Engineering And Science Professors Honored By Discover Magazine

4-22-97

University Park, PA-A prototype microwave rocket engine invented by Michael M. Micci, associate professor of aerospace engineering, and the largest optical telescope in the continental United States, invented by Lawrence W. Ramsey and Daniel W. Weedman, professors of astronomy and astrophysics, are among thirty-five innovations being honored by Discover magazine. The two Penn State inventions are among four awards in the Aviation and Aerospace category of the 1997 Discover Magazine Awards for Technological Innovation. Nearly 4000 innovators from around the world were invited to participate in the awards competition.

Micci's invention, the Microwave Arcjet Thruster, will be on display at Discover magazine's interactive showcase at Innovations, a pavilion in Walt Disney World's Epcot Center. Ramsey's and Weedman's invention, the William P. Hobby-Robert E. Eberly Telescope, will be commissioned in late 1997 at the McDonald Observatory in a remote area of western Texas known for having the darkest skies in North America. Both inventions will be featured in the July issue of Discover magazine, which hits the newsstands in mid-June. Micci and his team developed the innovative rocket propulsion system using parts from an ordinary 1000W kitchen microwave oven. It shows promise as a cheaper, safer thruster for positioning and maneuvering satellites in space. The invention has the potential of affecting technology that uses satellite communications, reducing rates on long distance telephone calls, television satellite broadcasts, and direct television. His commercial partner in the Microwave Arcjet Thruster project is Research Support Instruments, Inc., of Lanham, MD.

Ramsey and Weedman invented the concept for the Hobby-Eberly telescope in 1983 at Penn State. Its innovative design resulted in construction costs that are approximately 20% of what it costs to build other telescopes in its class. A number of features allow the 24-ton primary mirror to remain stationary while observing an object, eliminating the need for a highly complex mirror-support system. The mirror, which is 36 feet across and one of the largest of any optical telescope in the world, is made up of 91 identical pieces that were mass produced--another cost-saving aspect of the design. The telescope was built by a partnership involving The University of Texas at Austin, Penn State, Stanford University and the German universities of Gottingen and Munich. Ramsey and Thomas Sebring, project manager for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, are named as recipients of the Discover award. Other honorees in this category include Bruce Woodgate of NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, for developing a high-tech spectrograph recently installed on the Hubble Space Telegraph; and Mark Froggatt of NASA, Langley Research Center, for his Distributed Fiber-Optic Strain Sensor which can determine the physical strength of structures such as bridges and airplanes. Judges in this year,s Aviation and Aerospace category were Buzz Aldrin, Gemini and Apollo astronaut; Donald E. Fink Jr., publisher of Flight & Space magazine; Walter "Wally" Schirra, one of NASA,s seven original astronauts; and Patty Wagstaff, three-time winner and the first woman recipient of the U.S. National Aerobatic Championship Award.

Discover, the leading general interest monthly magazine of science and technology, has more than seven million readers each month. According to the Walt Disney Company, which publishes Discover, these awards "recognize breakthrough technologies and honor the men and women whose creative genius improves the quality of everyday life." This is the eighth year of the Discover Awards.

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Editors: Dr. Micci may be reached at (814) 863-0043.
Dr. Ramsey may be reached at (814) 865-0333.
Dr. Weedman may be reached at (814) 865-9482.

Contacts: Lani Bloomer, Engineering College Relations, (814) 863-2132 and Barbara K. Kennedy, Eberly College of Science Office of Public Information, (814) 863-4682.