{"427051":{"#nid":"427051","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Inspired by Orion: Zu Puayen Tan","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen NASA launched the Orion spacecraft on Friday, AE graduate student Zu Puayen Tan did more than look up in wonder.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe turned to art.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe mixed media result, \u0022Dawn of a New Age of Exploration\u0022 expresses the Milaysia native\u0027s awe for the future of his chosen field. In it, a phantasmal maiden dressed in flowing gowns floats above the Orion capsule, gazing into unknown gallaxies that the viewer is inspired to imagine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It hints at the birth of a new vehicle, a new era of exploration,\u0022 he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETan is excited about the progress that the United States\u0027 space program has made toward landing on distant planets, but he thinks it\u0027s important to temper that enthusiasm with a calmer look at the implications of space exploration.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Typically, we hear people talk about space exploration as being \u0027cool\u0027 or \u0027really badass,\u0027\u0022 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022But there\u0027s something beyond that -- the freedom, the serenity that it inspires -- that I was trying to capture.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe illustration is a combination of acrylic paint, photography, and graphic art software programs -- a mixture that has fueled his artistic talents for years. He turned out the piece in a matter of hours after Orion landed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I was excited about the flight, and I had been spending way too much time in the lab, so getting out to do some art made a lot of sense,\u0022 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe 25-year-old doctoral student completed his undergraduate and masters work in aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech and is currently doing research in the Combustion Lab under the direction of that lab\u0027s namesake, Dr. Ben Zinn.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis research examines how fuel responds to injection at high pressure temperatures, a process that holds much promise for next generation combustion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We don\u0027t know enough about how fuel behaves, so it\u0027s an important area. And the [Zinn] Combustion lab is equipped to achieve a combination of temperature and pressure that not a whole lot of labs can attain,\u0022 he said. \u0022It\u0027s exciting work.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDoes it compete with his lifelong interest in visual art?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022No. The first things I ever drew were airplanes, and I\u0027ve pretty much always wanted to work with them,\u0022 he said. \u0022This is just something that keeps me balanced.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022500\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00221\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\u0022rtecenter\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOrion:\u0026nbsp;Dawn of a\u0026nbsp; New Era of Exploration,\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;a mixed-media piece by GT-AE doctoral student Zu Puayen\u0026nbsp;Tan, was inspired by\u0026nbsp; the Dec. 5\u0026nbsp; Orion Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1)\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"When NASA launched the Orion spacecraft on Friday, AE graduate student Zu Puayen Tan did more than look up in wonder.  He turned to art."}],"uid":"27456","created_gmt":"2015-07-21 15:31:07","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:12","author":"Britanny Grace","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-08T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-08T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1239","name":"School of Aerospace Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2082","name":"aerospace engineering"},{"id":"408","name":"NASA"},{"id":"136221","name":"Zu Puayen Tan"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["communications@ae.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}