August 10, 2011

This may be Annie Lum's first semester in the Aerospace program, but she has wasted no time in making the nanosatellite lab her home. Lum comes to UT from Washington, DC, where she worked at the Naval Research Laboratory's Astrodynamics and Space Navigation Group on numerical analysis for different satellite projects, including simulations and performance of systems. When she applied and was selected to participate in NRL's robust continuing education program – three semesters at any U.S. school to earn an advanced degree in her field – UT's outstanding orbital mechanics program immediately caught her attention.

"All the course offerings and classes looked interesting, and what Professor Glenn Lightsey is researching is a good fit for what I'm researching," she said. She certainly has not regretted her decision.

"I'm really enjoying the nanosatellite group," she said. "Everyone's really enthusiastic and puts in crazy hours and is totally into it. It's cool to be working with all these people who are so passionate about this work."

Lum, who earned her BS in aerospace engineering at Boston University in 2008, researches differential drag on satellites.

"Theoretically you could use different areas and different size spacecraft to maneuver them closer or farther away from each other," she explained. "If you had a way to change your projected area, you could change the way drag is affecting your spacecraft."

Her research involves modifying a few equations of motion to include different perturbations – such as third body effects, solar pressure, earth gravitational effects – and then develop a controller that will use differential drag to perform maneuvers between two or more spacecraft.

"I've had a lot of hands-on learning at the [Naval] lab, which is great, but having more formal theory behind it has helped me," she said. "Taking formal classes in optimization is great for any kind of design work because you always want to get the most you can out of a system."

After she graduates in December 2011, Lum will return to NRL and hopes to play a bigger role in leadership at her employer.

"I really enjoy the work I do there, and I'm looking forward to being a more integral part of NRL's team," she said. "I think having an advanced degree will allow me to play more of a role in managing projects," said Lum.

Although she sees herself at NRL for the foreseeable future, Lum said she has always had an interest in earning her PhD and becoming a professor further down the road. She said there's no question about what makes her work in aerospace so exciting.

"To be totally nerdy, you work on something that goes up into space, something that will actually be launched up on a rocket," she said. "That's great – is there anything better?"