Professor’s NASA-based research gets spotlight at international conference

Abdelmessih and colleague to present article in Seattle

November 8, 2007

Having spent several of her past summer vacations performing research at NASA, Amanie Abdelmessih, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Thermal Engineering Laboratory at Saint Martin’s University, will present her findings Nov. 12 at the 2007 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Seattle. The conference, sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, International, brings together engineers and scientists from around the world to discuss and demonstrate advanced technologies in diverse fields of mechanical engineering.

Abdelmessih and her colleague Thomas Horn, Aerostructures Branch Chief at NASA, will present their article, “Effect of Insertion of a Heat Flux Gage into a High Temperature Cylindrical Blackbody Cavity on the Gage.” The article is the result of research conducted by Abdelmessih and Horn at NASA during the summer of 2006. Their work on the subject began in the late 1990s and yielded two previous publications, the last of which they presented at the 2006 International Heat Transfer Conference in Sydney, Australia.

Abdelmessih has been using her time at NASA to study high temperature calibrations. Her research improves the understanding and quantifying of measurement techniques for heat, which contributes to advancements in performance by hypersonic vehicles such as high-speed planes and space shuttles.

“Hypersonic vehicles encounter high temperatures and high heat fluxes,” explains Abdelmessih. “The purpose of this ongoing research is to characterize these high temperatures and heat fluxes in order to design hardware that can survive harsh environments, such as the high heats generated on the surface of the space shuttle as it makes its entry to Earth.”

Abdelmessih also has conducted research at the Argonne National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. She serves as advisor of the Society of Women Engineers at Saint Martin’s University.

Saint Martin’s University is an independent four-year, Catholic, coeducational university located on a 320-acre wooded campus in Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic Order of Saint Benedict, the University is one of 18 Benedictine colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and the only one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University prepares students for successful lives through its 21 majors and six graduate programs spanning the liberal arts, business, education and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes 1,250 students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its main campus, and 650 more to its five extension campuses located at Fort Lewis Army Post, McChord Air Force Base, Olympic College, Centralia College and Tacoma Community College.

For additional information:

Jennifer G. Fellinger
Saint Martin’s University
360-438-4332
jfellinger@stmartin.edu