Space and Earth come together at SFU
Barbara Frisken, 778.782.5767, frisken@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, PAMR, 778.782.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca
Julie Simard (astronaut interviews), 450.926.6651, julie.simard@asc-csa.gc.ca
A Simon Fraser University physicist who is remote-leading an out-of-this-world experiment will welcome back to Earth two space-based colleagues on Friday, May 14.
Astronauts Bob Thirsk (Canadian Space Agency) and Frank De Winne (European Space Agency) will visit the Burnaby campus to discuss a project they’re collaborating on with SFU Physics Chair Barbara Frisken. She is the principal investigator.
Thirsk and De Winne will also give a special presentation about their work on the International Space Station orbiting the Earth. The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will be held in lecture hall 10081 in Saywell Hall at 2:00 p.m.
For the past six months, space-based Thirsk and De Winne, and Earth-based Frisken have been studying how the ISS’s micro gravity environment affects colloids.
Colloids are mixtures in which microscopic particles of one substance disperse evenly throughout another. The reduced gravity in space enables scientists to observe these substances’ behaviour more precisely than on Earth.
Through their project, known as the Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-5 (BCAT-5), Frisken, her Earth-based research team and her astronaut colleagues are advancing scientific understanding of matter’s complex properties.
“A better understanding of the nature of colloidal materials has implications for the food, pharmaceutical and personal care industries,” says Frisken. “They make extensive use of these materials and strive to improve them.”
—30— (Photo available for download http://www.flickr.com/photos/sfupamr/4158992112/)