UA Engineering Students Launch Rocket for NASA Competition

The University of Alabama Rocket Girls

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Rocket Girls, an all-female team of engineering students at The University of Alabama, will fire its first rocket in the 2011 NASA University Student Launch Initiative in Huntsville April 16.

The Rocket Girls geared up for this competition in the fall, submitting designs to NASA, and were selected to compete against 30 teams nationwide. The team must design, build and safely launch a reusable rocket.

The rocket must launch to a minimum altitude of one mile and be recovered.

It will be equipped with a device to collect flight data for further studies that could potentially improve flight performance. Along with overall design and performance, the team will be judged on its ability to fully document its design.

The team consists of:

• Brynn Bralley, a senior mechanical engineering major from Altadena, Calif.
• Kelly Cannon, a senior mechanical engineering major from Jasper, Ga.
• Shelby Cochran, a freshman aerospace engineering major from Albertville
• Alexandra Dukeman, a junior civil engineering major from Huntsville
• Kelsey Dunn, a junior mechanical engineering major from Birmingham
• Macy Gibbs, a freshman aerospace engineering major from Arab
• Kelli Harding, a freshman aerospace engineering major from Bankston
• Melissa Hembree, a junior mechanical engineering major from Fairhope
• Mary Kathryn Jones, a senior mechanical engineering major from Gurley
• Emily Lloyd, team captain, a senior mechanical engineering major from Monroeville
• Kayla Maples, a junior mechanical engineering major from Owens Cross Roads
• Rebecca Midkiff, a senior civil engineering major from Tuscaloosa
• Ashley Randolph, a senior mechanical engineering major from Jasper
• Marquise Ridlehuber, a freshman aerospace engineering major from Simpsonville, S.C.
• Tiesha Salandy, a sophomore aerospace engineering major from Huntsville
• Kathryn Steele, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Prattville

“I find this experience invaluable as I begin my career as a mechanical engineer,” said Emily Lloyd, team captain. “I feel it has helped me grow as a person and an engineer.”

This NASA-sponsored competition engages students with NASA engineers to experience real-world design and engineering processes.

The Rocket Girls are advised by Dr. John Baker, professor of mechanical engineering; Dr. Beth Todd, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Dr. Paul Hubner, assistant professor of aerospace engineering and mechanics; and Dr. Amy Lang, assistant professor of aerospace engineering and mechanics.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has more than 2,700 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last eight years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.