MAE Colloquium: Kristina Lemmer
Location
B11 Kimball Hall B11 Kimball Hall
Description
Talk: From Electric Space Propulsion to Mass Spectrometry to Satellite Design: An Overview of Research at Western Michigan University’s Aerospace Laboratory for Plasma Experiments
Abstract: In the Aerospace Laboratory for Plasma Experiments (ALPE), we research a wide variety of topics related to aerospace engineering, charged particle dynamics, and plasma dynamics. Electric propulsion is the main area of interest with projects including the study of hollow cathode dynamics, electrical facility effects, plume diagnostic development, and ionic liquid electrospray. In addition, we study atmospheric plasma discharges and are currently developing a miniature mass trap analyzer. Dr. Lemmer is also the faculty mentor for the Western Aerospace Launch Initiative (WALI), a student organization that is a member of the University Nanosatellite Program through the Air Force Research Laboratory. Their mission is to study single polarity electrospray thruster operation in space. Through this program, a student team is designing, testing, and building a 6U satellite to assess performance of an electrospray thruster operating in single polarity and the associated spacecraft charging. This presentation will introduce the cutting edge research being performed in ALPE and WALI, including research methods, data analysis techniques, results, and a discussion of future research goals.
Bio: Kristina Lemmer received her Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2009. After that, she joined Western Michigan University where she is the director of the Aerospace Laboratory for Plasma Experiments and the Faculty mentor for the Western Aerospace Launch Initiative, a small satellite student design group. She is an Associate Fellow with the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Vice Chair of AIAA’s Electric Propulsion Technical Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of the Electric Rocket Propulsion Society. Dr. Lemmer is currently funded by NASA, the National