Rocket Science: Trinity Students Win Bronze Medal in Physics Competition
 |  |
"Aerobraking a Space Probe at Neptune." Those six words are enough to make most undergraduates run for cover. But three Trinity students spent 48 hours on the weekend of November 6 and 7 tackling a problem with that daunting title. Lorenzo R. Sewanan '12, Steve J. Petkovsek '12, and Brandon A. Clary '13 (left to right), physics majors and members of the Society of Physics Students, were awarded a bronze prize for their efforts. Their adviser was David Branning, assistant professor of physics. The students were tasked with sending a rocket ship into orbit around Neptune using aerobreaking, the act of decelerating by passing through a planetary atmosphere. The teams, composed of up to three students, were required to submit a formal paper describing their work, including a 500-word summary and a list of references. The competition was sponsored by the American Physical Society and the American Astronomical Society.
First-year student selected to serve on national youth advisory board
First-year student Carlos Velazquez, who earlier this year was selected
by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Connecticut as its Youth of the Year, has
garnered another top honor. The Hartford resident has been chosen to
serve as an associate member on the State Farm Youth Advisory Board,
which carries a $3,000 scholarship.
Velazquez is one of 18 students, ages 17 to 20, from the United States and Canada to be selected in a competitive process based on youth leadership experience and an interview. As a member of the leadership board, Velazquez will help oversee a $5-million-a-year State Farm initiative that is designed to award grants to student-led service-learning projects. The projects will address issues such as driver safety, environmental responsibility, disaster preparedness, and closing the educational achievement gap.
The board will work in "a virtual environment" and convene four times in 2011.
As a member of the State Farm board, Velazquez is expected to commit about 15 hours a month to meet his obligations. If he is selected to serve a second term, he will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship.
