Associate Professor James Cutler, center, speaks with students as they prepare to launch four cubesats as part of AEROSP 495 and 740 classes at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022. In the background are Will Moll, left, and Rohan Chandratre, both maters student in aerospace engineering.

After final adjustments Cutler and his students drove to Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis to launch the cubesats, which would then be carried in the stratosphere eastward to approximate just east of Tecumseh.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Students in the LEAD Course were asked to make an effort to identify the major themes and important takeaways as they read. They were to look for vivid imagery in the writing, interesting statistics, and especially striking quotes or turns of phrase. We urged students to take notes, underline, highlight, scribble in the margins – do whatever they had to do to capture those key concepts as they came across them. The information they gathered and the ideas they generated were then used as inspiration for our printmaking project.

UW-Madison Bachelor of Business Administration LEAD Course, Fall 2015 Screen printing & Bookmaking Project in response to Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

A collaboration of Wisconsin School of Business, Wheelhouse Studios at Memorial Union, and UW-Madison’s Go Big Read Program

From left, Tim Galmiche, and Will Moll, both masters student in space engineering, Rohan Chandratre, a masters student in aerospace engineering, Rohan Madathil, a masters student in aerospace engineering, Shun-Yu Yang, a masters student in space engineering, make last minute adjustments to their team cubesat before launch as part of James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022. In the background are Will Moll, left, and Rohan Chandratre, both maters student in aerospace engineering.

After final adjustments Cutler and his students drove to Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis to launch the cubesats, which would then be carried in the stratosphere eastward to approximate just east of Tecumseh.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Tooth of C. megalodon - the largest shark that ever lived. Photo by John A Kilmer - University of Florida

University of Michigan students preparing to launch four helium-filled balloons and the student designed cubesats they carry as part of Associate Professor James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes from Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Will Moll, left to right, a masters student in aerospace engineering, Tim Galmiche, a masters student in space engineering, Rohan Madathil, Rohan Chandratre, both masters students in aerospace engineering, and Shun-Yu Yang, a masters student in space engineering, make last minute adjustments to their team cubesat before launch as part of James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

After final adjustments Cutler and his students drove to Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis to launch the cubesats, which would then be carried in the stratosphere eastward to approximate just east of Tecumseh.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Tim Galmiche, left to right, a masters student in space engineering, Rohan Madathil, Rohan Chandratre, both masters students in aerospace engineering, and Shun-Yu Yang, a masters student in space engineering, make last minute adjustments to their team cubesat before launch as part of James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

After final adjustments Cutler and his students drove to Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis to launch the cubesats, which would then be carried in the stratosphere eastward to approximate just east of Tecumseh.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

University of Michigan students preparing to launch four helium-filled balloons and the student designed cubesats they carry as part of James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes from Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Madeline Purvis, an undergraduate in aerospace engineering, and others inflate a helium balloon, one of four, to carry cubesats designed by students in Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes into the stratosphere when they launch from the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Tim Galmiche, left to right, a masters student in space engineering, Rohan Madathil, Rohan Chandratre, both masters students in aerospace engineering, and Shun-Yu Yang, a masters student in space engineering, make last minute adjustments to their team cubesat before launch as part of James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

After final adjustments Cutler and his students drove to Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis to launch the cubesats, which would then be carried in the stratosphere eastward to approximate just east of Tecumseh.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Engineer Tran Anh Nguyen, helps students in Associate Professor James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes prepare to launch four student-designed cubesats into the stratosphere from the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022. Nguyen was himself once a student of Cutler’s.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

A team of students in Associate Professor James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes proudly stand at the base of their helium-filled ballon as they prepare to launch one of four student-designed cubesats into the stratosphere from the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Rohan Chandratre, left, a maters student in aerospace engineering, and Shun-Yu Yang, right, a masters student in space engineering, make last minute adjustments to their team cubesat before launch as part of James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022. In the background is Will Moll, a masters student in aerospace engineering.

After final adjustments Cutler and his students drove to Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis to launch the cubesats, which would then be carried in the stratosphere eastward to approximate just east of Tecumseh.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Autumn Tedrow, a senior business administration major with a moinor in finance and economics, is working with Keybank as a summer intern.

President Santa Ono talks with members of the University of Michigan Electric Boat Team on his first visit to the Wilson Student Team Project Center on the North Campus of the University of Michigan on Thursday, February 23, 2023.

Ono is the 15th president of the University of Michigan. He assumed office on October 14, 2022.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Autumn Tedrow, a senior business administration major with a moinor in finance and economics, is working with Keybank as a summer intern.

Autumn Tedrow, a senior business administration major with a moinor in finance and economics, is working with Keybank as a summer intern.

Minori Higashiyama, center to right, Erin Levesque, Kian Molani, all masters student in aerospace engineering, prepare to launch their team’s student-designed cubesat as part of James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes from Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Cole Dorman, a PhD student in climate and space sciences and engineering, and others inflate a helium balloon, one of four, to carry cubesats designed by students in Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes into the stratosphere when they launch from the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

University of Michigan students beginning to launch four helium-filled balloons and the student designed cubesats they carry as part of Associate Professor James Cutler s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes from Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Associate Professor James Cutler, right, gives final instructions to students in his AEROSP 495 and 740 classes as they prepareto launch four student-designed cubesats into the stratosphere from the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Rohan Chandratre, left, a maters student in aerospace engineering, and Shun-Yu Yang, a masters student in space engineering, make last minute adjustments to their team cubesat before launch as part of James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

After final adjustments Cutler and his students drove to Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis to launch the cubesats, which would then be carried in the stratosphere eastward to approximate just east of Tecumseh.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Ashray Mohit, a masters student in aerospace engineering, center, helps keep things balanced as Cole Dorman, a PhD student in climate and space sciences and engineering, kneeling, and others inflate a helium balloon, one of four, to carry cubesats designed by students in Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes into the stratosphere when they launch from the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Associate Professor James Cutler, center, speaks with students as they prepare to launch four cubesats as part of AEROSP 495 and 740 classes at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022. In the background are Will Moll, left, and Rohan Chandratre, both maters student in aerospace engineering.

After final adjustments Cutler and his students drove to Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis to launch the cubesats, which would then be carried in the stratosphere eastward to approximate just east of Tecumseh.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

From left, Gabriela Chia, and Madeline Purvis, both undergraduates in aerospace engineering, and Associate Professor James Cutler, as students prepare to launch four cubesats as part of AEROSP 495 and 740 classes at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

After final adjustments Cutler and his students drove to Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis to launch the cubesats, which would then be carried in the stratosphere eastward to approximate just east of Tecumseh.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Detail of Associate Professor James Cutler proudly wearing his U of M gear, as students in his AEROSP 495 and 740 classes prepare to launch four student-designed cubesats into the stratosphere from the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Noah Eckert, center, and Christian Henderson, right, both undergraduates in aerospace engineering, inflate a balloon with helium to carry one of four cubesats into the stratosphere when they launch from the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022. Eckert and Henderson are both students in one of Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor James Cutler’s classes. In the background is Tran Anh Nguyen, a former student of Cutler’s who graduated in December 2021 and now works as an engineer for the University of Michigan.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Erin Levesque, left, a masters student in aerospace engineering, and Karthik Kamaraj, a masters student in space engineering, as they and three other teams prepare to launch four cubesats as part of AEROSP 495 and 740 classes at the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Autumn Tedrow, a senior business administration major with a moinor in finance and economics, is working with Keybank as a summer intern.

Ashray Mohit, a masters student in aerospace engineering, center, helps inflate a helium balloon, one of four, to carry cubesats designed by students in Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes into the stratosphere when they launch from the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

University of Michigan students preparing to launch four helium-filled balloons and the student designed cubesats they carry as part of James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes from Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Shivam Patel, center, a masters student in computer engineering, and Cole Helsel, left, and Hunter Sagerer, right, both undergraduates in aerospace engineering, make final adjustments to one of four cubesats as they and other students in Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes prepare to launch from the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

A lovely Japanese themed evening event took place on Mon. July 18, 5 - 7 pm where Kelly Storm, Olds College, School of Environment, took us on a tour of ancient Japanese Gardens by looking through her camera lens on her trip of a lifetime in the summer 2009. The event included a sushi dinner complete with a sushi rolling and assembly demonstration and Ikebana Floral design presentation. A Silent Auction of donated plant and floral designs raised over $200 for the Canadian Red Cross - Japan Tsunami relief!

Hort Week Course photos 2011

Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, left, helps Daniil Voloshin, a masters student in space engineering, prepare to inflate a helium balloon, one of four, to carry cubesats designed by students in Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes into the stratosphere when they launch from the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

From left, Gabriela Chia, and Madeline Purvis, both undergraduates in aerospace engineering, Gage Bergman, a masters student in aerospace and Graduate Student Instructor, and Associate Professor James Cutler, as students prepare to launch four cubesats as part of AEROSP 495 and 740 classes at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

After final adjustments Cutler and his students drove to Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis to launch the cubesats, which would then be carried in the stratosphere eastward to approximate just east of Tecumseh.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

A visit to Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Yeah--you wanted one as a kid, didn't you...

View of University of Michigan students launching balloons as part of James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes from Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Levi Hutmacher/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Aruma Kushwaha, a masters student in aerospace engineering, works with one of four cubesats she and other students in Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes prepare for launch at the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

Jiasheng Tang, left, a masters student in aerospace engineering, and Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor James Cutler configure radios so they can track the balloons in flight as they and three other teams prepare to launch four cubesats as part of AEROSP 495 and 740 classes at the Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday morning, December 6, 2022. In the background are Erin Levesque, left, a masters student in aerospace engineering, and Karthik Kamaraj, a masters student in space engineering.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

View of University of Michigan students launching balloons as part of James Cutler’s AEROSP 495 and 740 classes from Plumb Lake County Park near Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.

The goal of the courses is to give students the opportunity to design and build complex satellite-like flight vehicles. The high-altitude balloons, which are filled with helium, rise into the stratosphere emulating some key aspects of spaceflight. According to Graduate Student Instructor Gage Bergman, "The stratosphere is an extreme environment, it experiences vast temperature differences, and also requires students to develop robust and reliable systems because once a balloon is released, there is no way to retrieve it - just like actual spaceflight.” Bergman is a masters student in aerospace engineering.

Photo: Levi Hutmacher/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing