bering is back in town, best chance to approach him (if you have not already done so).
- Planning to be done with PDR/CDR sometime later (No ETA on this).
- Hopefully, we will be able to host our site on NSM server as soon as we get a approval from the department.
- Re-visit Doodle Poll and let us know your availability (link).
- Visit our Google Calendar for specifics and timely updates.

Written By:
Abdul K. Siddiqui (USIP-UH member)

Ninth USIP Meeting

Log Week 12 [12/21/2013]:
This meeting was focused on Sub-Group leaders and where they need to report (Please email managers for specifics). It was also mentioned that (as per the Telecon with carrier) there will be a face-to-face meeting coming this January.

Things To Expect:
- Dr. Coster will discuss about Total Electron Content, lookout for a meeting soon.
- Planning to be done with PDR/CDR sometime later (No ETA on this).
- Hopefully, we will be able to host our site on NSM server as soon as we get a approval from the department.
- Re-visit Doodle Poll and let us know your availability after exams (link).
- Visit our Google Calendar for specifics and timely updates.

Written By:
Abdul K. Siddiqui (USIP-UH member)

No Meeting Held

Log Week 11 [12/14/2013]:
No meeting was held as mentioned in the previous blog. 
Moved PDR/CDR dates down further and also, there will be slight change in how team will operate.
Got back in touch with NASA staff.
Hopefully, we will be able to host our site on NSM server.

Things To Expect:
- Carrier conference rescheduled for 12/17/2013.
- Dr. Coster will discuss about Total Electron Content, lookout for a meeting soon.
- Planning to be done with PDR/CDR sometime later (No ETA on this).
- Re-visit Doodle Poll and let us know your availability after exams (link).
- Visit our Google Calendar for specifics and timely updates.

Written By:
Abdul K. Siddiqui (USIP-UH member)

Eighth USIP Meeting

Log Week 10 [12/07/2013]:
The focus of the meeting revolved around non-participating members and to recruit members that can be of benefit to the team.
More people get a feel of what type of information is expected from them, for PDR specific purposes.

Things To Expect:
- There will be no meeting on December 14th due to exams instead only managers meet.
- Carrier conference rescheduled for 12/17/2013.
- Dr. Coster is arriving in Houston to discuss about Total Electron Content, lookout for a meeting soon.
- Planning to be done with PDR by the end of December.
- Re-visit Doodle Poll and let us know your availability after exams (link).
- Visit our Google Calendar for specifics and timely updates.

Written By:
Abdul K. Siddiqui (USIP-UH member)