Undergraduate Profile

My landlord is in space: life as a NASA intern

Jeff Zehnder — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 19:22:21 +0000

My landlord is in space: life as a NASA intern Jeff Zehnder Wed, 10/02/2024 - 13:22

Jeff Zehnder

Above: Storm in Flight Operations at Johnson Space Center.
Header Photo: Storm and other NASA interns at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory astronaut training facility.

Anthony Storm is hard at work at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, developing plans for upcoming tests that will support astronauts in future missions.

An aerospace junior at the University of Colorado Boulder, Storm is gaining hands-on experience through the NASA Pathways Program, an internship where participants collaborate with front-line NASA engineers and astronauts.

“I’ve gotten to do training with astronauts going up to the International Space Station, and you get on a first-name basis with them,” Storm said. “For Crew 6, I went to their cake cutting when they were certified for space flight, which is a NASA tradition.”

Across each internship, participants spend time in three different areas at NASA. The locations vary depending on student interests and availability, but for Storm, he began in flight operations at JSC, then moved to White Sands doing propulsion testing, and is now back at JSC in pyrotechnics.

As students often come long distances for the program, NASA helps participants find a place to live, with landlords who are literally out of this world.

“JSC has an internal website called Space City Housing. NASA certifies employees who have rooms available and you can rent directly from them. I’m renting from Tracy Dyson and her husband. She just came down on the Soyuz MS-25 after six months in space,” Storm said.

Although many internships take place during the summer, NASA requires a portion of Pathways be completed during the fall or spring semesters, which means participants must delay college graduation, typically by a year.

Storm playing basketball with astronaut and former Navy SEAL Jonny Kim.

“It was a hard decision, but the opportunities Pathways gives me, the career building and resume building is absolutely incredible,” Storm said. “It is absolutely worthwhile to work in this environment.”

Most pathways students also subsequently earn full-time jobs at NASA.

“Half of the civil service employees at JSC came through the Pathways program. It's a huge deal at NASA. Basically everyone you work for in the program has the opportunity to send you a job offer,” Storm said.

Storm is a non-traditional student. Now age 26, he joined the Marines after graduating high school.

“When I graduated I wasn’t really going anywhere. I didn’t have the best grades, but I am pretty patriotic, so I enlisted and became an 0351 Assaultman, which is an infantry man specializing in demolition and rocket launchers,” he said.

He spent four years in the Marines and after his term was up in 2021, enrolled at CU Boulder. Although a native of California, his family has long ties to Colorado – he is a fourth generation CU Boulder student. His great-grandmother, grandfather, and father all are Buff alumni.

“CU Boulder’s aerospace program is really good, and I’ve always been a space nerd,” he said.

Storm has also become the third generation in his family to work or intern at JSC, after his grandfather and uncle.

Storm is a strong advocate for the Pathways program. He and two peers have started CU Gateway, a student organization to help students with applications and the interview process.

“I applied to Pathways because another student came on a whim to talk to our class about it,” Storm said. “Now I’ve been through it, and the application and interviews are hard, so I wanted to show people the opportunities that are available and how cool this program is. During breaks, I get to play dodgeball with astronauts. It’s amazing.”

Storm during his service in the Marines.

Anthony Storm is hard at work at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, developing plans for upcoming tests that will support astronauts in future missions. An aerospace junior at the...

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From building Legos to aerospace engineering

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 22:43:42 +0000

From building Legos to aerospace engineering Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/24/2024 - 16:43

We sat down with fourth-year aerospace engineering student Ada Forsner, who is also minoring in space and engineering management, to share about her CU Engineering experience!

Ada serves as the Internal Coordinator for the Women of Aeronautics and Astronautics (WOAA) at CU Boulder for the 2023-2024 school year.

What inspired you to pursue a STEM-related major?
In high school I enjoyed taking vehicle shop classes and introductory engineering courses which really got me interested in what engineering could be. Growing up with Legos and playing with trucks and tow cars got me really interested in STEM in general.

When did you know that aerospace engineering was meant for you?
I always loved space, but I never knew to what extent until I took an astronomy course in high school back in Illinois and fell in love with the idea of space. That’s how I knew I would go try to pursue aerospace engineering.

What are some of your future plans after graduating?
I hope to be a systems engineer, which is a kind of engineering that requires a top down view of the entirety of any project. I love airplanes, spacecraft and space itself, as well as studying atmospheric effects and other planets. Becoming a systems engineer allows me to pretty much work on any aspect of aerospace.

What has been an eye opening experience as a student leader of WOAA?
Our first conference we organized in the Aerospace Building during the fall semester was one of the biggest memorable experiences. Being a part of planning the conference opened my eyes to what we can provide for other students and how I can help them grow in ways that I want to grow, as well. Hosting that conference allowed us to learn how to communicate and interact with professionals working in industry, which are important for all of us to gain.

Why should someone join WOAA?
We create a really open community to all women in STEM, not just those studying aerospace. This might be cliche, but literally joining a club, any club, does make a difference and it helps you gain leadership experience. Most freshmen may not have too much on their resume, but being part of WOAA and other clubs can help you build your resume. We make sure to provide opportunities for students to put themselves out there by talking with professionals and getting in contact with them. It can be scary at times, but it doesn’t have to be!

What are other campus organizations you’re a part of?
I used to be a part of the Hiking Club, which I highly recommend anyone join. That club inspired me to do more of my own hiking. Being a course assistant for a freshman engineering projects course has helped me become a leader in the classroom and provide guidance for younger students.

What has been an intriguing engineering class you’ve taken so far?
This one was hard to answer! I would have to say engineering economics, which is part of my engineering management minor. At first, I thought I was not going to enjoy it, but I've actually ended up learning so much from it. It’s encouraged me to do my own research on finance, sustainability, business and how it connects with my personal life and engineering.

Anything else on your CU Boulder bucket list you hope to check off?
This one’s embarrassing, but I haven’t been to a CU football game yet! I have one more fall season to figure it out.

We hear you’re an avid reader. Any shameless plugs on a book you recommend for others?
Last semester, I read “True North” by Bill George. The book has helped me find my path in life and I’ve learned to follow a path no matter what other people make you think. That really opened my eyes and has made me more confident with who I am.

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From international acrobat to CU Boulder aerospace engineer

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 15:00:00 +0000

From international acrobat to CU Boulder aerospace engineer Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/01/2023 - 09:00

Jeff Zehnder

Sasha Gladkova during her internship at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Astronaut Scholarship winner charts her own path

Sasha Gladkova has always loved science and space, but she never imagined work in those fields could become her career.

She had done well in high school math, completing multiple levels of calculus, but was dedicated to another future: gymnastics and acrobatics. It was an area where she had excelled to the highest levels competing internationally for the United States as a teenager.

“I’ve been a gymnast my whole life. I was super serious. The last five years of it I was traveling around the world for competitions,” Gladkova said.

In 2019 – during her senior year of high school – she applied to the University of Colorado Boulder’s aerospace program. She did not really expect to attend here, planning intending instead to continue training at her local acrobatics gym in the ��Ĺ��ý D.C. metro area while attending the University of Maryland.

“CU Boulder was the first place I toured though and I instantly fell in love with the campus. This was my top choice, but in a dream, in a life I didn’t have. Then COVID happened and everyone’s life changed. I could see acrobatics wasn’t going to return to normal any time soon and I decided to retire from gymnastics and come here instead,” she said

Today, as an undergraduate senior in aerospace engineering sciences at CU Boulder, Gladkova is equally passionate about the world of aerodynamics, space missions, and astrophysics research. Over the last three years, she has been part of internships and jobs at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, CU Boulder’s Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy.

“I’ve done research in a lot of different areas in the space field. I have so many interests. Space is just really crazy,” Gladkova said.

In 2021, she applied to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation – an organization founded by the Mercury 7 Astronauts and sustained by successive generations of NASA astronauts. She was recognized with their scholarship award in both 2022 and 2023, which provided significant tuition assistance and outstanding professional development opportunities.

“It’s overwhelming,” she said. “All of a sudden you have all these resources and a new branch of your life opens. They have a mentorship program where each scholar is paired with an astronaut. I’ve gotten to meet so many astronauts I can’t keep track anymore.”

As she has advanced in her education, Gladkova has only found more things to love about aerospace engineering.

“Every place I’ve worked you have the people you work with directly, but I also talk to everyone else there to find out about their job and what they do. That is how I found out I’m really interested in mission operations,” she said.

Mission operations is the only most recent on a growing list of future job tracks Gladkova is considering. Graduate school is also a possibility as are other options in industry or research. One position not immediately on the list: astronaut. Despite being an astronaut scholar, she plans to keep her feet on terra firma, for now

“I had a nightmare where I was an astronaut and was all by myself, everyone was really far away, and it was the most gut-wrenching lonely feeling I’d ever had. It’s stuck with me,” she said. “I have more things to do on Earth first.”

Sasha Gladkova has always loved science and space, but she never imagined work in those fields could become her career. She had done well in high school math, completing multiple levels of calculus, but was dedicated to another future: gymnastics and acrobatics. It was an area where she had excelled to the highest levels, competing internationally for...

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A winding road to aerospace excellence

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 18:06:11 +0000

A winding road to aerospace excellence Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/27/2022 - 12:06

Name: Liza Graybill
Hometown: Lititz, Pennsylvania
Major: BS in Aerospace Engineering Sciences
Year: Sophomore

Where did you grow up, and when did you first show an interest in aerospace?

I grew up in Lititz, Pennsylvania, and I fell in love with aerospace when I visited Kennedy Space Center after I graduated from high school. Seeing Space Shuttle Atlantis in person was the first time I can definitively say I became interested in aerospace.

I loved space growing up and spent many nights stargazing, but I had never considered aerospace, or engineering in general, until that moment in Cape Canaveral.

How did you come to the decision to major in aerospace?

The decision to major in aerospace took quite a bit of time to reach. The major I had chosen right out of high school was not as good a fit as I had imagined, so I left after a semester and restarted with some community college classes. I took my time, taking just one or two classes a semester while I figured out what I really wanted to do.

I started tutoring math at my community college and tried an introductory engineering class at the suggestion of a professor. Long story short, I graduated with my associates in pre-engineering from Pima Community College in Arizona and transferred to CU Boulder to continue in aerospace.

I finally combined my childhood love of space with engineering and made that a reality here at CU Boulder.

Why did you decide to come to CU Boulder?

I decided to come to CU Boulder because I knew this program would challenge me.

The faculty is incredible, there are so many resources available to support students, and I knew that CU Boulder would show me new opportunities and possibilities that I otherwise would not have thought to pursue. That support and encouragement led me to applying and earning a spot as a 2022 Brooke Owens Fellow.

What do you love about CU Boulder?

I love that people care. There’s passion and collaboration among peers to reach success, and students are excited to learn.

The atmosphere in the aerospace building is unlike anything else on campus. It’s an incredible environment to learn in and be a part of.

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Division 1 student athlete and CU Boulder aerospace engineer

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 16:09:11 +0000

Division 1 student athlete and CU Boulder aerospace engineer Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/15/2022 - 10:09

Babcock-Chi on the soccer field.

Name: Jade Babcock-Chi
Hometown: Del Mar, CA
Major: BS in Aerospace Engineering, Minor in Computer Science
Year: Senior
Mentor/Lab: Dennis Akos

I grew up in Del Mar, California, which is a city in north San Diego. From a young age I have always been very interested in science and math, and always looked forward to those classes the most.

Math came the easiest, and from 5th grade on I was always a year or two ahead. I finished high school having completed Calc I-III and Linear Algebra as well as having taken two to three years of computer science (CS) classes. For the longest time I thought I was going to do Bioengineering, or something related to biology because I loved it and didn’t enjoy computer science or physics as much at the time.

I am a D1 Women’s Soccer player on scholarship for CU Boulder, but when I committed to this school for soccer, I knew that my academics actually came first.

CU Boulder has a strong bioengineering program, but my mom works in this field, so it inspired me to branch out and consider other majors. That led me to seriously consider the aerospace engineering program.

When I committed here for soccer, I had just finished my sophomore year of high school, but I was already confident that doing aerospace at CU Boulder was going to be a good fit based on my high school background and academic interests.

My coaches still don’t really understand what it’s like to be the only engineering major on the team, let alone aerospace engineering, but I am more than grateful they are able to accommodate me.

Babcock-Chi on the ski slopes.

Being able to play D1 soccer as well as get an amazing education is more than I could have hoped for.

I also love Boulder because I can be very active, and I usually go skiing most weekends in the winter and hike all the time in the summer and fall all around Colorado. The location of Boulder and the atmosphere here was something that definitely drew me in.

What’s made this experience extra special is being able to work with such great classmates and professors in and out of the classroom. I have been doing undergraduate research with Dr. Dennis Akos in the Radio Frequency & Satellite Navigation Laboratory for over a year now and he has helped me find what I am interested in as well as give me amazing opportunities outside of class.

I am going into my Senior (4th) year and planning to begin my MS this fall through the Bachelor’s Accelerated Master’s program (BAM).

Being able to get a BS in Aerospace Engineering, a minor in CS, and an MS in Aerospace Engineering all within five years of coming to CU Boulder is an amazing opportunity and I know it will prepare me for success, whether I go into industry or pursue a PhD.

I grew up in Del Mar, California, which is a city in north San Diego. From a young age I have always been very interested in science and math, and always looked forward to those classes the most. Math came the easiest, and from 5th grade on I was always...

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Sophomore lands full-ride SMART Scholarship and post-graduation job

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 16:48:17 +0000

Sophomore lands full-ride SMART Scholarship and post-graduation job Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/26/2020 - 10:48

Jeff Zehnder

Teagan Browne

It was mid-March and stress was high at the University of Colorado Boulder. Due to the COVID pandemic, courses had transitioned online and students were moving out of the campus dorms. As one of her newly Zoom-based classes let out, Teagan Browne’s phone rang.

It was a Florida number. She did not know anyone in Florida, but decided to answer the call anyway.

On the other end was an Air Force official, with news that Browne was a finalist for the prestigious Department of Defense SMART Scholarship.

“Who would call me from Florida? Eglin Air Force Base in Destin," Browne said. "They wanted to talk to me about being a SMART Scholar there. It was good news in a bad week."

SMART Moves

Browne, a sophomore aerospace engineering sciences student, has now been officially selected for the exclusive program, which provides a full-ride academic scholarship, summer internships and a job commitment upon graduation.

The program is designed to create a highly skilled pipeline of STEM graduates for the Department of Defense workforce. Honorees get all college costs covered and make a commitment to the DoD – for each year of education funding, they agree to work a year at a federal facility as a civilian employee.

Although Browne is just a sophomore, it effectively means she already has a job lined up once she graduates.

"It means a lot for job security. I’ll be a flight test engineer, which I want to do anyway. I'll be working on the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft," Browne said.

The program provides a clear career trajectory for Browne, but she has had a strong interest in engineering for a long time - at least since age 4.

"When my parents would put me in a stroller, instead of looking at the scenery, I would look over the side to watch the wheels turn. I really like the way things move," Browne said.

Browne is particularly interested in using aerospace engineering to make a difference.

"Working with the military, that means keeping our pilots safe and improving fuel economy on jets so they can fly longer," she said.

Aerospace Dreams

She would also like to improve civilian aviation. Growing up, she spent many an hour squished in the middle seat on airlines and is interested in making such experiences much, much shorter in duration.

"I think a lot about ways to improve commercial airlines. It impacts travelers, businesspeople, everyone," Browne said. “I really want to bring back the Concorde.”

A new supersonic jet could cut flight times on long trips in half, and as an aerospace engineer, Browne would be able to contribute to plane designs to tackle the bane of breaking the sound barrier - loud sonic booms.

“NASA has done research on sonic booms to pick or better project where to have them happen," Browne said. "That could make a real difference. And on a San Francisco-to-Asia flight, which is 16 hours right now, it’s over the ocean, and you can fly there without dealing with sonic booms.”

As a student, Browne is also aiming to make a difference as a member of the TORUS project, a multi-university initiative that uses unmanned aerial vehicles to better understand supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes.

She has been serving with the team as a lab assistant and was looking forward to spending part of summer 2020 with TORUS chasing storms across the Great Plains. Unfortunately, that dream was delayed to 2021 due to COVID.

“We think tornadoes are getting stronger and more frequent, so this research is important to saving lives,” she said.

The pandemic has put a damper on things for now, but Browne is looking forward to the future and all that she can do as an aerospace engineer.

"I want to be hands-on and have things that I can hold and touch and see work. It's part of why I chose aerospace over other majors," she said. "And I really want my work to do something for the world."

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“The sky isn’t the limit” - NASA intern Demetrius M. Ross

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2020 21:39:40 +0000

“The sky isn’t the limit” - NASA intern Demetrius M. Ross Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/21/2020 - 15:39

Alexandra Wilson

CU Boulder Aerospace junior Demetrius M. Ross is preparing for an internship with NASA. Due to COVID-19, he will no longer be traveling to the Pasadena-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), but he’ll still be keeping busy.Working remotely between teams of professional engineers and his mentor, NASA project systems engineer Timothy Ayres, he’ll have to find innovative ways to connect and learn. Luckily, Ross says he isn’t afraid of hard work.

New Sky

The project, New Sky, wants to use aerial images collected by a new camera to demonstrate its high resolution capabilities. This could eventually be used to determine features of other planets, or for a host of environmental data collection efforts. Finding other creative applications is also part of Ross’ internship.

Ayres will be providing Ross with hands-on experience, preparing him with a knowledge base to develop different creative tools for use with data collected. Ross is also expected to connect with a variety of experts and gain a deeper understanding of how parts of the project fit together.

Finding a path

That hands-on experience is something that Ross also appreciates about the Aerospace program in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

“It’s what really makes our program stand out against other programs, and it’s going to make me a better engineer in the future.” He said.

Another valuable asset has been the BOLD Center.

“The BOLD community gave me everything. They gave me a family and a support system that I probably wouldn’t have found anywhere else” he said. As a freshman, Ross struggled to find his path, but BOLD connected him to an academic success advisor who helped him see the way forward. Now Ross has grown, exemplifying leadership himself through his work as a BOLD peer mentor.

“Every time a student had a different problem I had to find the best way to support them, and I feel like that translates to general problem solving” Ross said.

NSBE Board Members in 2019, Ross at center in back

As a National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) officer, where he has served both as vice-president and public relations chair, Ross also learned professional development skills. The internship came from a NSBE career fair at a regional conference, where he first connected with NASA-JPL.

His passion for aerospace, however, stretches back much further.
Ross’s father, also named Demetrius, works for the United Launch Alliance, and when Ross was young, he was taken to a real rocket launch. At that moment, he knew he wanted to be a part of aerospace.

Big Dreams

Looking to the future, Ross eventually wants to own his own aerospace company. He’s fascinated by the fields of bioastronautics and jet propulsion. Bioastronatics, as Ross describes it, is “anything in space having life in mind with the design.”

This involves space habitat design, as well as solving one of the most difficult problems with space travel - protection from radiation. When becoming a rocket scientist, you have to dream big.

“Keep your mind open! In aerospace, the sky isn’t the limit!” Ross said.

(Alexandra) Grace Wilson is the BOLD Center Communications Coordinator in the College of Engineering & Applied Science.

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Houston, we have an intern

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 17:47:17 +0000

Houston, we have an intern Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/21/2020 - 11:47

Jeff Zehnder

Addison Woodard

Woodard lands prestigious NASA Pathways Internship

Aerospace junior and Colorado native Addison Woodard is Johnson Space Center-bound.

The Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences undergraduate has been selected as one of just 25 students nationwide for a 2020 NASA Pathways internship at JSC in Houston, Texas.

“This is a program I've wanted to get into since I first heard about it when I was 13 years old. I'm really excited,” Woodard said.

NASA Pathways is a unique, in-depth internship that offers students the chance to spend two semesters and a summer in multiple NASA job areas ranging from mission control to safety and mission assurance to astronaut training. It gives students the opportunity to explore their interests and contribute to real-world flight operations across the space agency.

“When I was in kindergarten I was the kid who wanted to be an astronaut, and my parents thought it was cute, but it's still what I want to do and they’ve been super supportive! Mom put the kibosh to a one way Mars trip though,” she said.

Woodard's astronaut Halloween costume at age 10.

Growing up in Loveland, Woodard excelled in math and science and found her true passion in space, specifically human space flight. She considered other colleges for her degree, but chose the University of Colorado Boulder following a campus visit.

“CU Boulder was so much more welcoming. The opportunities from the BOLD Center with mentoring, tutoring and really making a personalized experience were important to me. Here, people wanted to help me learn,” she said.

Woodard initially applied to NASA Pathways during her sophomore year but was not selected. She applied again as a junior and was chosen for 2020.

The program will give her a foot in the door at NASA, although it means she will have to delay her graduation by as much as two years, since the program requires that the internship must be completed during two non-consecutive semesters.

“They don't want you to be out of school for a full year and lose that connection. It's a bummer to not get to take senior design with my friends, but no way could I turn down an internship for a career I've wanted since I was 5 years old,” she said.

While the delay is a disappointment, the additional semesters she will spend completing her degree may open a door to an advanced degree. Woodard had already been considering a master's degree in aerospace and is beginning conversations with her academic advisor about how she could structure the internship with her remaining undergrad classes and a master’s.

Woodard is hopeful the internship will not be impacted by coronavirus. The program is slated to begin in fall, and NASA's research and activities have been deemed essential business, since astronauts in space are unable to simply come home and ongoing missions with active, orbiting satellites or deep space probes cannot be paused.

“I hope to eventually be part of the team of astronauts that set up a lunar outpost to prepare for the long-term Mars missions,” Woodard said. “I love space and learning about space. This is where I want to be.”

Aerospace junior and Colorado native Addison Woodard is Johnson Space Center-bound.

The Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences undergraduate has been selected as one of just 25 students nationwide for a 2020 NASA Pathways internship at JSC in Houston, Texas.

“This is a program I've...

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A Year in Antarctica

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 14:44:50 +0000

A Year in Antarctica Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 08/02/2019 - 08:44

Ian Geraghty

Ian Geraghty and Xinzhao Chu in Antarctica.

In the early 1900’s, Ross Island acted as a base for multiple Antarctic exploration expeditions led by the likes of Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott. Remnants of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration can be found all over the island, along with the United States’ largest Antarctic research station, McMurdo Station, which is managed by the National Science Foundation.

Scenic is an understatement for the landscape around McMurdo. Across the McMurdo Sound, the Transantarctic mountains stretch out with glacial ice creeping slowly through the valleys enroute to the ocean. In the summer, pods of orcas can be spotted navigating the icy waters while seals and penguins lounge casually on ice floes. In the winter, the Milky Way can be seen with astounding clarity and auroras paint the sky vivid hues of green.

The Milky Way can be seen with astounding clarity and auroras paint the sky vivid hues of green.

Aside from the stunning surroundings, McMurdo is home to a unique community made up of some of the most interesting individuals I’ve ever met.

I arrived at McMurdo in October 2018 eager to experience as much as possible during my 13-month deployment as a research assistant. The group that I work with uses two sophisticated lidar systems to do remote sensing of the upper atmosphere.

Dr. Xinzhao Chu of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and the Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences department at CU Boulder designed these lidars and coordinates the project. Various members of the group have been at McMurdo continuously since 2010 operating the instruments with the ultimate goal of making observations over an entire solar cycle, which is approximately 11 years.

The lidar lab is located in Antarctica New Zealand’s building at Arrival Heights near McMurdo. The orange laser beam is the sodium lidar at a wavelength of 589 nm.

Using Lasers to Study the Atmosphere

The systems we use are called resonance fluorescence lidars. Basically, it’s a pulsed laser that we shoot into the sky. Meteors that enter the atmosphere burn up and deposit a whole layer of metal between ~80 – 115 km.

These two lidars are designed to observe specifically the iron and sodium in this layer. The lasers are tuned to wavelengths that excite these atoms and a telescope on the ground is used to count how much light is emitted as the atoms de-excite. With some special techniques, these photon counts can be processed into density, temperature, and even wind speed measurements. The data is used to study a variety of atmospheric properties at altitudes that are so high up that terrestrial weather and space weather processes influence each other.

A lot of work goes into a long-term observational campaign in Antarctica such as this. There are two of us at McMurdo working on the project this year. As lidar operators we need to be deeply familiar with all the hardware that makes up the lidar systems so that when equipment starts to fail we are prepared to fix it and get everything up and running again.

We work opposite 12-hour shifts so that we can have 24-hour coverage on any given day, but we don’t take data every day. Clouds scatter the laser too much so data collection is restricted to times when the sky is clear. Therefore, we are constantly monitoring the weather and prepared to drive to our lab which is located nearby McMurdo in an area called Arrival Heights.

Looking down on McMurdo Station

Life At McMurdo

Our group is just one of many doing science at McMurdo and the Albert P. Crary Science and Engineering Center (known locally just as “Crary”) is the hub of it all. In the summer, there is a nearly constant flow of researchers stopping through from New Zealand, the South Pole Station, and various field camps around Antarctica.

The research that takes place at McMurdo is very interdisciplinary and CU Boulder has a huge presence here. Just this year I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with CU graduate students and faculty that operate a meteor radar, collect biological samples in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, collect meteorites in the more remote parts of Antarctica, service automatic weather stations, and launch high-altitude balloons to study atmospheric aerosols.

The research that takes place at McMurdo is very interdisciplinary and CU Boulder has a huge presence here.

Most of the population at McMurdo, which can be greater than 1,000 people in the summer, aren’t scientists though. The majority of people are contractors like electricians, plumbers, cooks, and physicians, but at its core McMurdo is an entire community dedicated to performing and supporting world-class scientific research. The widespread mutual interest in the sciences and the comradery that comes with just making it to one of the more remote locations in the world makes for a friendly atmosphere on station.

After work hours people can relax at one of the bars, go hiking, or attend science lectures. On the weekends there are more community events like softball games, live music, and infamous holiday parties. Contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of opportunities to be social and stay busy down here.

24 Hours of Night

The summer at McMurdo is lively with 24 hours of daylight, mild temperatures, and hundreds of people, but the winter is a whole different story. The calm winter season is a nice respite from the hectic summer. For the most part, Crary is quiet except for the howling of fierce winds outside.

Taking in the last sunset before 4 months of darkness on April 22, 2019.

There’s less than a handful of scientists here and only 140 people in total on station. The Sun stays below the horizon between late April to August and as a result this is the time of year when we collect the best data. Since we are counting photons coming back from the upper atmosphere it’s best if we don’t have to compete with the light from the Sun.

Antarctic winters are generally known for being cold and they live up to the hype. Once you get ambient temperatures around -40 ºF and wind speeds up to 50 mph the wind chill can hit – 70 ºF pretty easily. However, if you can avoid the gale force winds, the temperatures are pretty manageable with your issued extreme cold weather gear.

If you do take the time to layer up and go outside you’re rewarded with incredible views of the night sky. That being said, the first sunrise in August is going to be a welcome sight. I’m not even going to get into how stoked I am to eventually make it back to Colorado.

These few paragraphs are a poor attempt to convey what it’s like to spend a year at McMurdo Station. It’s an esoteric place in the sense that only people who have been here really understand why it’s so special.

So, if the chance to come to “the ice” presents itself, get after it. If doing research in Antarctica is your goal, CU Boulder is a great place to be. There are more opportunities than you’d expect. If you’re interested in travelling to Antarctica in a different capacity, a few of the companies that hire contractors are based out of Denver so there’s other opportunities nearby as well.

Ian Geraghty (AeroEngr BS'19) is in the middle of yearlong research experience in one of the most inaccessible and extreme places on Earth: Antarctica. He's using lidar -- a pulsed laser system -- aimed at the sky to study the atmosphere at altitudes so high Earth weather and space weather interact.

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From there to here: a nontraditional path to an aerospace career

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 16:21:31 +0000

From there to here: a nontraditional path to an aerospace career Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/08/2019 - 09:21

Jeff Zehnder

Kristyn Sample struggled to find her place after high school. The Columbia, Missouri native was getting by working waitressing jobs around Kansas City, but knew she wanted more.

Now 27, Sample has graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder as an aerospace engineer, is newly married, has left a legacy on campus through the initiatives she launched, and is looking at a bright future in industry.

How did she get from there to here? It started with a metaphorical kick from her roommate, whom she also refers to as “Dad.”

“I was moping around the house one day and Dad said, ‘Get yourself cleaned up, go to the community college and don't come home until you're enrolled in classes.’ It’s one of his favorite stories to tell people,” Sample admits.

Sample’s original post-high school plan had been to attend the Air Force Academy. However, despite a recommendation letter from her member of Congress, her application was unsuccessful. She instead joined the Air Force Reserve, hoping it could lead to an Academy slot, but eventually decided against pursuing full time enlistment.

She was interested in aerospace but undecided about her future. The push from her dad got Sample thinking again. She enrolled in courses at the local campus of Metropolitan Community College, and after a few semesters had completed all of the math and science classes they offered.

She next set her sights on transferring to a college that offered a four-year degree in aerospace engineering. Sample was accepted at both CU Boulder and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and decided to come to Colorado.

Once on campus, she discovered a problem which impacted hundreds of students like her each year: a lack of community for fellow non-traditional students. Fixing that became a new passion.

“There wasn’t really much support for transfer students,” Sample said. “All of the new student welcome and orientation sessions are for new freshmen and transfer students were an afterthought.”

Sample began pulling together resources for students like her and even started a campus Non-Traditional Student Organization.

“We have different motivations for being in college. We’re past our party phase and many transfer students are here to support families,” Sample said.

Her push to do more caught the attention of CU Boulder administrators, who have worked to change things for the better. The provost’s office even asked Sample to sit on a formal panel looking at issues facing transfer and nontraditional students.

“It’s being bolstered all over campus. It was slow going at first, but it’s exciting,” she said.

Sample also began a campus chapter of Tau Sigma, a national honor society for transfer students. Her efforts with the organization only recently came to fruition, with 18 students being inducted. As new graduate, Sample has left campus just as they get underway.

Sample and Velazquez celebrated their wedding at the Engineering Center. Mechanical Engineering senior instructor Shalom Ruben officiated the service.

“I realized there was a need for it. There were times I wondered why I was doing it, but I can see the students it’s impacted already. It opens up scholarship, career development, and leadership opportunities for them,” she said.

Now that she has created so many opportunities for others, Sample has her own future to consider. She and her now-husband, Phil Velazquez, held a one-of-a-kind wedding ceremony December 17, on campus in the Engineering Center. The location may be unusual, but it carries a special meaning to the couple.

Sample and Velazquez met as community college students in Kansas City, where they started dating. When she enrolled at CU Boulder, he followed a year later, entering the mechanical engineering program. Their relationship began on a college campus, and enters its next chapter on a college campus as well.

“It just seemed really fitting,” Sample said. “We took finals on Saturday and Sunday and got married Monday on the seventh-floor balcony overlooking the Flatirons.”

As Sample considers job prospects, she seeks to make her engineering impact on projects that reach beyond Earth’s atmosphere and into space. She has had in-person or phone interviews with numerous aerospace and defense firms.

“In my senior year of high school when they phased out the Space Shuttle, I realized we didn’t have a backup plan to explore space,” Sample said. “I want to contribute to the fantastic work companies are doing to change that.”

^{Sample and Velazquez at graduation.}

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