PSU Magazine Spring 2004

0 U N D T H E PA R K BLOCKS PSU experiments perfarmed on space station When PSU Magazine last reported on professor Mark Weislogel and his student's zero-gravity experiments, NASA was running the PSU tests on a plane that is in zero gravity for only 25 seconds. Their experiments have graduated. Astronaut Michael Fincke will run the first of three experiments provided by the mechanical engineering profes– sor and student Cory Nardin aboard the International Space Station in June. The experiments , known collec– tively as the Capillary Flow Experi– ment, are one of four proposals selected by NASA as the result of a nati onwide "fast to flight" effort to create alternative small-scale, hand– held experiments in the wake of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy in February 2003. The temporary grounding of the shuttle fleet halted NASAs plan for sending large research experimems to the space station. Now, smaller Russian Progress rockets are supplyi ng the space station, warranting the need for expe riments that can be transported in limited cargo space. Weislogel and Nard in's experiments analyze the flow of fluids in weightless or near-weightless environments– research that may help improve fluid– management systems for fuels, cooling systems, wastewater recycling, and other vital elements of spacecraft. The three experiments address key con– cerns relevant Lo cryogenic and liquid propellant storage tanks. Fluid behaves abnormally in microgravity, says Weislogel , making it difficult Lo control. For example, a Antiques and collectibles summer camp Do you know an antique from a repro– duction7 Can you spot the telltale signs of a restoration or a rebuilt piece7 Harry Rinker can, and he's sharing his expertise in a four-course Antiques and Collectibles Summer Camp West July 8-15. Rinker is host of Home and Garden Television's Collector Inspector. His courses will improve the skills of those in the business or just interested in antiques and collectibles. Portland State is collaborating with Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and the Institute for the Study of Amiques and Collectibles to offer them in Portland. The courses, which take place al McMenamins' Kennedy School in Port– land, are Buying and Selling Amiques and Collectibles Quly 8-9), Authenti– cating Antiques and Collectibles Quly 10-11), American Furniture Design Styles Quly 12-13), and Business Opportunities in Antiques and 2 PSU MAGAZINE SPRING 2004 Collectibles Quly 14-15). The two– day courses are from 8:30 a.m. Lo 4:30 p .m. each day and cost $265. Registration for all four two-day courses is $1,000. Rinker, an avid antiques collector and educator, founded the Institute for the Study of Antiques and Collectibles in 1991. In addition to hosting Collector Inspector , he has appeared as a guest on Oprah, Martha Stewart Living, and Today. He also has edited or authored The Official Guide to Flea Market Prices, The Official Rinker Plice Guide to Collectibles, and "Rinker on Collectibles," a weekly syndicated column appearing in trade papers and daily periodicals from coast Lo coast. For details and registration infor– mation on the summer camp, visit the Web site www.pdc.pdx.edu/ antiques/ or call 503-725-4820. fluid contained in a tank isn't restrained by gravity, making it difficult Lo know where the liquid may be. "ll's very important to understand where the liquid fuel is in the fuel tank, where the urine is in the toilet, where the water is in the condenser– these are all critical fluid systems on a spacecraft, and you don 't want Lo get it wrong," he says. Weislogel spent 10 years at NASAs Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, where his fluid experiments were performed on space shuttles and on Russia's Mir Space Station. He joined the faculty at Portland State in 2001. In early February, he spent time at NASAs Johnson Space Center to train the next crew on the second installment of the experiment Lo be sent to space later in 2004. Opera Theater wins prestigious award The University's Opera Theater was awarded first prize by the National Opera Association for its May 2003 production of Mozart's Don Giovanni. Judges, who called the production "professional," praised the all-student orchestra and commented on the outstanding singing and acting of the principal players. PSU previously won a first prize in 2000 for its production of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro . Video entries came from across the United States and judging was based on categories that included size o f the uni ve rsity opera program, cost of sets and costumes, and the number of sLUdents versus professional guest artists in the cast and orchestra. PSU's Don Giovanni featured an all-student cast and orchestra and was sung in Italian. The production included Ruth Dob– son, director of the PSU Opera Theater program; Keith Clark , conductor of the PSU Orchestra; and Sherrill Milnes, Metropolitan Opera baritone and artis– tic consultant to the production.