Honors Link

Three Honors College students’ experiences received a rocket boost this summer as participants in a unique internship program through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Oregon Space Grant Consortium.

HC students Sean Brown, Michael Perlin, and Tessa Van Volkenburg were among 11 Oregon State University students placed at NASA centers around the country for 10-week programs funded by Space Grant.

“It’s pretty much like I’m an engineer here,” said Brown, a mechanical engineering major, speaking from Langley Aerospace Center in Virginia. “It is amazing.”

Van Volkenburg, majoring in pre-chemical engineering, was at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, the lead US center for robotic exploration of the solar system, where she said, “I am loving my time here, though it is at times challenging.”

Getting There

Brown worked at the Oregon State University Advantage program in the summer of 2013, where he was one of three HC interns. OSU Advantage assists in the commercialization of research, connecting businesses with faculty expertise, and Brown’s work on a natural gas vehicle led him to envision a career in the automobile industry. “But last fall I took an Honors course in Astrobiology – life in space – taught by Martin Fisk and Rick Colwell. Every week we talked about space. That got me really excited.”

That led to research under Chris Hagen with energy systems engineering and an Honors thesis about increasing the efficiency of internal combustion engines for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Brown also became active in OSU’s student chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

An Honors class was also crucial in Van Volkenburg’s path toward the internship. “I am especially grateful to Dr. Randy Milstein and his astronomy class for providing me with a working knowledge of the basics behind the physics of the universe, formation of planetary bodies like earth, and special characteristics of Enceladus and Europa, two moons that fit the ‘icy wet world’ profile and may have the correct ingredients to harbor life, like Earth.”

Catherine Lanier, the associate director of Oregon Space Grant, helped the students identify the internships. Space Grant is a state-run program funded by the NASA Office of Higher Education and led by and housed at Oregon State University. Lanier develops and implements Space Grant’s programs for hands-on educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Twenty-one students from around Oregon were accepted for NASA internships through the program this year. “Not only did (Catherine) give me tons of useful tips to include in the application process,” said Van Volkenburg, “but I found out from my mentor at JPL that she and the others in that office were really pushing to find me a position. I am so grateful because it turned out to be the best summer of my life!”

Inside NASA

While Brown had been used to interacting with other bright students in HC classes, he said he was extremely impressed by his surroundings at the NASA center in Virginia. “Everyone here is so smart! I meet people who worked on the space shuttle and people who have been in the very top of industry.”

Even in such company, Brown said he felt confident enough to “throw in” his own ideas. “I come up with things, sometimes, Ithink are smart – but the others pretty quickly find the flaws! I learn from it.”

His research involved running computer simulations to test how various materials might filter, and thus reduce, the noise generated by an aircraft’s wing.

Van Volkenburg also found the NASA environment stimulating. “My project is so incredibly interesting. My mentor is working on a theory for the emergence of life in an underwater hydrothermal vent hatchery,” she said.

“I am working on just one step of the process. My mentor gives me a lot of free reign to design the experiments and analyze the results in the way I best see fit. That was a bit overwhelming at first, but I found I really enjoy and thrive in that type of environment. I have been doing extensive research.”

In addition to spending long hours on their own projects, Brown and Van Volkenburg both also took time to explore other facilities at their sites.

Brown was fascinated by the Center’s vertical spin wind tunnel, as well as a computer numeric control digital fabrication tool that made a complete model of the Orion spacecraft’s energy capsule, “out of one piece of aluminum, in only 120 hours!,” he said. “It was neat – state-of-the-art.”

Van Volkenburg recalled many highlights: “I got to take a selfie with the rovers in the Mars yard (a recreation of the Martian surface) and see mission control, where they launch the rockets. I attended an interview with Morgan Freeman that included a live feed to the International Space Station. I even meet an astronaut, and the director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.”

Onward and Upward

For Van Volkenburg, the experience has clarified her future path. She knows that she “would definitely like to pursue a career in NASA, to work on some of the most interesting ideas of our day, with people who are the best in their fields.” She received a highly-competitive $8,000 scholarship from Space Grant to continue her studies in the 2014-2015 academic year.

Brown, for his part, remains interested in a career in business. “NASA has too slow a pace for me,” he observed. “Because they’re not selling a product, they don’t have that pressure. I think I’d like to first work in industry. I have a lot of energy!”

Despite this, he is complete agreement with Van Volkenburg that the internships made for a summer well-spent. Van Volkenburg said, “I wouldn’t trade it for anything!”

By Jana Zvibleman