School of Design, Engineering & Computing

PhD student reaches for the stars

27 October 2010

PhD research student Jan Walter Schroeder has a passion for outer space and an equal enthusiasm for biomedical engineering.

So, the opportunity to attend the Space Studies Programme (SSP) at the International Space University (ISU) in Strasbourg, France, was the perfect opportunity for Walter to fulfill a dream he's had to reach for the stars.

Currently working in the SMART Technology Research Centre in the University's School of Design, Engineering and Computing, Walter became the first person from BU to graduate from the SSP. Next year, Walter would like to be accepted as a lecturer for the next SSP in Graz. Austria, teaching about the possibilities of using electrical stimulation in space missions.

The £15,000 cost of participating in the programme was covered thanks to a studentship from the European Space Agency and supplemented by further support from the School.

Working with 121 professionals from 30 countries and a wide range of careers, Walter was able to extend his knowledge of space through the SSP, covering different discplines like medicine, science, engineering, law and business.

Activities including a robot competition and a hands-on microgravity experiment added to the experience as did visits to space- related research institutes including CERN, the European orgnisation for nuclear research in Swizerland which is home to the world famous Large Hadron Collider.

During the programme, Walter and 39 other students also explored the carbon cycle to make recommendations on sustainability. Their final report was sent to space agencies around the world and is about to be presented this month at the International Astronautical Congress, where he will take part in the final presentation of the group's research results.

"I've been interested in space since I first read Stephen Hawkings A brief history of time in secondary school." said Walter. "I passed the medical requirements test for the last European Astronaut Selection, but was too young to be accepted in the next round. It may work the next time."

On a more individual level, Walter took the opportunity to further investigate the use of electrical stimulation in space as part of his own PhD research which involves direct collaboration between BU and hospitals in Bournemouth, Poole and Salisbury.

"The technology we are developing here at Bournemouth University in the SMART Technology Research Centre might help one day solve one of the big issues of human space flight exploration missions - the loss of muscles mass due to the missing gravity environment," he enthused.