About Joel Godinez

AIAA Houston Section Webmaster

2020-2021 AIAA Houston Section Nomination Chair/Committee Members

Due to competing priorities with the pandemic and needing time to resume to some level of normalcy, the AIAA Houston Section executive council (with AIAA National concurrence) decided to postpone 2020-2021 elections to August.

In the meantime, we are looking for AIAA Houston Section members to participate in the nomination committee as a chair/member. Duties include: soliciting nominations, verifying and tallying up votes, and announcing election results.

If you are interested in being in the nomination committee, please e-mail Irene: chair2019@aiaahouston.org

Thursday, 7/30: AIAA Houston Section Evening Engagement: Chris Culbert (NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services Manager), Via Zoom

Please join the AIAA Houston Section for an evening engagement on Thursday, July 30, 5:30pm with Mr. Chris Culbert – NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Manager – for a CLPS overview.

Via Zoom: https://aiaa.zoom.us/j/94566977186?pwd=WHVQYTg1bXpKVEVXemg5WWM1U2ptdz09

Meeting ID: 945 6697 7186
Password: Culbert

Or dial in:
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
888 475 4499 US Toll-free
Meeting ID: 945 6697 7186

See the flyer (PDF) for more details.

UPDATE: ASME/AIAA/IEEE Houston Sections Joint Dinner Meeting: The Texas High Speed Train meeting

Updated event details including an Online attendance option are as follows:

Tickets sales end Tuesday July 14th! – RSVP Now!

Online Registration Ends at Meeting Time.

“ASME STS Presents – “Tickets Please!” – HOU to DAL – Hi Speed Train – Texas Central Railway”
Carlos Aguilar – President & CEO, Board of Director Member
Texas Central
Thursday, July 16th
Simultaneously Streamed Via ZOOM!

Texas Central is developing a world-class, high speed train connecting Dallas and Houston via high speed (190 mph) in a 90-minute transit that includes a 15-minute Brazos Valley stop in Grimes County midway between Huntsville and College Station, Texas. Life on the high-speed train: http://devtxcentral.wpengine.com/

Carlos Aguilar is President & CEO, Board of Director Member at Texas Central, a private, Texas-based company that is developing the high-speed passenger railway and associated facilities for The Texas High-Speed Train. He has a BSME from Duke, and MS & PhD degrees in Technological Science from Stirling University (Stirling, Scotland), as well as a 35+ year career working at the Ex-Im Bank, Bechtel, BrightSource and CH2M.

Advance ticket sales start this week and end at midnight on Tuesday, July 14th. You can purchase tickets for the event through Brown Paper Tickets. Additional information is also available through the ASME Website. Regular tickets are $35, students are $15. Online ONLY is Free! Tickets at the door are $50, Credit Card NOW Preferred!

Meeting will be held at:
The Forest Club
9950 Memorial Drive (Near Chimney Rock)
Social Hour: 5:30 pm
Dinner Buffet: 6:15 pm
Presentation: 7:15 pm

From the Forest Club Concerning their protocols for COVID-19:

“Dear Members & Guests,

This past Friday, a new Executive Order for Harris County effective June 22 was issued. It requires all employees and visitors to a commercial entity’s premise to wear a face covering.

Here are our updated protocols:

• All staff will wear a mask both inside and outside.

• Members and their guests 10 years or older must wear a mask entering the club building and when on their way to a table, the gym, pool or restrooms.

• Masks may be removed once seated for eating and drinking.

• Masks may be removed poolside, in the gym when performing exercise, and for all outdoor activities.

Continued existing protocols:

75% seating capacity inside the club
Daily temperature checks of all employees
Rolled silverware, disposable “one time use” menus
Continuous cleaning & disinfecting of all surfaces
Transparent communication if an employee tests positive for COVID-19.”

ASME meetings are open to all. Membership is encouraged but not required to attend. Professional Development Hour (PDH) will be given for this event.

2020 AIAA SSTC Houston Section Middle School Essay Contest Winner

Congrats Sashi Kulatilaka!

Congratulations, Sashi Kulatilaka from College Station Middle School! Your vivid and eloquent narrative of the possibilities to come in the next half-century has been selected as the 1st place winner of the Houston Section. The essay advanced to the AIAA Space Systems Technical Committee’s national level contest, but did not place. Regardless, the Houston Section is very proud of the submission and wishes Ms. Kulatilaka much success and hopes to see futuristic visions outlined in this essay materialize.