Space Scholar-
Julie Sandberg

University of Wyoming Students Complete NASA Internships

By Hayley Douglass, UW Media Relations Intern

Oct. 4, 2006 - Three University of Wyoming undergraduate students spent 10 weeks last summer interning at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Goddard Space Flight Center.

Robert Grogan of Aurora, Colo., a student in electrical engineering, and Douglas Kenik of Casper, mechanical engineering, both interned at NASA's JPL in Pasadena, Calif. Julie Sandberg of Albin, a student in electrical engineering, interned at the NASA Academy at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

A public information session on NASA internships, including presentations by Grogan, Kenik and Sandberg, will be offered Thursday, Nov. 2, from 5-6 p.m., in Room 234 of the UW Physical Sciences Building.

Research advisers selected the three students based on scholarship, leadership, and their interests in science and engineering. The Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium funds student participation in NASA internships.

Space Scholar-
Robert Grogan

Grogan, who researched "Extreme Environment Electronics" during his internship at NASA's JPL, says his experience was incredible and gave him "as much exposure to space as possible." He says the internship provided him with an introduction to a broad range of space and aerospace industries and allowed him to work on environmental testing equipment that functions in the extreme heat of Venus and the cold of Mars and the moon.

"It has been an honor to work with those responsible for the success of past interplanetary missions, and to know that my work will contribute to future spaceflights," Grogan says.

Kenik, who studied "A new deployable antennae structure utilizing graphite/epoxy composite rods in bending," says he also felt privileged to intern with NASA.

Space Scholar-
Douglas Kenik

"This position was available to only 250 other students in the nation and will definitely help me with my future career. I learned I need to work as hard as possible in school in order to reach the caliber of positions that people in NASA hold," he says.

As an intern Sandberg was responsible for both an individual project and a group project. Her individual research topic, "Investigation of magnetospheric-banded emissions," allowed her to study the area surrounding Earth. For the group project, Sandberg helped design a mission and spacecraft to send to Saturn's moon, Enceladus.

"I learned a lot about NASA's leaders, as well as its relation to the political, commercial, and private areas of space," she says. "I highly recommend this program to anyone interested in space." Congress in 1988 passed the National Space Grant Act to establish a National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program that benefits both NASA and universities and allows for a wide range of educational and research opportunities.

Wyoming's Space Grant supports NASA's missions and sponsors Wyoming's educational and research programs. It awards fellowships to undergraduate students at UW and Wyoming community colleges and aims to provide an authentic research experience. Space Grant programs are primarily aimed at students studying in the fields of science, mathematics, engineering and technology.