News

Congratulations, Aerospace Engineering Graduates!

Aerospace Engineering at Illinois welcomed 77 new alumni following Commencement ceremonies May 12.

Space Shuttle Veterans Altman, Nagel, Return to Campus for Talks

Aerospace Engineering alumni speak about their experiences on space missions.

Engineering at Illinois Students Enter Drone in National Challenge

AE students design small drone aircraft for national competition.

Farquhar to Receive College's Distinguished Alumnus Award

AE alumnus receives College of Engineering's Alumni Award for Distinguished Service.

New Energy Management Devices Protect Structures from Damaging Forces, Motions

Engineering at Illinois researchers attempt to mitigate damage from earthquakes.

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AE Students Win Award at AIAA Conference

ElectricOIL Cav6 system with a multi-pass X-resonator using four 50.8 mm optics.

AE students under Emeritus Prof. Wayne Solomon’s advisement have won a 2010 Best Student Paper Award for their work expanding the capabilities of the Electric Oxygen-Iodine Laser (ElectricOIL) device.

The award was presented at the 41^st American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Plasmadynamics and Laser Conference held in Chicago over the summer.

The group, including graduate students Joseph W. Zimmerman, Gabriel F. Benavides, Brian S. Woodward and Michael T. Day, developed a sixth generation ElectricOIL device, capable of greater than 100 watts of laser power output. Authors also included Solomon; AE Visiting Prof. David L. Carroll; CU Aerospace Partner and Senior Physicist Andrew D. Palla; and CU Aerospace consultant Joseph T. Verdeyen, who is also professor emeritus of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Illinois.

Power output of the ElectricOIL devices between the initial demonstration in 2004 and 2010.

The high-power laser community has long desired a hybrid laser system combining advantages of electrically driven, solid-state lasers with the high beam quality gas lasers provide. The ElectricOIL has been considered a potential candidate for over 30 years. The AE group and Champaign, Illinois-based CU Aerospace researchers, working with colleagues from Emory University; Physical Sciences, Inc.; Iowa State University; and the Air Force Institute of Technology, were the first to demonstrate the technology in 2004.

The students’ recent paper covered various aspects of ElectricOIL system development, including radio-frequency discharge scaling for large singlet-delta oxygen flow rates; diagnostic development for excited atomic and molecular species measurements; thermal management; and laser resonator performance characteristics.

Written by Susan Mumm
Posted on October 6, 2011