UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 29, Page 2
April 25, 1996
Bartol institute awards four NASA fellowships

     The University of Delaware Bartol Research Institute has awarded
four National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Delaware
Space Grant College (DESGC) fellowships for graduate students in
aerospace-related fields to Allison Bailey, marine studies; Jeanne K.
Crotty, geography; Scott Hirsch, mechanical engineering; and Matthew
R. Oberholzer, chemical engineering.
     A graduate of Carleton College and on leave as a marine scientist
with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Bailey is
interested in the application of remote sensing tools to problems in
natural resource management.
     She is studying coastal wetlands and aquatic vegetation in order
to distinguish natural variations from human-induced changes. Her
research is focused on detecting the intrusion of the phragmites,
weedy plants found in Delaware's coastal wetlands, using a new remote
sensing technique. Her adviser is Vic Klemas.
     Crotty, Delaware '93, majored in environmental science. Her
thesis topic is "Precipitation Interception and Canopy Structure of
Deciduous Forests." She is measuring precipitation in a woodlot to
determine the relationship between the plant canopy, evaporation and
overland runoff. Her adviser is Cort J. Willmott.
     Hirsch, who holds a bachelor's degree in physics from the College
of William and Mary, has completed the requirements for a master's
degree in acoustics from Pennsylvania State University.
     His field is structural vibration control, using sensors and
actuators to lessen sound levels and structural vibration within a
system. According to Hirsch, minimizing vibration slows the rate of
equipment fatigue, leading to a safer environment and reducing costs.
The benefits of vibration reduction for NASA could range from quieting
the living quarters of a space shuttle to improving the visibility of
telescopes. His adviser is Jain-Qiao Sun.
     A graduate of Johns Hopkins University with a bachelor's degree
in chemical engineering, Oberholzer is working in protein
thermodynamics. His research focuses on modeling protein adsorption,
which is relevant to such fields as pharmaceuticals and food
processing.
     He is studying the adsorption of lysozyme as contrasted to
polystyrene latex particles and their relationship to salt
concentrations. Further studies will involve the effect of gravity on
protein adsorption. His adviser is Abraham Lenoff.
     The NASA Space Grant fellowships, which are for one full year and
can be renewed for a second year, pay full tuition and a stipend, and
are financed jointly by NASA and the Bartol Research Institute.
     The institute established the DESGC program in 1991, and it was
renewed for another five years in 1995.
                                                   -Sue Swyers Moncure