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Dr. Carmen obtained a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering degree as well as a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. While at Ga. Tech she worked with Dr. Warren Strahle, researching solid propellants. She obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) with a focus upon turbulent combustion modeling. Dr. Carmen is the capstone design class coordinator in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) department at UAH. She primarily teaches MAE senior design classes with a focus upon product realization – a class she has taught since 2002.

Several of Dr. Carmen’s senior design teams have won national and international design competitions including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Safety Engineering and Risk Analysis Division safety competition, the International Aluminum Extrusion Design Competition, the American Astronautical Society/von Braun Symposium student poster competition, the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) Systems Engineering design competition and the NASA Great Moonbuggy Race. In 2012, the UAH Moonbuggy team won 1st place in the Moonbuggy race.

Dr. Carmen is the UAH ASME student chapter faculty advisor as well as a Director of the North Alabama ASME section. Dr. Carmen has served as a National Science Foundation scholarship panelist, Department of Defense SMART scholarship panelist and as a delegate to the ASME Leadership Training conference. In 2010 and 2013, Dr. Carmen was named the Outstanding Mechanical Engineer in North Alabama by ASME. In 2010 she was awarded a NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) faculty fellowship – one of 5 senior design class instructors selected from around the country to participate in the program. As a result of the fellowship, several UAH MAE senior design teams have been able to work with NASA engineers on projects that are relevant to NASA’s mission. In April 2011, Dr. Carmen was selected as a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award recipient.

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Ben Groenewald is Head of the EECE Dept. at CPUT in South Africa. He holds a Master of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Cape Town and is currently studying towards his PhD. He is a panel member of the organizing and editorial committee of the Domestic Use of Energy and the Industrial and Commercial Use of Energy conferences. He is a reviewer for both of these conferences. Mr. Groenewald was the CPUT capstone design class coordinator for many years. His main interest, apart from managing his department, is the promotion of STEM education in South Africa and developing sustainable off-grid electricity supply micro-grid models for rural towns in South Africa.

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Rhyme Setshedi is a physics Phd Candidate and a qualified educator/lecturer in the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering (DEECE) at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town South Africa. He has over a decade of teaching experience at tertiary levels and a deep passion for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). His research interest includes small angle scattering (SAS) and the use of informarion technology systems (ITS) in physics and in education. In is on this bases that Rhyme has partnered with Mr Ben Groenewaald (Departmental Head- DEECE ) and Dr Christina Carmen (a capstone design class coordinator in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department at the University of Alabama in Huntsville(UAH)) on this ALLiance for International Excellence among the future Space workforce (ALLIES). Rhyme has been involved in this international STEM outreach programme for three years now, coordinating CPUT students’ involvement in the ALLICE STEM tool development with UAH students.

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Aysha Abrahams
Born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. Obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Education (Honours) in 2002 and a Master’s Degree in Education (2006) from the University of Cape Town. Lectured at the University of Western Cape, University of Cape Town and Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Currently lecturing Communication Skills and Industrial Projects in the Electrical Engineering Department, CPUT. Additional areas lectured: Research Methodology, Professional Practice, Literacy First Additional Language Methodology, Environmental Education, Philosophy of Care & Health Promotion, Life Orientation, Religion and HIV/Aids. Departmental duties include: Teaching & Learning representative and first year coordinator. Projects: HEAIDS, Service learning in Education and STEM. Awards received: UCT Student Conference award- 2002 and 2004. Publications: one journal article and a chapter in a book. Two articles pending acceptance from accredited journals. Completed and passed Doctoral thesis awaiting graduation.

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