Lassonde graduate student experiences flight under micro-gravity conditions

Lassonde School of Engineering student, Costantine Papakonstantinou defies gravity and experiences flight under micro-gravity conditions (weightlessness). 

Papakonstantinou was given the chance to join in on a thrilling collaborative research project, Zero Gravity Graphene, where he conducted experiments related to porous media and advanced materials, in the Graphene Flagship.

He is a member of the Surface Engineering & Instrumentation Lab (SEiL) at Mechanical Engineering, York University, led by Lassonde School of Engineering Professor Alidad Amirfazli. 

Papakonstantinou was one amongst a number of Graphene Flagship researchers as they experienced weightlessness onboard a zero-gravity parabolic flight. During the duration of both experiments, researchers and students merged work with play, as they tested the viability of graphene for space applications, and tested graphene in zero-gravity conditions to determine its potential in space applications including light propulsion and thermal management.

The Graphene Flagship is a pan-European research initiative dedicated to developing new technologies based on graphene, the single-atom-thick allotrope of carbon with excellent electrical, mechanical, thermal and optical properties.

A fundamental aspect of the Graphene Flagship is training students and young researchers. These ambitious space-related experiments are an excellent opportunity for Flagship students and researchers to gain new experiences in cutting-edge research.