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Prepare for liftoff: KU Aerospace Engineering finalizing plans to launch CubeSat
LAWRENCE — A group of engineering students at the University of Kansas expects to launch a small satellite, called a CubeSat, aboard a NASA rocket later this year. CubeSats are tiny “nanosatellites” about the size of a loaf of bread, weighing in around 3 pounds, and are launched under a NASA program that offers educational institutions and nonprofit organizations a chance to share space on its rockets.
‘Model minority’ perception complicates identities of white-Asian multiracial individuals, research finds
LAWRENCE — New research from a University of Kansas professor of sociology argues for the need to advance studies on Asian mixed-race individuals to accurately capture the diversity of their identifications, political views and racialized experiences. The article was published in the journal Social Sciences.
KU Libraries Common Book-themed exhibition ‘Sitting in a Circle’ to open March 31
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Libraries will open a new exhibition in Watson Library’s newly renovated Haricombe Gallery, “Sitting in a Circle,” beginning with a reception at 3:30 p.m. March 31. The exhibition showcases the creative work and reflections generated by students and faculty as they engage with the 2021-22 KU Common Book, “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants.”
Full stories below.
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Contact: Cody Howard, School of Engineering, 785-864-2936, [email protected], @kuengineering
Prepare for liftoff: KU Aerospace Engineering finalizing plans to launch CubeSat
LAWRENCE — A group of engineering students at the University of Kansas expects to launch a small satellite, called a CubeSat, aboard a NASA rocket later this year.
CubeSats are tiny “nanosatellites” about the size of a loaf of bread, weighing in around 3 pounds, and are launched under a NASA program that offers educational institutions and nonprofit organizations a chance to share space on its rockets. Members of the “KUbeSat” team expect the university’s first satellite to reach orbit with a launch in June.
“The goal behind the CubeSat Launch Initiative is they want every single state in the country to launch a satellite,” said Arno Prinsloo, a doctoral student in engineering from Belton, Missouri, who serves as project manager for the effort. “And the weird thing is, Kansas hasn’t done that. So we’re actually aiming to build the first satellite ever out of Kansas.”
This isn’t KU’s first try at getting a satellite in orbit. Students made the first CubeSat attempt in 2006, with plans that called for the payload to be launched from Kazakhstan aboard a Russian rocket. That launch failed on the way to orbit, however.
This time around, the student engineers had a new advantage. The Hill Space Systems Laboratory in Learned Hall opened in 2019 as a place to do the complicated work of satellite construction. The lab features a 12-by-12-foot “clean room” where students don protective clothing while they build the device; a second room in the same lab is stocked with computer equipment so students can design and test their creations.
“It’s where we do a lot of our work. It’s a definite morale booster. Before we had that lab, we were operating wherever the students could gather. A sense of place is important,” said Mark Ewing, associate professor of aerospace engineering and a team adviser. There are also practical advantages, he said — the lab’s clean room “gives us an added element of assurance we’re not getting dirt and dust in something that’s going to go to space.”
“It’s really important when we’re working on the satellite, because any piece of dust that gets in the satellite could short circuit it once it gets up into space,” said Brody Gatza, a junior in aerospace engineering from Olathe who serves as the KUbeSat Club president. “It’s just really cool to have a facility like that at KU.”
The KUbeSat project features around 50 students on six different teams, each focusing on a different aspect of the design-build process. The satellite itself features two different instruments — a cosmic ray detector and a pulse generator that will help calibrate the orientation and position of the satellite when it flies over Antarctica. It will also carry a camera.
“We’re going to get to take pictures of Lawrence during our flyovers,” Prinsloo said. “Hopefully that coincides with a basketball game or homecoming or something like that. It would be pretty cool to get to see that.”
The work has been challenging and rewarding for the participants.
“The students have done it mostly on their own,” Ewing said. “They became very good at software and integration issues. It’s been remarkable, the number of students involved.”
“It’s really cool to say that I worked on something that is going to be in space before the time I even graduate and go work somewhere,” Gatza said. “That’s going to be something great to have on the resume. It’s just really cool to me personally, because that’s something I’ve always wanted to do. And I didn’t think it would happen this fast.”
Prinsloo, whose family emigrated from South Africa, agreed.
“Having this opportunity as this little farm kid from South Africa or the Midwest, whichever way you prefer, is just amazing,” he said. “I always tell people that I grew up in the United States, and I consider it my home country, but I am still an immigrant, and to be part of what I’m doing now feels like the American dream in a lot of ways.”
There is more to come. KU is already looking ahead to future CubeSat launches — and looking for new ideas for instruments to put aboard its forthcoming satellites.
“We actually already started designing our second satellite just the other day,” Prinsloo said. “The next team is going to take over, and they’re going to get the next one up and running.”
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Contact: Jon Niccum, KU News Service, 785-864-7633, [email protected]
‘Model minority’ perception complicates identities of white-Asian multiracial individuals, research finds
LAWRENCE — The term “model minority” was first coined by sociologists in the 1960s to describe Asian Americans as a group that has purportedly achieved greater success in the U.S. compared to other ethnic minorities. While the term is problematic on a number of levels, new research suggests that for white-Asian multiracial people, it adds even further complexity toward perception and self-identification.
“In general, it is not a good idea to make assumptions about the experiences of Asian mixed-race people, as their identities and lived experiences are not monolithic,” said Kelly Chong, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Kansas.
Her article titled “Interrogating the ‘White-Leaning’ Thesis of White-Asian Multiracials” argues for the need to advance studies on Asian mixed-race individuals to accurately capture the diversity of their identifications, political views and racialized experiences. It appears in Social Sciences.
Historically, Asian Americans have been positioned as a “racial middle” group in relation to white and Black Americans. In line with this perceived position, Asian-white multiracial people have also been characterized as being more white than Black-white multiracial individuals, as well as “leaning white” in terms of self-identification, according to Chong.
“We have started to see more varied images of Asian Americans in the popular media, some moving beyond, and challenging, the ‘model minority’ image — Awkwafina comes to mind,” Chong said. “However, I feel that the model minority stereotype is persistent and hard to break. If it changes, it will not happen quickly.”
Chong, who co-wrote the article with Miri Song of the University of Kent, describes the key ways Asian Americans differ from other racialized groups in the U.S.
“Due to the ‘perpetual foreigner’ stereotype, Asian Americans have not only been discriminated against on the basis of race/skin color but ‘othered’ as foreigners who can never be completely assimilated. This results in a particular kind of social/cultural exclusion that is not sufficiently acknowledged. Due also in part to the model minority image, Asian Americans’ long-standing experiences of racism, racial violence and discrimination … have been widely dismissed and ignored,” she said.
The professor said how anti-Asian hate incidents that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and were exacerbated by the rhetoric of the Trump administration (“China virus,” “Kung-Flu,” etc.) brought more attention recently to this issue.
Her article explores the framing of Asian Americans and white-Asian multiracial individuals as a compliant, upwardly mobile “model minority” that is “suitable for absorption into the white racial majority through interracial marriage (as opposed to Blacks).” This capitalizes on the majority group’s assumptions about people of color.
“These premises in turn spring from the ‘straight line’ assimilation theory that Asian Americans as a whole want to ‘whiten’ and become assimilated into white middle-class society and culture if they could. Evidence, both from research and by writings from Asian mixed-race people themselves, shows neither is necessarily the case. Many report widespread experiences of discrimination and racism throughout their lives and do not necessarily incline more toward the white side of their ancestry,” Chong said, pointing to Olympic ski jumper Eileen Gu as a current example.
Chong has taught sociology at KU since 2005. She is the author of “Love Across Borders: Asian Americans, Race, and the Politics of Intermarriage and Family-Making” (Routledge) and “Deliverance and Submission: Evangelical Women and the Negotiation of Patriarchy in South Korea” (Harvard University Press). Her areas of scholarship include gender, immigration, religion, race and ethnicity.
She calls this new paper a “logical outgrowth” from her previous research on Asian American intermarriage and family-making.
“This was a topic I wanted to explore more fully after ‘Love Across Borders,’” she said. “I also have family members who identify as Asian mixed-race, so this was a topic of personal interest to me.”
Chong believes numerous lessons can be learned from “Interrogating the ‘White-Leaning’ Thesis of White-Asian Multiracials.”
The public, for instance, should not assume Asian mixed-race people “have it easy,” especially if relying only on socioeconomic indicators that suggest they “do well” in modern society.
“The experiences of Asian mixed-race people are highly varied, depending on many different factors such as how they look, their level of ethnic cultural exposure/connection, etc.,” Chong said. “In many cases, they feel the burden of being excluded not only from the white society but also from the Asian community for not being ‘Asian enough,’ as well as due to historical stigma of being mixed-race.”
She said that parents of Asian-mixed race children should also not make assumptions their kids “will or want to racially assimilate into whiteness … even if they ‘look white,’” she said.
“Regardless of which path the children end up taking — identifying as white, Asian, mixed-race or other — parents need to make sure to engage in conversations about race with them as early as possible.”
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Contact: Alicia Marksberry, KU Libraries, [email protected], @kulibraries
KU Libraries Common Book-themed exhibition ‘Sitting in a Circle’ to open March 31
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Libraries will open a new exhibition in Watson Library’s newly renovated Haricombe Gallery, “Sitting in a Circle,” on March 31.
The exhibition showcases the creative work and reflections generated by students and faculty as they engage with the 2021-22 KU Common Book, “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants.” The event will also give attention to other Common Book-related opportunities, including the Common Work of Art, a Braiding Sweetgrass Walking Tour and the university’s Native Medicinal Plant Garden.
The event celebrating the opening of the exhibit begins with a reception at 3:30 p.m., March 31, in Watson Library, Third Floor West. The program’s panel discussion on “Storytelling through Public Art,” moderated by Samantha Bishop Simmons, undergraduate learning specialist, will begin at 4 p.m.
Panelists include Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, associate professor of music therapy; Shannon Criss, professor of architecture; and Mary Anne Jordan, professor of visual arts in textiles. Food and beverages will be provided at this event, which is free and open to the public. A recording of the event will be available upon request for those who cannot attend in person.
“Sitting in a Circle” will be on display until Aug. 31 and can be explored online in the virtual exhibition.
For more information, contact Kelly Spavin-Silvermintz at [email protected].
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