Posts Tagged ‘Tom Burton’

One of the foundational principles for having a spaceport in New Mexico is to provide tangible evidence of what can come from a good education, and enough excitement and incentive to encourage our students to learn and go make a difference. Spaceport America can be that catalyst for many of our youth to go beyond circumstance to a great future!

The April Dona Ana County Spaceport Community Council will feature a panel of leading educators from the Southern New Mexico who will discuss how Spaceport America is impacting our local schools from those that are involved in creating the change we’ve desired.

The event’s facilitator will be Margie Huerta, CEO of Dona Ana Community College.  Panelists include:

• Tom Burton, Department Head and Professor of New Mexico State University’s Aerospace Engineering Program;
• Patricia Hynes, Director of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium;
• Jerry Welch, Division Dean of Dona Ana Community College’s Technical and Industrial Studies;
• Stan Rounds, Superintendent of Las Cruces Public Schools;
• Steven Sanchez, Associate Superintendent for Learning, Teaching and Research of Las Cruces Public Schools;
• Bill Coker, Superintendent of Hatch Valley Public Schools;
• Cynthia Nava, Superintendent of Gadsden Independent School District; and
• Tom Burris, Superintendent of Truth or Consequences Municipal Schools.

The meeting will be held on Thursday, April 22, 2010 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Gerald Thomas Auditorium on the campus of New Mexico State University.  The meeting is open to the public and there is no admission charge.

For more information contact the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, 575-524-1968.

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

By Amanda L. Husson

A master’s degree in aerospace engineering could take Krystal Deinez any number of places – or help her stay right here in southern New Mexico. Deinez, 24, came to New Mexico State University from Maxwell, N.M., to get her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and will be one of the first students to join the aerospace engineering graduate program this fall.

From there, even the sky’s not the limit. Deinez said she’d be looking everywhere for job opportunities when she finishes her degree, but she sees potential here. “I like southern New Mexico,” she said. “With the spaceport and White Sands, there are a lot of possibilities I could look for.”

Patricia Hynes, director of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium, said the graduate program, which received final approval on Dec. 15 after a three-year process, was key to developing the highly skilled workforce that will be needed to support the growing commercial space industry in the area. “This is trying to help NMSU become to the commercial space industry what Stanford has become to Silicon Valley,” she said. As a new industry evolves, they’ve got to have the university to back it up.

Tom Burton, mechanical and aerospace engineering department head, said the program – and the industry – need time to grow, but in the long run, more companies will be looking into the area because of both. “Twenty to 30 years from now, there will be a big aerospace presence around the spaceport,” Burton predicted. “There will be an aerospace industry here and we will have the technical base to support it.”

This year more than 60 entering freshmen declared themselves aerospace engineering majors – the largest year-to-year increase in the undergraduate program’s short history. Another 60 are expected in the fall, and an external study calls for a $1 million increase in the program to support students and hire six full-time faculty members. The program employs two full-time faculty members at present, with two more projected to start in the fall.

Deinez, who has already begun her graduate work, will be one of just a few masters’ students this fall. “I haven’t made up my mind,” on a career focus, Deinez said, “but I think I would definitely be more valuable with a graduate degree.”

The 5^th Annual International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) will held in Las Cruces, New Mexico on October 21 and 22 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. This annual conference brings together the current space community, academics, the innovators and entrepreneurs, and the civil and military government communities to discuss the current and future growth of global space commercialization.

Keynote speakers and panel chairs for the event include:

• Gary Payton, Deputy Under-Secretary of the Air Force, Space Systems
• Lori Garver, Deputy Administrator, NASA
• Yngve Bergqvist, CEO and Founder, Ice Hotel
• Wayne Hale, Deputy Associate Administrator for Strategic Partnerships, NASA
• James Van Laak, Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Transportation, FAA
• Bill Klanke, Vice President and Publisher, Space News
• Jeff Greason, CEO, XCOR Aerospace
• Tom Burton, Department Head, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering , New Mexico State University
• Alan Stern, former NASA Associate Administrator for Space and Earth Science
• Clay Mowry, President, Arianespace, Inc.
• Marshall Kaplan, Ph.D., Space Department – Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University
• Keith Beck, General Manager, Jacobs Technology

As a prelude to this year’s conference, a workshop and tour of the NASA White Sands Test Facility is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20^th.  It will include a panel of experts who will speak to assets in the local community that are capable of supporting the commercial space industry.  On Friday, October 23^rd, there will be a tour of Spaceport America led by Steve Landeene and Dr. Jerry Brown.  Both tours require separate registration and seating is limited.

All ISPCS sessions are plenary, allowing everyone to receive the same information simultaneously. Responding to feedback, ISPCS has created multiple means of engaging the audience in discussions with speakers during the sessions. Additional networking opportunities are scheduled throughout the two days.

A video from the 2008 International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight is available on YouTube.

A complete agenda of session topics and panelists is available on the ISPCS website. Early bird conference registration ends October 1^st and online registration closes October 16^th.