Crew 167

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APRIL ANDREAS - COMMANDERApril Andreas is professor of Engineering and Mathematics at McLennan Community College. She attended Southern Methodist University, earning a B.S. and M.S. in Mathematics, and then attended the University of Arizona, completing a Ph.D. in Systems and Industrial Engineering. A member of the Mars Society Steering Committee, April has served the space advocacy community since she and her husband Derek co-founded the Dallas Chapter of the Mars Society in 2003. She has traveled to Washington, D.C. numerous times to lobby on behalf of human space exploration and has served as a consultant for the Mars Foundation and 4Frontiers Corporation. She has also taught a course on Mars Colonization to gifted teens during a summer program at SMU, the results of which were published in TEMPO, a quarterly journal for gifted education. April commanded crew 110B at MDRS in January 2012, has served as Crew Director for crews 128, 139, and 152 and will be serving as the commander for Crew 167A.

JONATHAN BEECHNERHello, my name is Jonathan Beechner, and I am a computer engineering sophomore at MCC. I have loved all my classes at MCC so far, and I am sad to say I must leave after the spring semester. I'm not sure yet where I will go, but Baylor is my current preference. While at Mars, I will be serving as the crew engineer. My project is to create a 3D simulation of Mars using the Oculus Rift. Basically, this will be like a video game, but it will have educational purposes. People who have not been to Mars will put on a headset and use a game controller to experience what a typical day at Mars is like. I'm really excited about spending the week in sim and annoying everyone with my obnoxious tastes in music.DAKOTA CLAYTONMy name is Dakota Clayton. I was born and raised in Waco, Texas, and I am currently a Biology major atMcLennan Community Collegetransferring to Texas Tech University. I have an Associate’s of AppliedScience Degree in General Business, and I plan to go to graduate school to study mycology. Besidesstudying, I lead student activities groups at MCC, I play bass guitar and I am currently employed as atutor, primarily in Accounting, Algebra and English.CLARK OVERMAN – EXECUTIVE OFFICERClark is pursuing the prerequisites for admission to a Doctorate in Physical Therapy program. He is originally from Kansas and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Kansas. He served as a Captain in the Army and has extensive private sector experience in the fields of telecommunication and automation.For some time he has been interested in wearable sensors and wearable computing. Technological advances have made it possible to quantify the self in terms of inputs, states, and performance. The economy of Mars will not be one of money, but of water, breathable air, food, and time. The purpose of his project will be to measure the physiological costs associated with various crew activities performed in simulation at the Mars Desert Research Station. The results from this study will be used to propose methods whereby these costs could be reduced and crew functions made more efficient in addition to data collection and analysis.