NASA Glenn Academy 2006

NASA Academy 2006
Glenn Research Center
2006 GRC Academy Home

Frank J. Centinello III

State University of New York at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY

Aerospace Engineering
Bachelor of Science, May 2004

NASA Academy Research Project

Singular Value Decomposition Kalman Filter Turbofan Thrust Estimation
NASA Principal Investigator: Jonathan Litt

Education

Currently, I am a second-year graduate student working toward a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering at the University at Buffalo. My thesis will be a study of navigational filtering solutions for GPS-INS systems. I am comparing, through the use of various residual tests, which of the NED or ECEF frames is better for the linearization of the covariance propagation of the navigational Kalman filter.

Also, I have studied at the American University of Rome, Italy in 2002, and at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany in 2005. In Italy, I studied Italian culture during a summer semester. In Germany, I earned credits for graduate school while serving as a research assistant. Because of these experiences, I am conversant in both Italian and German.

Experience

While studying in Darmstadt, Germany, I worked with a research team to program a navigational Kalman filter. This was to serve our group project of designing a low-cost GPS-INS navigation platform for general aviation applications.

At the University at Buffalo, I am a teaching assistant for the senior aerodynamics lab and lecture. This entails supervising lab exercises, grading reports and exams, and holding weekly office hours.

During my senior year, I served as the president of the university’s student chapter of AIAA. Our main projects were the submission of research proposals to NASA’s student microgravity research program, and the building of a model aircraft for annual competition. We also visited local grade schools and the Buffalo Museum of Science for aerospace demonstrations.

Extra-Curricular Activities

I attended flight school and received my private flying license during my senior year of high school. Since then I have continued flying in my spare time, but am looking to improve by adding ratings or training to fly as a professional after I complete my degree.

Currently, I enjoy reading and training in Kung Fu. I have also spent time tutoring at a local high school in the past semester.