Writer: Allison Brady, engr_media@nmsu.edu
When spacecraft re-enters Earth’s atmosphere we need materials that can withstand the extreme temperatures achieved above 8,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Ablative materials are a solution to this problem in which the material burns away in a controlled manner protecting the spacecraft and the payload.
New Mexico State University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering recently hosted the 16th International Ablation Workshop for the second consecutive time. The workshop is a three-day forum that aims to connect researchers, government representatives and industry professionals to discuss advancements in ablation technologies and give researchers a chance to present their own findings.
Francisco Torres Herrador, an assistant professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the local organizer for the workshop, said the workshop allows for the exchange of ideas between participants.
“In this workshop, we have just one speaker talk at a time,” Torres Herrador said. “In bigger conferences, you have parallel sessions. That makes it harder for people to have conversations because you have to be running from one place to the other all the time, while here we all are in the same room. Then we take the same breaks; it creates a lot of opportunities for conversations.”
Along with the speakers at the event, students also had the chance to show their work at the International Ablation Workshop during a poster session.
Angel de Jesus Zuniga Ramirez, a NMSU mechanical engineering graduate student, was one of the many students who were able to present their work at the conference. He said he was able to connect with experts in ablation to help him in his own research.
“While ablation is not the main focus of my research, I was able to connect with people with similar interests to me in the hypersonic fluid flows field,” de Jesus Zuniga Ramirez said. “I was able to present my work to a very qualified audience and get feedback from them, including researchers from NASA, Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory.”
The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace has focused efforts on increasing the number of attendees. Since last year, the Ablation Workshop has increased attendance by 50%. This year’s conference hosted around 150 participants from 49 different institutions. Researchers from across the United States and Europe traveled to Las Cruces for the workshop.
Support from the New Mexico Space Grant, the New Mexico Consortium, and companies Liberty Fusion, AMA, HyFAR-ARA, SNL and Spaceport America allowed NMSU to cover the cost of attending more accessible.
“General registration was only $300, including all the meals; it is very low compared to most other conferences,” Torres Herrador said. “For students, it was even lower, a $75 registration fee. In fact, most students from New Mexico institutions and UTEP were able to participate for free thanks to our sponsors. That’s very important because sometimes there is a barrier of cost. If students can attend for free, they can participate and engage in these areas.”
This year the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering put an emphasis on getting students, both graduate and undergraduate, to the workshop. Around 40% of the attendees this year were students.
Henry Larsen, an undergraduate mechanical engineering student, said he benefited from attending the International Ablation Workshop as a student.
“The workshop was an awesome experience,” Larsen said. “Being surrounded by such smart, genuine experts in such a niche field was great. Talking with these folks and witnessing their presentations certainly helped me gain a deeper understanding of my research. I think that there’s so much to be gained by attending workshops like this, such as the professional connections and advice, and seeing the application of complex sciences into new technology.”
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CUTLINE: Wyatt MacGregor, an undergraduate mechanical and aerospace engineering student; Koichi Masuda, the CEO of Liberty Fusion; and Hubert Quintana III, an undergraduate mechanical and aerospace engineering student, discuss a research poster. The research poster is a part of the poster session at the 16th International Ablations Workshop hosted by New Mexico State University. (NMSU photo by Vladimir Avina)
Description: Three people stand in front of a research poster board smiling.
CUTLINE: (The 16th International Ablation Workshop was New Mexico State University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering’s second consecutive year hosting the event. Engineers from across the United States and Europe visited Las Cruces to discuss the advancements being made in ablation and present their findings. (NMSU photo by Vladimir Avina)
Description: Attendees of the 16th Ablations Workshop pose for a photo.
CUTLINE: Fangjun Shu, professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering at New Mexico State University, speaks to a group of attendees of the 16th Ablation Workshop in the hypersonic research laboratory at NMSU. (NMSU photo by Vladimir Avina)
Description: A group of people listens to a speaker presenting in a laboratory.