Micro-gravity flight gives Lassonde student a chance to experience weightlessness

Lassonde School of Engineering graduate student Costantine Papakonstantinou has defied gravity and experienced flight under micro-gravity conditions (weightlessness).

Costantine Papakonstantinou

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.

Papakonstantinou was one among a number of Graphene Flagship researchers as they experienced weightlessness on board 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 then tested graphene in zero-gravity conditions to determine its potential in space applications including light propulsion and thermal management.

Papakonstantinou was one among a number of Graphene Flagship researchers as they experienced weightlessness on board a zero-gravity parabolic flight

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 the Graphene Flagship students and researchers to gain new experiences in cutting-edge research.

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.