Building on their continued success in the NASA HUNCH program, GHCDS students Tristan Samuel and Elias Ruderfer have reached an exciting new milestone in their research journey.
After advancing through the regional round in Puerto Rico, the team has earned an invitation to present their work at Rocket Park at the Houston Space Center, where they will join top student innovators from across the program. Even more remarkably, their project has already attracted the attention of NASA engineers and has been selected for further review, with the potential to be tested in a true microgravity (zero gravity) environment.
The NASA HUNCH (High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware) program is a highly selective, project-based initiative that connects students with real-world aerospace challenges. Participants work on authentic engineering and scientific problems, developing solutions that can directly support NASA missions, including those aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The program emphasizes hands-on learning, innovation, and collaboration—aligning closely with GHCDS’s commitment to experiential and inquiry-based education.
Tristan and Elias’s project explores capillary action in microgravity, a phenomenon that behaves very differently in space than it does on Earth. On our planet, fluids are largely governed by gravity, which pulls liquids downward and influences how they flow and settle. In a zero-gravity environment, however, surface tension and adhesive forces become the dominant drivers of fluid behavior. This means that liquids can move along surfaces, climb through narrow spaces, and form shapes that would not occur under normal gravitational conditions.
Their research investigates how fluids travel through small channels or porous materials in space—an area of study with important real-world applications. Understanding capillary flow in microgravity is critical for designing systems that manage water distribution, fuel transfer, cooling systems, and even life-support technologies aboard spacecraft. By modeling and testing how liquids behave without gravity, Tristan and Elias are contributing to knowledge that could help engineers design more efficient and reliable systems for long-duration space missions.
The fact that their work may be selected for actual zero-gravity testing represents an extraordinary opportunity and speaks to the strength of their scientific thinking and design process. Additionally, the possibility of presenting their research in front of NASA engineers—and even astronauts—underscores the significance of their achievement.
We are incredibly proud of Tristan and Elias for pushing the boundaries of student research and for representing GHCDS on a national stage. Their work is a powerful example of how curiosity, creativity, and rigorous scientific inquiry can lead to meaningful contributions in the field of space exploration.
