Student studies space dust for NASA

Jeremiah Rittenhouse, former Crowder student, has been selected by NASA to help solve a dusty problem.  In order to settle, explore, or go to Mars at all NASA needs solar panels and other equipment that will work in the harsh and dusty environment.    Dust in particular is a big problem because it can cover solar panels and prevent the panels from working properly.    NASA created a $1 million grant to encourage colleges across the country to come up with solutions to Mars related problems. Jeremiah Rittenhouse and his classmates at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) might have the solution to the solar panel problem.

   Their solution is called Contaminant Ultra Sonic Removal via Vibration Ejection from Solar cells (or CURVES) and it is exactly as complicated as it sounds.

   “We purpose to bond piezoelectric actuators to the dark side of solar cells and excite the structural modes of solar cells to shake the adhered dust partials free,” says Rittenhouse in his You-Tube submission video which just earned Missouri S&T a sizable grant from NASA.

Source: “Contaminant Ultrasonic Removal via Vibration Ejection from Solar cells (CURVES) Big Idea Proposal.” Jeremiah Rittenhouse, Uploaded Dec. 15 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X41g6UfQPGs

   Rittenhouse studied pre-engineering at Crowder and says that Crowder helped to prepare him for classes at Missouri S&T.

   “My experience at Crowder was fantastic,” Says Rittenshouse. “Engineering classes are difficult, and I think the ones I took at Crowder prepared me well for Missouri S&T. Students tend to get a little bit heavier credit load here, but otherwise an engineering class here is about the same difficulty as an engineering class at Crowder. Crowder was better because the classes were smaller. I had some amazing professors at Crowder (like Dr. Clymer) and I really loved the advising staff in the Student Success Center and Project NOW office.

   “Jeremiah is. . .  a Crowder Alum and all around nice guy. He makes me proud,” Says Dr. Denna Clymer. “He and his brother are the reason teachers teach.”

   Rittenhouse admits that he wasn’t that interested in science or school in general in his younger years. He says that he wishes he had applied himself instead of playing video game.

   “I would say that my interest in science has grown a lot in college. I was a lot happier just coming up with ideas for projects and trying to build them than trying to understand the science behind them. In college, I learned a lot of the theory: the science behind the way the world works,” says Rittenhouse.

   Rittenhouse explains that his parents are his heroes calling his mother “one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met’ and saying that his father taught him to take pride is a job well done. He also credits his faith with his success saying he uses his time studying science to build his relationship with God.

   There is something miraculous about watching the science unfold in the video that Rittenhouse and his classmates made for their submission. In the video a clip shows a small quartz glass crystal lens shaking itself free of salt particles. One second the lens is covered with salt and with the flick of a switch and a faint hum the crystals are thrown off.

“CURVES is basically an extension of a project that was already going on in my lab. The video kind of explained it. Yezad Anklesaria’s PhD work was on a lens cleaner project and he showed that it worked for some contaminants. CURVES is just using the same idea and putting it on solar cells instead,” explains Rittenhouse.

   “We know our nation’s colleges and universities provide a reservoir of student talent and creativity that brings new perspectives and solutions to NASA. We hope to cultivate innovative ideas from diverse teams of students, and we are thrilled to continue fostering student contributions to NASA’s mission,” says Mike Kincaid, associate administrator of NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement.