Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which Caltech manages for NASA, will expand aerospace research, hands-on training and innovation with $27.5 million in gifts from philanthropists Foster and Coco Stanback.
The two gifts comprise $20 million through the Foundation for the Carolinas to create the New Space Makerspace at JPL and support education and workforce development programs led by Caltech, and $7.5 million to renovate and expand Caltech's hypersonic research facility, including a new shock tube for studying flight at extreme speeds.
Caltech President Ray Jayawardhana said the gifts "will be powerful catalysts for advancing leading-edge research, accelerating the transformation of bold ideas into breakthrough technologies, and providing the hands-on training needed to cultivate the highly skilled talent for a rapidly evolving aerospace industry."
The Stanbacks are long-standing supporters of the institute, having committed funds to establish Caltech's Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies in 2015. The new gifts support the work at several stages, from experiments on campus to the construction of instruments for space missions.
The New Space Makerspace, to be located near JPL's Microdevices Laboratory, will provide specialized fabrication equipment, including chip-to-board assembly facilities for developing field- or flight-testable prototypes. A Makerspace Fellows Program will provide training. Postdocs and student interns, including those from community colleges and other technical education programs, will work alongside JPL staff and participants. “This is the kind of stuff you previously have had to learn on the job only after you get to industry,” said Harry Atwater, the Howard Hughes Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science.
Atwater's group has developed chips that steer a beam of light, with potential uses in lidar, but operating them requires supporting circuits that few academic labs can build in-house. Outside suppliers can charge hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single project, so researchers must choose which inventions become complete prototypes. “This path to progress is slow and painful,” Atwater said. The makerspace will provide research groups with tools to assemble and test such systems. Atwater said he thinks it is likely to accelerate Caltech and JPL's engagement with the commercial space sector.
The hypersonic gift will expand the footprint of the existing facility and fund a new shock tube able to produce temperatures and flow velocities exceeding those of the current T5 tunnel, which exposes test models to airflow at about 1,700 degrees Celsius for roughly a thousandth of a second. A complete renovation will improve access to existing equipment and add safer emergency exits. The work extends a Caltech aeronautics legacy that dates to 1917, when the Institute's trustees approved construction of Southern California's first wind tunnel. “Ours is one of the unique places where every student on campus can come and do experiments,” said Sergio Pellegrino, professor of aerospace and civil engineering.
Foster Stanback said: “The metric that's most important to me is people.” He wants the programs to reach students who might never think of applying for a JPL internship.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The makerspace is designed to close the gap between laboratory research and working hardware, letting researchers assemble and test complete systems instead of paying outside suppliers or choosing which inventions to prototype.
- The fellowship programs aim to widen the path into aerospace careers, pairing students from community colleges and technical programs with JPL staff and mentors.
- The hypersonic upgrade extends a facility used to study the extreme heating spacecraft face when entering atmospheres, a problem central to planetary exploration.
Background
Caltech manages JPL for NASA, and the two institutions have worked together on aerospace research since the field's early days, including the development of instruments for planetary missions. The Stanbacks have supported Caltech for years, previously committing funds for the Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies, graduate fellowships and a student rocketry group, as well as a new rocketry laboratory scheduled to open next year. Caltech's aeronautics testing tradition dates to 1917, when the institute built Southern California's first wind tunnel.
What to Watch
- Progress on construction of the New Space Makerspace at JPL and the renovation of the hypersonic facility, including installation of the new shock tube.
- Whether the Makerspace Fellows Program draws community-college and technical students into JPL internships and wider aerospace jobs, the outcome Foster Stanback said matters most to him.
- The opening of the Frank J. Malina Laboratory for High-Speed Flight Dynamics next year, the Stanback-supported rocketry facility at Caltech.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
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- SupportedThe Stanbacks’ $27.5 million in gifts will expand aerospace research at Caltech and JPL.News from www.caltech.edu: “Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which Caltech manages for NASA, will expand aerospace research, hands-on training, and innovation on campus and at the Lab through two gifts totaling $27.5 million from philanthropists Foster and Coco Stanback.”
- SupportedThe funding will create a makerspace at JPL.News from www.caltech.edu: “A $20 million gift through the Foundation for the Carolinas will create the New Space Makerspace at JPL and support education and workforce development programs led by Caltech.”
- SupportedThe gifts will upgrade Caltech’s hypersonic research facilities and add a shock tube.News from www.caltech.edu: “A separate $7.5 million gift will renovate and expand Caltech's hypersonic research facility and add a new shock tube for studying flight at extreme speeds.”
- SupportedThe gifts comprise $20 million through the Foundation for the Carolinas and a separate $7.5 million gift.News from www.caltech.edu: “A $20 million gift through the Foundation for the Carolinas will create the New Space Makerspace at JPL and support education and workforce development programs led by Caltech. A separate $7.5 million gift will renovate and expand Caltech's hypersonic research facility”
- SupportedCaltech manages JPL for NASA.News from www.caltech.edu: “the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which Caltech manages for NASA”
- SupportedCaltech President Ray Jayawardhana said the gifts “will be powerful catalysts for advancing leading-edge research, accelerating the transformation of bold ideas into breakthrough technologies, and providing the hands-on training needed to cultivate the highly skilled talent for a rapidly evolving aerospace industry.”News from www.caltech.edu: “These gifts will be powerful catalysts for advancing leading-edge research, accelerating the transformation of bold ideas into breakthrough technologies, and providing the hands-on training needed to cultivate the highly skilled talent for a rapidly evolving aerospace industry.”
- SupportedThe Stanbacks committed funds to establish Caltech’s Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies in 2015.News from www.caltech.edu: “including committing funds to establish Caltech's Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST) in 2015”
- SupportedThe New Space Makerspace will be located near JPL’s Microdevices Laboratory.News from www.caltech.edu: “The New Space Makerspace will be located near JPL's Microdevices Laboratory (MDL).”
- SupportedHarry Atwater said, “This is the kind of stuff you previously have had to learn on the job only after you get to industry.”News from www.caltech.edu: ““This is the kind of stuff you previously have had to learn on the job only after you get to industry,” Atwater says.”
- SupportedAtwater said, “This path to progress is slow and painful.”News from www.caltech.edu: ““This path to progress is slow and painful,” says Atwater”
- SupportedThe T5 tunnel exposes test models to airflow at about 1,700 degrees Celsius for roughly a thousandth of a second.News from www.caltech.edu: “The facility's current T5 shock tunnel exposes test models to airflow at about 1,700 degrees Celsius for roughly a thousandth of a second.”
- SupportedFoster Stanback said, “The metric that's most important to me is people.”News from www.caltech.edu: ““The metric that's most important to me is people,” he says.”
