Browsing by Author "Gunawan, Bryan"
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Item Survival in extreme environment: Capturing and Exposing Microorganisms under Lower Stratospheric conditions(2018-10-18) Gunawan, BryanExtremophilic or prokaryotic organisms have been known to exist in the upper atmosphere condition, especially in the extreme lower stratosphere environment. However, samples obtained from such heights are often riddled with contamination from earth, which unfortunately questions the validity of new discovery or findings involved. University of Houston�s Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Project (USIP) astrobiology research group will therefore attempt a two-pronged approach to conduct a cross-sectional analysis of those microorganisms by collecting living samples using a sterile and lightweight balloon-borne payload and by exposing earth-borne bacteria to the stratospheric condition. These instruments will be flown as payloads on weather balloons. Our research group will attempt to circumvent the contamination issues for the collection experiment by constructing an efficient, sterile suctioning device that can take a large volume sample of stratospheric air at certain specified heights. We will also apply a polyphasic sterilization approach to both collection and exposure experiments to ensure the validity of the samples. Other components such as temperature and pressure sensors, actuators, and active heating system are included to provide context for the environment that microorganisms may be captured or exposed to. Post-analyses on these experiments are expected to provide valid studies on extremophilic organisms in stratosphereItem Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Project: A New Approach on Sampling Microorganisms from the Lower Stratosphere(2017-10-12) Lehnen, Jaime; Gunawan, Bryan; Prince, John; Garcia Darlington, KianaSummary. Obtain cross-sectional data of microorganisms collected in the lower stratosphere using an efficiently designed, lightweight, balloon-borne suctioning mechanism. Data useful for further studies in field of microbiology and atmospheric science. Payload will be flown using latex weather balloon. New Design & Approach. New Payload Design for Sampling Purpose. Large sampling volume. Reduced reliance on electronic movement i.e. pump. Materials rated for extreme environment. Improved Sterilization Measures - Polyphasic approach. Risk mitigation. Multiple environmental readings and tests for redundancy. Next day recovery over Fairbanks’ Active Military Zone. Payload damaged upon landing. Possible impact against snags. Intake mechanism works properly based on stored data.