Brown Bag Seminar Features Tiffany Swarmer on October 22nd
The fall semester Brown Bag Seminar Series features graduate students providing presentations on their current research and recent internships. The series continues on Wednesday, October 22nd, featuring grad student Tiffany Swarmer presenting “HI-SEAS Experience and Outcomes from Summer 2014”
This series of presentations will be held in the Space Studies Library at noon. Lunch will be served. All grad students are expected to attend.
About the topic: Planetary analogs are valuable in developing the knowledge necessary for future planetary exploration. Over the spring and summer of 2014 I was able to participate in a NASA funded 120 day Mars analog mission with the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) group on the slopes of Mauna Loa. This site is of particular interest due to its similarity with the Tharsis region on Mars providing an excellent site for Extra Vehicular Activities and an isolated, confined, and extreme environment similar to what future planetary crews may experience.
In this Brown Bag presentation I will be reviewing my time within the 120 day analog simulation illustrating the various systems, scientific studies, and daily life that occurred during the simulation. The studies ranged from psychosocial behavior, plant growth, 3-D printed surgical tools, performance, exercise, etc. and were completed by the crew throughout the simulation. My personal focus was on EVA metrics and understanding the components that affect EVAs performance and general outcome.
About the presenter: Tiffany Swarmer has a B.S. in biology with a focus on microbiology from Sonoma State University and is currently a Graduate student in the Space Studies Department at the University of North Dakota (UND). She has provided support as a researcher, study coordinator, biologist, and emergency medical technician for analog habitat and spacesuit research. Prior to returning to school for her Master’s degree she has a multidisciplinary background that has included work in DNA sequencing, medical risk management, emergency medicine, public relations, and microbial research. Most recently she participated as an analog crew member for a NASA funded 120 day Mars analog with the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HISEAS) acting as crew medic, safety officer, and lead Extra Vehicular Activities engineer.