Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Ryan Milcarek’s NASA Experience Fuels Inspiration

Thursday, October 30, 2014, By Matt Wheeler
Share
College of Engineering and Computer Science

Ryan Milcarek spent mornings over a long weekend in May dining with astronauts. There were brief introductions—Where are you from? What do you study?—But the conversation quickly turned to combustion and fuel cells. Over eggs and coffee, veteran astronaut Jerry Ross and Milcarek discussed the topics they both know intimately—Ross from his record seven spaceflights and Milcarek from his studies and research in mechanical engineering at Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Ryan Milcarek with Hall of Fame Astronaut Shannon Lucid

Ryan Milcarek with Hall of Fame Astronaut Shannon Lucid

As a junior, Milcarek was awarded the prestigious Astronaut Scholarship, given by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. It is presented to U.S. students who exhibit exceptional performance, initiative and creativity in science and engineering. In addition to providing funding, the foundation also connects Milcarek and his fellow scholars with accomplished engineers, like Ross, at special events throughout the year.

This past May, he was invited to attend the induction of Ross and Shannon Lucid into the Astronaut Hall of Fame at NASA in Cape Canaveral. Seeing this as an opportunity that was too good to pass up, the College’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering sent Milcarek to attend.

Milcarek was given V.I.P. access to the Kennedy Space Center, experiencing parts of NASA that the public never sees, including inside the Orion Mars Space Mission. At a gala the night before the inductions, he ate dinner with the Saturn 5 rocket suspended directly overhead. On a tour, he encountered the Space Shuttle Atlantis on full display, open and nearly close enough to touch. Milcarek inspected the legendary shuttle through the eyes of a mechanical engineer and discovered a new appreciation for what NASA has accomplished.

He says, “Growing up I had a fairly abstract understanding of space exploration. Everybody knows about NASA and going to the moon, but when you actually see and hear how it happened, you understand just how far incredible imagination and hard work can take you. The men and women who design spacecraft have to consider an astounding number of things in what can be life or death missions for the astronauts. I look back on the moon missions and imagine if it was me doing that work 50 or 60 years ago. How would I have fit into that picture?”

Milcarek is currently researching the integration of fuel cells—not for a spacecraft, but for our homes. In Associate Professor Jeongmin Ahn’s combustion and energy research lab they are seeking ways to employ solid oxide and flame fuel cell technology to provide heat and electricity. Currently, electricity is becoming more and more expensive and is often generated by unsustainable coal and natural gas. They see fuel cells as a necessary way to transition to the use of hydrogen for home appliances. A shift to hydrogen will require significant changes to the infrastructure, so flame fuel cells could serve as a go-between solution.

Milcarek is working toward a master’s degree in energy systems and mechanical engineering, as well as a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering, to help him achieve his goal of becoming an energy engineer.

“There’s a tremendous need for experts in energy in the U.S. We’re potentially moving toward a completely different way of approaching energy. It’s a very hot field and there’s a need for people who understand it. There’s this new idea of the energy engineer, but they have to be people who are interdisciplinary. They need to be able to work mechanically, understand HVAC, and think in terms of electricity and power. Lots needs to be done and I’ve been inspired to make my mark there.”

  • Author

Matt Wheeler

  • Recent
  • Rockell Brown Burton Joins Newhouse School as Associate Dean of Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility
    Monday, May 23, 2022, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • Corinne Sartori Joins Libraries as Accessibility Specialist
    Monday, May 23, 2022, By Cristina Hatem
  • Eight New Recruits Begin Campus Peace Officer Academy
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Christine Weber
  • Media Tip Sheet: Consequences of China Lockdown
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Dean Rajiv ‘Raj’ Dewan to Step Down as Dean of the School of Information Studies
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By News Staff

More In STEM

Dean Rajiv ‘Raj’ Dewan to Step Down as Dean of the School of Information Studies

Rajiv “Raj” Dewan, dean of the School of Information Studies, has announced he will conclude his deanship on June 30, 2022. Dewan plans to return to full-time faculty duties while continuing his research. David Seaman, dean of Syracuse University Libraries…

Biology and Earth and Environmental Sciences Departments Come Together on Diversity and Engagement Initiatives

In 1948, Professor James Hope Birnie became Syracuse University’s first African American faculty member in biology, teaching here until 1951. He was also one of its first biology faculty members to be supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)….

Black Hole Image Shows Einstein Was Right, Once Again

Today a team of astronomers announced they successfully captured the first direct image of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Duncan Brown is the Charles Brightman Endowed Professor of Physics at Syracuse University’s College of…

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Professor’s Research Team Receives Multiple Awards at Society for Biomaterials Conference

Biomedical and chemical engineering Professor Mary Beth Monroe attended the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) 2022 meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, with Ph.D. students Anand Vakil, Henry Beaman, Changling Du and Maryam Ramezani, master’s student Natalie Petryk ’21, G’22 and undergraduate students Caitlyn…

Viewing a Microcosm Through a Physics Lens

“What can physics offer biology?” This was how Alison Patteson, assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ physics department and a faculty member in the BioInspired Institute, began the explanation of why her physics lab was studying bacteria. In…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2022 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.