CROWNPOINT, NM - On March 23-24, 2022, the NASA MUREP Institutional Research Opportunity (MIRO) Team visited Navajo Technical University (NTU). While here, they had the chance to meet with President Dr. Guy, Provost Dr. Colleen Bowman, and Associate Professor Monsuru Ramoni, Ph.D., for an on-site review of NTU Institutional research building progress and help strengthen NASA partnership for future opportunities. In 2019, NASA MIRO awarded NTU a $3 million grant for the Navajo Tech Additive Manufacturing Education and Research (NAMER) project headed by Dr. Ramoni.
"We want to continue to provide these types of resources for our students, this way, they can grow in professional development," said President Guy as he discussed the NAMER project with the NASA MIRO Team.
"These are great opportunities for Navajo people. We must continue to pave the way for our students," said Provost Bowman as she explained the impact of the grant for NTU students to the NASA MIRO team while providing some background on NTU's history and goals for students.
Dr. Ramoni, the grant's principal investigator (PI), provided comprehensive updates on the grant's activities and stated NAMER strives to encourage additive manufacturing research to provide opportunities for Native American students to be part of the engineering industry.
NTU students gave presentations about their progress on projects they've been working on. "I feel good about it, and it was a fun presentation," said Winter Morgan, NTU FAB Lab intern, as she described her experience presenting her project with her partner, Joel Yazzie. "Working with my partner Joel was great, and we have our first Joint published paper together.” Morgan and Yazzie are both excited to see their projects in print.
The presentation given by Yazzie and Morgan was entitled "Surface Metrology of DED Lens AM Part: Contact Surface Profilometer." Their project was based on collecting surface data using a 3D cube tool called a "surface profile meter" that is dragged over the surface of the 3D cube. Their paper, entitled "Surface Metrology of DED Lens Am Part: Contact Surface Profilometer," was published in the American Society for Precision Engineering and can be found on: www.vnmglobalsolutions.com/publications
The second presentation, given by Nyala Murphy and Deidra Deswood, was entitled "SUM 2021 NASA AM Metal Internship," Their research was based on 3D printing applications for Aerospace companies, and the material they used is a nickel-based superalloy Inconel 718.
"I felt confident and was not worried; I've done enough presentations since I started working in the Fab Lab that I've gained the experience and understanding of my work," said Nyala Murphy, NTU FAB Lab intern. She described her experience of the presentation with her partner, Deidra Derwood. "We work as a team, we continue to teach each other with collaboration and trust in one another, and we accomplished our goal together," stated Murphy, a peer mentor to Derwood.
NTU continues striving to create and strengthen partnerships that can impact student success in higher education. NTU's mission is to promote students' success, and with grants like these, NTU plans to help students as they develop professionally in any industry.
For more information about the NASA-funded Navajo Tech Additive Manufacturing Education and Research (NAMER), contact Dr. Monsuru Ramoni at mramoni@navajotech.edu.