About

Eric S. Ackerman, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean and Director of Graduate Programs
Nova Southeastern University
Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences
Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Project Director, Emil Buehler Research Center for Engineering, Science and Mathematics
http://www.nova.edu/buehler/

President, South Florida InfraGard Chapter
http://www.infragardsfl.org/

President, DAMA International South Florida Chapter
http://www.damasouthflorida.org/

Webmaster and News Editor, Upsilon Pi Epsilon - International Honor Society
http://upe.acm.org/

Broward Section Chair, Region 3 Student Activities Chair, Webmaster, IEEE
http://www.ewh.ieee.org/reg/3/


Eric S. Ackerman, Ph.D. is the Assistant Dean and Director of Graduate Programs of Nova Southeastern University's Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences. He holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering, Master's in Information Systems, and Doctorate in Information Systems and Science.  His commitment to the engineering and information sciences field spans 20+ years and includes teaching college engineering and information science courses at an ABET accredited program in the State of Florida college system. Dr. Ackerman has been involved in various engineering projects in the area of computing and design of hardware systems. One of his biggest accomplishments was the design of the computer system for a scientific payload on the Space Shuttle - STS-91 (June 2, 1998 - G-743). He has been actively involved with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) from 1992 to now in various roles and has served as the general chairman of SoutheastCon 2005 and is currently the Region 3 Student Activities chairman. Dr. Ackerman is the webmaster for Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE) International Honor Society for the Computing and Information Disciplines and IEEE R3.

IEEE Activities – (S’91-M’93-SM’04)  COMMITTEES/BOARDS: Region 3 Student Activities Chairman 2006 - current; Region 3 Web Master - 2006 - Current, Region 3 Student Activities Vice Chair, 2002-2006. SECTIONS: Broward Executive Committee, 1993; Membership, Chair, 1993; Student Activities, Chair, 1995; Industry/Student Liaison, 1997-99; Chairman, 1994-05; Lecture Series, Chair, 1995-96; Group/Society Coordinator, 1994; Vice-Chairman, 1993-94; Newsletter, 1993-95; Pre-College Education Committee, 1995-97. STUDENT BRANCHES: Nova Southeastern University - Founding Student Member, 1992: Broward Community College NSU Partnership - 1995; NSU/BCC Chapter Advisor, 1995-05. CONFERENCES: IEEE SoutheastCon 2005, General Chair (http://sec05.nova.edu/). COUNCILS: Florida Council Chairman, 2002-04; Florida Council Vice Chairman 2000-02, Junior Past Chairman - Communications / Event Planner / Webmaster, 2004-present.  AWARDS: 2003 Region 3 IEEE-USA Regional Professional Leadership Award, various section and council awards.

Terrestrial and Atmospheric Multispectral Explorer (TAMSE) - An Interdisciplinary Payload to Perform Space Based Remote Sensing and to Measure Microgravity and Radiation Effects.
Category: Space Based Research & Payload Development
Co-Principal Investigator/Co-Project Director
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?N=4294714998&Ns=ArchiveName%7c0

This was the first educational payload flown on the Space Shuttle from the State of Florida. This experiment launched on STS-91 Space Shuttle Discovery June 2, 1998 and returned June 12, 1998. The payload included three earth viewing remote sensing experiments which included a hyperspectral imaging holographic Fourier transform spectrometer, a high radiometric accuracy narrow band four channel discrete radiometer, and a three channel high spatial resolution imager. Three microgravity experiments involved crystal growth:  Calcium Tartrate crystals were grown using a gel and diffusion method.  Carbon dioxide was combined with dimethylamine to form crystals.  CuInSe2 thin films were electro-deposited from aqueous solution. Three radiation experiments included: A genotoxicology experiment to determine the degree to which DNA from man, chicken, fish, and plants is damaged by exposure to cosmic radiation.  Cosmic ray background intensity was monitored using a standard Geiger tube.  The primary remote sensing experiments consisted of three modules:  A simple yet rugged Sagnac interferometer acting as a Fourier Transform Spectrometer (MSI), a separate multiple channel discrete cell radiometer (RACE) and a CCD camera with three wide band color filters (CFEP). The top of atmosphere upwelling spectral radiance distribution was measured from 300 to 1000 nanometers.  Together these instruments provided an integrated dataset having both high spectral and spatial resolution as well as good absolute radiometric accuracy.  Data products included: vegetation indices, phytoplankton concentrations, and atmospheric aerosol characterization. Calcium Tartrate crystals were grown using a gel and diffusion method.  The gel growing medium was made with sodium silicate and tartaric acid. The gel was mixed and set in the module before the flight integration. Two valves controlled the start and end of the diffusion process. This experiment was intended as a follow up to an experiment aboard the Apollo Soyuz mission. CuInSe2 thin films were electro-deposited from aqueous solution.  Metal salts of Cu(SO4)3, In(SO4)3‑Hydrate, and SeO2 were dissolved in a 1:1 mixture of deionized water and ethylene glycol (50ml of each for a total bath volume of lOOml). The fluid was contained in a precision machined fluid cell made from high molecular weight polyethylene, which has minimal structural degradation for temperatures down to -40°C. 

The GAS program was managed by the Goddard Space Flight Facility (GSFC) and offered access to space for testing ideas that might later evolve into major space experiments. Since standard mechanical and electrical interfaces are limited, all required battery, data recording, and sequencing systems are provided by the Payload.

GAS payload canister and typical payload

Processing activities for STS-91 continue in OPF Bay 2
G-743 is the one next to the thermal wall.

STS-91 KSC Electronic Photo File

Scanning Probe Microscopy for the International Space Station
Category: Space Based Research & Payload Development
Program Type: Discretionary/Competitive Grants
Principal Investigator
http://www.floridaspacegrant.org/fsgc_research3.php?ID=4
2002 - Florida Space Grant Consortium
Awarded to: Nova Southeastern University

The International Space Station (ISS) will provide the ability to synthesize new materials and to manufacture new products in space. For example, semiconductor crystals and protein crystals, which have important applications to computer technology and biotechnology, can be grown to a greater degree of perfection in microgravity than on earth. Repeated experiments since Sky Lab and subsequent shuttle missions have demonstrated this. The Space Station will provide a platform that can offer months or even years of microgravity conditions at a time. Among the earliest commercial products to be manufactured on the ISS will be high-purity semiconductor crystals and large protein crystals with enhanced crystallinity. In order to support a crystal-manufacturing platform in space, it will be necessary to have on the ISS certain instruments that can be used to characterize samples while still in orbit. An ideal instrument for this application would be one that can resolve the structure of crystals down to the atomic scale, is small in size, has low power requirements, and is operationally clean. Such an instrument can be developed in the form of a Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM) for the microgravity environment, or a microgravity SPM system. Scanning Probe Microscopy is a general term used to describe a type of microscopy in which a local probe is raster scanned over a sample of interest. As the probe is scanned across the sample, a local interaction between the probe and sample is measured. Scanning Probe Microscopes (SPMs) include the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and many other types that have been developed from these earlier predecessors. The International Space Station (ISS) is being assembled with various experimental apparatus and instrumentation in mind; however, a Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM) has not been intended.  It is an ideal instrument for materials processing in space where direct atomic resolution images can be obtained of crystalline materials as they form instead of returning them to Earth for analysis. SPMs are generally very sensitive to mechanical and acoustic noise, especially when imaging at the atomic scale.  This usually requires some degree of vibration isolation. The instrument can be isolated from acoustic vibration by placing it under a vacuum.  The mechanical vibrations usually require either an elaborate passive vibration isolation system or a sophisticated electronic active vibration isolation system. Due to the scientific benefits of installing an SPM on the ISS, an experiment has been devised to determine the effectiveness of such an instrument in reduced gravity. Before an SPM can be implemented for the ISS, it must be known how such an instrument will operate in the microgravity environment.  The two main requirements for this project include a long duration microgravity environment or a repeatable short duration microgravity environment and a recoverable platform that also allows for direct user operation.