Dr.
Kathleen M. Tacina
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Dr. Kathleen M. Tacina
Aerospace Engineer at Glenn Research Center |
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| Experiments on pulsed ejectors were
performed in the 1'
x 1' Supersonic Wind Tunnel. |
Dr. Kathleen M. Tacina, an aerospace engineer at NASA's
Glenn Research Center, received the Cleveland Area Young
Engineer of the Year Award from the Greater Cleveland National
Engineer's Week committee during its reception at the Great
Lakes Science Center, Cleveland.
The Young Engineer of the Year award is presented to an
engineer under the age of 35, who resides, works in and
is identified with the Greater Cleveland/Northeast Ohio
technical community. Recipients are selected for their
past technical and professional accomplishments, contributions
to the engineering profession, current professional activities
and projects and their involvement in civic and community
affairs.
"I am extremely pleased Kathy was selected as the
Young Engineer of the Year," said Thomas J. Biesiadny,
chief of Glenn's Turbomachinery and Propulsion Systems
Division's Inlet Branch, who nominated her for the award. "Despite
her short time at NASA she has acquired an impressive array
of technical and professional accomplishments and is an
excellent role model for future engineers."
After joining Glenn in August 2002, Tacina began performing
pioneering research to understand the flow phenomena associated
with the pulse detonation engine. Unlike conventional aircraft
engine technologies, the pulse detonation engine combustion
produces gas flows that are both unsteady and supersonic.
Thus, the flow phenomena associated with pulse detonation
engines are significantly different than those associated
with conventional aircraft engines. Tacina has taken complete
responsibility for operation of a key data acquisition
device for the pulsed ejector experiments, in which innovative
high-speed data acquisition techniques were required to
understand the highly dynamic flow phenomena.
Tacina, who was the 1991 Brunswick High School valedictorian,
earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical and Astronautical
Engineering from The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
She also earned a Masters of Science both in Aerospace
Engineering and Applied Mathematics and her Ph.D. in Aerospace
Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
Michigan.
Tacina has written reports on a variety of subjects ranging
from sophisticated instrumentation to burning gas jets,
one of which was published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics (July
25, 2000, Vol. 415, pp.23-44) and presented at a national
American Physical Society meeting. She presented a NASA
research report in January 2004 at the 42nd American Institute
of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aerospace Sciences
Meeting and Exhibit and is currently drafting a report
to be presented in June at the AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference
and Exhibit.
Since joining NASA, she has mentored a Cooperative Education
Engineering Student and a high school summer intern and
served as a judge at the 2003 International Science and
Engineering Fair. She is the Vice President of Education
of the Westside Advanced Toastmasters and has been a Parish
School of Religion teacher and teaching assistant for students
with disabilities.
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