{"425831":{"#nid":"425831","#data":{"type":"news","title":"ASDL launches ACRUM, a year-long NASA collaboration","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAt first glance, ACRUM\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Esounds like\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;the plot of a Hollywood sci-fi flick.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter identifying and capturing an asteroid, ACRUM researchers must redirect it into a new orbital path (the moon\u2019s) so that scientists can study it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIn fact\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E, the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EA\u003C\/strong\u003Esteroid\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EC\u003C\/strong\u003Eapture,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003ER\u003C\/strong\u003Eetrieval,\u003Cstrong\u003EU\u003C\/strong\u003Etilization and\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EM\u003C\/strong\u003Eitigation (ACRUM) project is a very real NASA collaboration that launched this week at AE\u2019s Aerospace Systems Design Lab (ASDL).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the next year, research teams consisting of students and faculty from five universities and several high schools will tackle the asteroid problem using the Innovative Conceptual Engineering Design (ICED) methodology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHollywood\u2019s had its take on this,\u201d said Charles Camarda, Ph.D., the former astronaut who heads up ACRUM for NASA. \u201cBut this is not a Hollywood movie. It\u2019s real. And months from now, NASA will get nuggets of gold from the research that these teams will do.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022275\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00225\u0022 align=\u0022right\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EImpressive.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThat was how Georgia Tech President G.P. \u0022Bud\u0022 Peterson described ACRUM at the kick-off event. \u0022From the scope of the project - redirecting an asteroid - to the make-up of the research teams - from high school students to NASA experts - this is an impressive project, one that embodies what Georgia Tech is all about.\u0022\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECamarda made those remarks during ACRUM\u2019s 2014 kick-off event, August 11, where dozens of educators and graduate students from across the country gathered at Georgia Tech to review the year-long ACRUM agenda.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA veteran of several very successful NASA ventures, Camarda urged listeners to attack the ACRUM challenge with an unorthodox approach.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFailure is your friend,\u0022 he said more than once. \u0022You need to fail in order to succeed. That\u2019s how you understand the limits of your analysis. That\u2019s how you get a better concept.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo back up his claim, Camarda cited a couple of real-world examples where major and very costly aerospace projects were derailed at the last moment because engineers had not allowed themselves to explore possible failures earlier in the project timeline.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022300\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00221\u0022 align=\u0022right\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIt\u0027s also about collaboration.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cem\u003ECamarda relished the opportunity to connect with graduate students from Georgia Tech, Wright State, Virginia Tech, NYU, and Washington University, who came to ASDL\u0026nbsp;this\u0026nbsp; week to learn more about the ACRUM\u0026nbsp;agenda.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ICED methodology addresses this pitfall by emphasizing aggressive and multiple concept generations at the front-end of a project. From there, components can be subjected to rigorous testing and analysis, where failure becomes fodder for an optimized concept.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI want you to fail quickly, often, cheaply and intelligently. You need to think of all the ways a system will fail at the component level, not the prototype level, and test them. You need to come up with an alternative that doesn\u2019t have the same problems,\u201d Camarda explained.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe alternative is to be slow, infrequent, and dumb. That\u2019s where it gets expensive. And that\u2019s where programs get killed before they have been fully explored.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022310\u0022 border=\u00223\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00221\u0022 align=\u0022right\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EInvest in the problem.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEarly.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cem\u003ECamarda estimates about 70% of a project\u0027s overall cost will be defined in the concept generation phase, where researchers typically spend only 1% of their time. Comarda advised ACRUM participants to rethink these priorities.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECamarda said this model is often lost on more rigid work environments, but that it shows great promise for the next generation of engineers \u2013 the target audience of ACRUM. The key, he said, is to address every thoughtful critique and explore every reasonable solution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELithia Springs High School math teacher Jonathan Freeman said Camarda\u2019s approach is ideal for developing persistence in young minds.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe idea that failure is okay will help us get through to our kids,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of them are paralyzed by their own perfectionism. Or arrogance. This will get them to get beyond failure, to come up with new ideas.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt Georgia Tech, ASDL research engineers will take on the ACRUM challenge, working with undergrads and connecting with high school faculty to push the research forward. Throughout the year, they will have access to subject matter experts (SMEs) at NASA, and will be supported by industry partners, like Boeing and Siemans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022300\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00221\u0022 align=\u0022right\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EImpressed with Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cem\u003ECamarda decided that AE\u0027s ASDL\u0026nbsp;would make a great collaborator for ACRUM when he visited the\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ae.gatech.edu\/node\/1430\u0022\u003EAerosPACE\u0026nbsp;competition\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;held in Georgia in April. He is seen here addressing the students at that competition.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is a natural fit for ASDL, which is always looking to increase its STEM outreach,\u201d said Charles Domercant, Ph.D., the ASDL research engineer who is heading up the GT-ACRUM project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt will also give us a relevant, real-world problem that will pull in undergraduates. And all of this will give our graduate students great opportunities for leadership development.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EASDL Director Dimitri Mavris echoed Domercant\u2019s observations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis project will teach students to not be so school-centric, where the teacher tells them what they need to know,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat is important, because, when they graduate, they\u2019ll have to work in organizations where they will have to know how to communicate, how to survive failure before they own success.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Check out\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/117948618@N08\/sets\/72157646347392406\/\u0022\u003Ethis slideshow\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;of Camarda\u0027s visit with ACRUM\u0026nbsp;participants.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/117948618@N08\/sets\/72157646347392406\/\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026nbsp;","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"For the next year, research teams consisting of students and faculty from five universities and several high schools will tackle the asteroid problem using the Innovative Conceptual Engineering Design (ICED) methodology."}],"uid":"27456","created_gmt":"2015-07-16 14:15:58","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:08","author":"Britanny Grace","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-08-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-08-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1239","name":"School of Aerospace Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"135551","name":"ACRUM"},{"id":"100921","name":"ASDL"},{"id":"408","name":"NASA"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["communications@ae.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}