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November 7, 2006
Rocket Man
Texas Tech professor honored for developing software language for NASA.
Written by Cory Chandler
The world’s leading professional electrical engineering association honored Texas Tech University computer science professor Daniel Cooke with its Technical Achievement Award for a computer language used in developing NASA’s new Crew Exploration Vehicle.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society honored Cooke during its President's Awards Banquet in San Diego, Calif. The certificate and $2,000 honorarium recognizes outstanding and innovative contributions to the fields of computer and information science and engineering or computer technology within the last 15 years.
Cooke was selected for his advances in computer language research leading to a language called SequenceL. NASA engineers used the language as they worked with Texas Tech computer scientists on guidance, navigation and control systems for the Crew Exploration Vehicle – a manned spacecraft capable of ferrying astronauts and scientists on extended space missions, is scheduled to go into use after the existing shuttle fleet is retired.
NASA engineers also used the SequenceL language to develop abort software on NASA’s current shuttles. The decision-making software is intended to aid the crew and flight controllers in determining the safest abort decision should a failure occur in flight.
A project currently underway involves using SequenceL to prototype the requirements for the Orion Crew Exploration’s Abort Executive.
Featured Expert
Daniel Cooke, professor, Department of Computer Science, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-3527, or daniel.cooke@ttu.edu.
Visit Dr. Cooke's Faculty Page.
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Web layout by Lisa Low