The Western Student Association voted against confirmation of senior Jacob Paquette, 32, as the academic chair for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) Oct. 4. This decision came
Researching and developing engines that could power intergalactic missions sounds like a job description ripped from the film script of "Men in Black." But
Whether in the lab, in the air or far beyond earth's orbit, Western faculty members are blazing trails and inspiring change in their fields of study. Drs.
March 1, 2021
Margaret Mooney, left, and Dr. Kristina Lemmer stand with a vacuum chamber in Lemmer s lab. The device is used to simulate the conditions in space.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. NASA s new Mars rover is grabbing headlines around the world, but perseverance in a lab at Western Michigan University could be the key to unlocking even deeper space exploration.
Dr. Kristina Lemmer, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, studies electric propulsion. The process adds energy to gas to create a charged plasma, powering thrusters to hurl a spacecraft beyond Earth s orbit.
While shuttles blasting off from Cape Canaveral accelerate toward the sky with explosive chemical reactions, electric propulsion is a more efficient way to move rockets, satellites and other objects once they re outside Earth s atmosphere.