University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 34, June 12
                                   
                              On the rise
           Three graduate students receive NASA fellowships
     
     Three graduate students-Allison R. Bailey in marine
studies, Scott M. Hirsch in mechanical engineering and
Keith A. Welp in chemical engineering-have received
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 12-
month fellowships. This is the second year Bailey and
Hirsch have won the fellowships and the first year for
Welp.
     Bailey, a graduate of Carleton College in 1988, is on
leave as a marine scientist from the Washington State
Department of Natural Resources to work toward her master's
degree at UD in applied ocean science.
     She is studying coastal wetlands and aquatic
vegetation 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, sub-pixel analysis. Her adviser is Victor V.
Klemas.
     Hirsch majored in physics at the College of William
and Mary and earned a master's degree in acoustics from
Pennsylvania State University. With adviser J. Q. Sun, he
is studying the active control of sound and vibration,
exploring the ability of a structural control scheme to
reduce sound pressure levels in an enclosure.
     They also are studying actuator grouping issues that
may reduce the expense of implementing active noise and
vibration control systems. One of the possible applications
of this research could be reducing sound in the cabins of
small commercial airplanes.
     Welp, a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, is
conducting research on the dynamics of polymeric molecules
at interfaces between polymer materials to determine the
correct model. Research in this area is critical to many
applications, including the development of fracture
strength and toughness during polymer welding and composite
lamination, particle sintering and coatings, interfacial
adhesion and friction and others. For example, the high
speed civil transport, a supersonic aircraft being
developed by NASA/Boeing, depends on the performance of
polymer-polymer interfaces. Welp's research involves
monitoring the behavior of specially labeled polymer chains
at a polymer-polymer interface via dynamic secondary ion
mass spectroscopy and neutron reflection. Welp's adviser is
Richard P. Wool.
                                        -Sue Swyers Moncure