Nansong Wu

This project is a collaborative initiative focused on strengthening the STEM pipeline in our community by partnering with the Sonoma County Civil Air Patrol (CAP) to engage K-12 students in aerospace education and hands-on activities. By leveraging CAP's Aerospace Education Program, which covers a wide array of aerospace topics, the initiative aims to spark curiosity and enthusiasm for STEM subjects among students. The implementation plan emphasizes the use of project-based learning (PBL) and other active learning techniques to enhance student learning outcomes.

The Russian River, a vital watercourse in Northern California, faces challenges related to its estuarine ecosystem's health, particularly in sustaining salmonid populations. The river's mouth frequently forms a sandbar during the summer, impacting the merging of freshwater and saltwater, crucial for salmonid migrations. Limited prior research focused on the river's estuary due to methodological constraints, which resulted in data collection at only a few locations. This proposal outlines the deployment of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) to autonomously survey the Russian River estuary.

Ingenuity Mars helicopter is history’s first aircraft to operate from the surface of another planet. It will support a ground rover’s exploration of the Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars. The helicopter's battery has to be reserved to keep equipment within allowable temperature during cold Mars nights. The helicopter is not able to recharge from the MMRTG on the rover. Hence, the helicopter has to take off at a specific time frame in the day to avoid risk of losing reserve battery. This significantly limits the exploration flights of this aerial vehicle.