PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (March 3, 2022) Shield Lin, professor of mechanical engineering in the Prairie View A&M University College of Engineering, established the Space Exploration Software Simulation Lab with software and hardware supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He recently earned $134,555 in four grants from prime contractor CACI Inc. that reinforced NASA’s commitment to the program’s success.
“The grants will sponsor faculty and students’ research, software development work, and internships.” Lin says, “I am very pleased with the continuation of the project.”
Shield Lin, professor of mechanical engineering
Lin’s primary research interest is in dynamic systems and controls of mechanical systems. His efforts will be to develop and analyze a new generation of vibration isolation systems on a spacecraft. The knowledge gained from the research work can enhance his courses in dynamic systems and controls.
“I support faculty researchers’ collaborations with industries, and building corporate partnerships for fruitful outcomes to the discipline and the greater society. The ongoing partnership Dr. Lin has established with CACI Inc. affirms their relationship is mutually beneficial,” said Magesh Rajan, Ph.D., P.E., MBA, vice president, PVAMU Research & Innovation. “The impact of providing innovative and experiential projects that deliver results in a timely strengthens university ties to industry, while steadily elevating the quality of research, which is an ongoing goal for Dr. Lin and the next generation of researchers he is training.”
The project is funded under the umbrella of an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement between PVAMU and CACI Inc. The agreement provides for an indefinite quantity of services for a fixed time. The agreement allows a ceiling value of $3 million to be funded to the university. However, the actual award amounts are funded through a number of task order proposals.
Lin received the grant awards after submitting four task order proposals. Lin has obtained approximately 30 task order awards under the current IDIQ agreement. The task orders describe deliverables and a timeline centered on software simulation for space exploration. The tasks support NASA Johnson Space Center‘s research and development work, especially their Dynamic Systems Test Branch and Simulation and Graphics Branch.
Lin employs five student assistants through the program in spring semester 2022. The students received training for using software simulation tools developed by NASA and CACI Inc. The tasks include research and applications in mechanical systems, mechatronics systems, and computer-controlled systems in support of space exploration.
They also assist in tasks that directly contribute to NASA’s Dynamic Systems Test Branch and Simulation and Graphics Branch at Johnson Space Center.
Lin hosts an annual workshop at PVAMU to train students in software simulation. More than 200 students have attended the workshops since its inception.
Through the Space Exploration Software Simulation Lab project, Lin has secured research funding for faculty and graduate students’ salaries, undergraduate wages, computer servers, workstations, and other research expenditures. The outcomes have been published in multiple technical journals and presented in conferences.
Lin states, “I look forward to working with the new student assistants. I will encourage the undergraduate research assistants to enter the undergraduate and graduate degree options offered in the College of Engineering. From previous experience, when our undergraduate research assistants continue their graduate study at Prairie View, they produce high-quality research results. Participation in the undergraduate and graduate degree options shortens the time required for earning the master’s degree.
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Karen B. Cotton