News Archives

COSMIAC demo sparks interest with high-schoolers

March 6, 2024 - by Kim Delker

photo: A student solders components together at COSMIAC.
A student solders components together at COSMIAC.

Of all the activities that high-schoolers can partake in after school, that most likely doesn’t include joining metals together to form an electrical bond.

But on Feb. 22, that’s exactly what students from the STEM and Robotics Club at Sue V. Cleveland High School learned to do at the COSMIAC facilities south of the UNM campus.

Staffers from COSMIAC, a space-related research center in the UNM School of Engineering, gave a soldering demo to students, allowing them to solder their own devices called Lectennas.

Lectennas are an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research (SSPIDR) project developed in collaboration with the Naval Research Laboratory. Just a few inches long, Lectennas are rectifying antennas (rectennas) that contain a light-emitting diode (LED). The construction of the diodes results in a net positive voltage when it detects frequencies in the range that includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals, which causes the LED to light up.

Lectennas have proven to be a successful outreach tool for COSMIAC for the past several years.

In addition to the soldering lesson, students also received a tour of COSMIAC to get a sense of what kinds of research that is open to students in the School of Engineering.

Prospective Students

Alumni and Supporters

Current Students

Faculty and Staff

Academic Advising & Support

SOE on social media