By Adrienne LaPorte

Daniel Gerber became the second UA student to win an aerospace engineering award.

Gerber, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, received the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation International Student Conference paper award. He competed against about 20 students from the Southeastern conference of the society and won. Then he competed nationally against seven students to win the award.

AIAA is a professional society for aerospace and mechanical engineers and was founded in 1963, said Kevin Miller, spokesman for the UA division of AIAA.

The competition requires the students to write a paper and then give a 20-minute presentation with 10 minutes of questions at the AIAA conference regionally. The students who win their regions then repeat the process at the national conference.

“The paper was a result of work I did with Dr. Paul Hubner. I worked with him and some of his Ph.D. students running tests. The paper was written in a couple months leading up to the conference on work done in fall of 2008 and early spring 2009,” Gerber said.

The research and paper were based on taking a coding spray and coating a metal or specimen then applying a force and documenting the change to the specimen.

The coating is luminescent and allows polarized light to show the changes caused by the force. Without the coating the naked eye would not be able to note the change. Gerber would take a photo of the object before the force and then after to compare the strain values.

“I was surprised and excited when I won,” Gerber said. ”Anyone who’s at the conference could come see you present. You don’t know who’s going to be in your room. There could be experts on your topic in your room to ask questions, and you can’t tell how they’re going to grade you.”

Gerber received $1,000, a medal and a certificate. He was also recognized at an AIAA luncheon.

“It’s something that someone in the industry will recognize and will understand the hoops you have to go through to get the award,” Gerber said.

“I think it is excellent exposure for [Daniel] and a wonderful opportunity. It shows his commitment to education and his ability,” said Hubner, an assistant professor of aerospace engineering and mechanics.

Gerber said he plans to continue research this summer, and wants to attend graduate school after he graduates in May 2011.

“He is dedicated, organized and a conscientious student. Dan will go as far as his interests take him,” Hubner said.

Gerber was also the recipient of the Goldwater Scholarship this year.