Go for Liftoff, Twice

Students from CSULB’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department were among members of a joint academic/industry/government team, left, that recently launched, recovered, refurbished and re-launched the Prospector 7 rocket in just three and one-half hours.

The launch was made possible by a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research contract to CSULB’s research partner Garvey Spacecraft Corp. (GSC) of Long Beach from the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate branch at Edwards Air Force Base. The launches were part of CSULB and GSC’s Nanosat Launch Vehicle development program, part of the California Launch Vehicle Education Initiative.

The partnership is developing launch vehicles for small satellite developers and operators whose spacecraft have a mass of 10 kilograms (22 pounds) or less, a growing area of industry. Prospector 7 also carried other university payloads including from Montana State University and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Art Professor Receives Critics Award

Christopher Miles, an assistant professor of art theory and criticism, received one of the top honors for 2004-05 by the International Association of Art Critics, U.S. Chapter (AICA/USA), whose annual awards recognize excellence in gallery and museum shows.

Miles, along with Hammer Museum curators James Elaine and Aimee Chang, were named recipients of the first-place award in the Best Thematic Museum Show Nationally category for their exhibit, “Thing: New Sculpture from Los Angeles,” which was organized by the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.

“This is a rare distinction,” said Miles, who received the award at the annual AICA Awards ceremony in February 2006 in New York. AICA/USA is the only group to formally recognize excellence in this cultural arena. Each year, the organization invites its more than 400 members to nominate and vote for the outstanding exhibitions of the previous season.

University Art Museum Receives Three Grants

CSULB’s University Art Museum (UAM) received three educational support grants last fall. The Institute of Museum and Library Services granted $134,102, combined with $10,000 from the Dwight Stuart Youth Foundation, to support the school programs Eye to Eye/Ear to Ear Teen Docent Program and EnvisionArt, while the California Community Foundation awarded $38,061 to update and enhance the UAM’s Web site.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an independent federal grant-making agency dedicated to helping libraries and museums serve their communities. The Dwight Stuart Youth Foundation is overseen by family members of the late Carnation heir Dwight Stuart and supports organizations that provide direct services and experiences to underserved children and youth. The California Community Foundation supports nonprofit organizations and public institutions that provide a variety of community and educational services.

In Eye to Eye/Ear to Ear, CSULB art education students train high school students to go into area schools to give presentations about the UAM’s exhibitions. EnvisionArt focuses on developing critical thinking skills among third to fifth graders by discussing art. The California Community Foundation funds will go toward enhancing the UAM Web site to include archives of past exhibitions and works from the collection so that students can do research online.