| Alumnus speaks about NASA aircrafts | 
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| Written by Johnathan Silver, The Shorthorn senior staff | ||||
| Wednesday, 04 November 2009 05:24 PM | ||||
| Gary Ash, NASA employee and alumnus, clicked
through multiple pictures of aircrafts that go to and from the Johnson
Space Center for repairs, during his presentation on Wednesday. Ash could have shown at least 75 more photos, if time permitted, said Jim Johnson, the Arlington Technology Association secretary-treasurer. Johnson, who arranged Ash’s visit, said Ash was a great choice of a speaker because he came from UTA and embodies what students ought to be, a success. “The whole idea is to expose these students to someone who has been through it,” he said. “One of the purposes of our association is to encourage these young people to aspire to be like him.” Ash said that regardless of technological advances, there would always be a fear of bird strikes. Such strikes can include birds being sucked into propellers, impacting with wing blades and crashing into windshields. “A three-pound bird could cause $200 or $300,000 in damage,” he said. He discussed how crafts are maintained, deemed efficient and fit for use. He stressed planes must be monitored through inspections. As a way for inspection, Johnson Space Center employees take X-rays. Improvements to engines, wings and planes in general, adds weight and stress to tires, Ash said. He said problems should be solved without being too complicated. “We’re a brute force kind of group,” he said. “We’re not into elegant solutions.” Following his presentation, Ash said that funding determines how NASA endeavors work out. When projects are given a certain budget cap, engineers and astronauts have to either make do or make the case for why more money would be needed, he said. He added that he does not speak for NASA nor does he make policy. “We’re in the business of maintaining old hardware, from an engineering standpoint,” he said. Johnson said he liked Ash’s presentation because it covered more than just one engineering area. “It’s important that we give the students and the university an image of what’s in the real world for them,” he said. “To get someone in his position should be an encouragement.” Ash said after graduating from UTA, he was often in the company of alumni from more recognized schools. It was easy to get intimidated, he said. But UTA’s education was just as good, Ash said. “My education’s given me the versatility to interface effectively with a variety of technical fields to determine solutions to problems as they arrive,” he said after his presentation. Mechanical engineering freshman Rigo Lepe said his favorite presentation parts were seeing photos of the earth from space and Johnson Space Center’s Super Guppy, an aircraft that NASA acquired from the European Space Agency. The Guppy can carry a payload of more than 26 tons, or 52,000 pounds. “It was interesting learning all the things they go through to make airplanes work,” Lepe said The Arlington Technology Association and the College of Engineering sponsored the event. The Arlington Technology Association provides speakers on the first Wednesday of every month. December’s visitor will be Rick Coward, an FBI chief investigator from the Dallas bureau. His program is titled Economics Espionage and Computer Security. Views: 72 | E-mail
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