Kathleen Howell
{{Short description|American scientist and aerospace engineer}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Kathleen Connor Howell
| image =
| nationality = American
| alma_mater = Iowa State University (BS)
Stanford University (MS, Ph.D.)
| doctoral_advisor = John V. Breakwell
| thesis_title = Three-dimensional, periodic halo orbits in the restricted three-body problem
| thesis_url = https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/1065677
| thesis_year = 1983
| field = Aerospace engineering, Orbital mechanics
| prizes = Fellow, National Academy of Engineering (2017)
Dirk Brouwer Award (2004)
'50 Most Important Women in Science' by Discover Magazine (2002)
Presidential Young Investigator Award (1984)
| work_institutions = Purdue University
| homepage = {{URL|1=https://engineering.purdue.edu/AAE/people/ptProfile?resource_id=1384}}
}}
Kathleen Connor Howell is an American aerospace engineer known for her contributions to dynamical systems theory applied to spacecraft trajectory design which led to the use of halo orbit in multiple NASA space missions. She is currently the Hsu Lo Distinguished Professor at Purdue University in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics.{{cite web|url=https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/People/ptProfile?resource_id=1384|title=Kathleen Howell|publisher=Purdue University|accessdate=2009-04-15}} In acknowledgment of her many achievements, Discover magazine recognized her in 2002 as one of the 50 most important women in science.{{cite news|last1=Svitil|first1=Kathy|title=The 50 Most Important Women in Science|url=http://discovermagazine.com/2002/nov/feat50/|accessdate=21 December 2014|publisher=Discover|date=13 November 2002}}
Education
She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering at Iowa State University in 1973. Howell then received her MS and PhD degrees from Stanford University in 1977 and 1983, respectively. Her PhD advisor was John Breakwell and her PhD dissertation was entitled "Three-dimensional, periodic halo orbits in the restricted three-body problem".
Career
Howell started as an assistant professor at Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1982 and is the School's first female tenured professor. She is best known for her contributions to the three-body problem, the interplanetary superhighway, and artificial satellite theories.{{cite web|url=https://hias.tamu.edu/fellow/kathleen-howell/|title=Hagler Institute for higher studies TAMU}}
File:Genesis Mission Trajectory and Flight Plan.jpg
Howell's work{{cite journal | last1=Howell | first1=K | last2= Barden |first2=B | last3=Lo | first3= M |date=1997 | title= Application of Dynamical Systems Theory to Trajectory Design for a Libration Point Mission | journal=Journal of Astronautical Sciences |volume= 45|issue=2 |pages=161–178| doi=10.1007/BF03546374 | bibcode=1997JAnSc..45..161H }} on computing the characteristics of the invariant manifolds associated with halo orbits was first applied for design of trajectory for Genesis mission and enabling low-energy sample return from Sun-Earth L1 point. The spacecraft trajectory for Genesis exploiting Howell's manifold method was computed by Howell and her student Brian Barden during a weekend in August 1996 after an urgent request from Jet Propulsion Lab scientist Martin Lo.{{cite magazine |last=Taubes |first= Gary |date=June 1, 1999 |title=Surfing the Solar System |url= http://discovermagazine.com/1999/jun/featsolar|magazine=Discover |access-date=August 17, 2017 }}
Howell is currently the Editor-In-Chief Emeritus of the AAS Journal of the Astronautical Sciences;{{cite web|url=https://www.springer.com/journal/40295/editors|title=The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences}} she is also a member of other editorial boards. She is both an AIAA and an AAS Fellow.
Awards and honors
Howell is a 1984 winner of the 1984 Presidential Young Investigator Award, presented to her at the White House by Ronald Reagan, and the 2004 recipient of the Dirk Brouwer Award from the American Astronautical Society.{{cite web|url=http://astronautical.org/awards/dirk-brouwer-award/|title=Dirk Brouwer Award|publisher=American Astronautical Society|accessdate=2009-04-15}} In 2007, she delivered the Breakwell Memorial Lecture at the Astrodynamics Symposium at the International Astronautical Congress in Hyderabad, India.{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/offices/nesc/academy/Kathleen-Howell-Bio.html|title=NASA Engineering & Safety Center Academy Biography}}
In 2017 Kathleen Howell was elected to National Academy of Engineering with a citation "For contributions in dynamical systems theory and invariant manifolds culminating in optimal interplanetary trajectories and the Interplanetary Superhighway".{{cite web|url=https://www.nae.edu/165640.aspx|title=NAE Members Directory: Kathleen Connor Howell}}
In 2024, the International Astronomical Union's Working Group on Small Bodies Nomenclature gave the name Kathleenhowell to a large asteroid in the asteroid belt of the Solar System. The entry honors Howell as “instrumental in advancing dynamical systems theory and invariant manifolds, culminating in trajectory optimization. Her pioneering work on the three-body problem has led to the use of halo orbits in several missions.” {{cite web|url=https://engineering.purdue.edu/AAE/spotlights/2024/solar-system-asteroid-named-after-prof-howell|title=Solar System Asteroid named after Prof. Howell }}
Papers
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060910134150/https://avalon.caltech.edu/help/uploads/wiki/files/39/howell-1984.pdf "Three-Dimensional, Periodic, 'Halo' Orbits"]Howell, K. C.: "Three-Dimensional, Periodic, 'Halo' Orbits", Celestial Mechanics, Volume 32, Number 53, 1984
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://engineering.purdue.edu/AAE/people/ptProfile?resource_id=1384 Purdue Faculty Page for Kathleen Howell]
- [http://gregegan.net/SCIENCE/Howell/Howell.html Howell's Moving Orbits], web page explaining Howell's doctoral research by Greg Egan
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Category:American aerospace engineers
Category:Iowa State University alumni
Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
Category:Purdue University faculty
Category:Stanford University alumni
Category:Women aerospace engineers