Three papers presented by University of Missouri-Rolla students received awards at the 2006 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Region V Student Paper Conference in Ames, Iowa, in April.

UMR students who received awards at the conference include:

• John Gantt of Madisonville, Ky., a senior in aerospace engineering, and Natalie Frenz of St. Louis, a senior in aerospace engineering, who won second place in the undergraduate category with their paper titled “Effects of Focused Energy Deposition on the Performance of Hypersonic Nozzle Flow.” Gantt and Frenz worked under the direction of Dr. Dave Riggins, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UMR.
• Michael Dancer of Poplar Bluff, Mo., a graduate student in aerospace engineering, who won second place in the graduate category for his paper titled “MR SAT Orbit Determination Using the Theta-D Filter.” Dr. S.N. Balakrishnan, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, is Dancer’s advisor.
• Venkat Durbha of Hyderabad, India, a graduate student in aerospace engineering, who won third place in the graduate category for his paper titled “New Nonlinear Observer Design with Application to Target Interception.” Balakrishnan is also Durbha’s advisor.

Approximately 50 students attended the conference from UMR, U.S. Air Force Academy, Kansas State University, University of Minnesota, University of North Dakota and Iowa State University.