UCCS Students Present Cutting-Edge Research at AIAA Region V Conference

Students from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) and Pikes Peak State College (PPSC) participated in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Region V Student Paper Conference, held April 3–4 at the University of Minnesota. This annual conference brings together students and faculty from across Region V, which includes Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and portions of Canada.

Undergraduate Individual Presentation

Kinzy Pearson, an Aerospace Engineering major, represented UCCS in the Undergraduate Individual category. She presented her research titled “Space Debris That Isn't Debris – Cybersecurity Analysis on Hidden Space Structures.” Her work explores the cybersecurity challenges posed by unidentified or disguised structures in orbit, which may not be considered traditional "debris" but could present significant risks.

Undergraduate Team Presentation

Three students, Joseph Bate (Physics), Evan Martin (Aerospace Engineering), and Cody Leeper (Engineering, Pikes Peak State College)—presented in the Undergraduate Team category. Their project, titled “Fungal Bioleaching in Microgravity: Fungal Approaches to Metal Recovery,” investigates the use of fungi to extract metals in microgravity environments.

Excitingly, this experiment is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year, where it will operate for a few weeks. The research could have meaningful implications for sustainable resource extraction in space.

Award-Winning Research: Sound of Crickets Project

Anna Daetz, a Mechanical Engineering major, presented her Senior Design team’s work titled “Sound of Crickets: Design of Experimental System for Analysis of the Effects of Rocket Launch on Acheta domesticus Cricket Eggs” in the Undergraduate Team category. Her team earned 2nd place in the category.

This interdisciplinary project is part of the NASA RockSat-C program, which launches student experiments on sounding rockets from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to the Kármán line (100 km above Earth). The project’s main goal is to design an Environmental Control Chamber (ECC) to preserve Acheta domesticus (house cricket) eggs during the extreme conditions of rocket launch and suborbital flight. The purpose is to investigate the viability of using crickets as a sustainable protein food source for long duration space missions.

The primary experiment is being developed by the UCCS senior design team. The control experiment will be assembled by high school students at Widefield High School in collaboration with Widefield School District 3 (WSD3). This partnership also helps provide funding and exposes younger students to real-world STEM research.

This research is groundbreaking, as there is currently no experimental data regarding how rocket launches affect cricket egg development. If crickets are to be used in future space missions, understanding their post-launch viability is essential. This mission will fly in June 2025.

UCCS students Evan Martin, Joseph Bate, Kinzy Pearson, and Anna Daetz with faculty advisor Dr. Lynnane George

For more information on any of these projects, contact Dr. Lynnane George at lgeorge2@uccs.edu.