Leva McIntire

School: Seattle Pacific University

Major: Physics

About Me: My interests include baking, camping, and teaching. I would like to pursue a doctorate in either Optics or Physics Education. Out of all of Physics, my favorite subject so far has been Optics. I am currently deciding whether or not I would like to teach at a secondary or collegiate level. This is why I applied to Lunar and Planetary science Academy this year. I feel that the work experience and resources provided will allow me to increase my understanding of science as well as aid me in my choice of doctorate and teaching level.
This is my first year with any of the NASA academies. I am currently on the team working on LOLA, the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter on LRO. Specifically, I am working with the optics systems here at Goddard for LASER Ranging to LRO. In addition, I am writing a program to catalog the LASER Ranging data collected from earth stations.

Kynan Rilee

School: Princeton University

Major(s): Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

About Me: I'm a rising sophomore, and I'm in the LRO/LOLA group in the LPSA. My job is to process altimetry and telemetry data from the LRO. I am currently working on a graphical editor for the altimetry data from LOLA (Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter) that automatically flags outliers in the data and provides tools for manual editing as well. I'm also working on a tool that extracts spacecraft orientation data from telemetry so it can estimate the forces exerted on the spacecraft by direct sunlight, sunlight reflected off the lunar surface, and thermal radiation from the moon. We have to know these forces in order to maintain a precise orbit, which the LRO needs for accurate measurements.

Ken Moses

School: Case Western Reserve University

Major(s): Mechanical Engineering

About me: Hello world! I thought I would share with everyone a little bit about myself and my engineering experiences on this blog. First off, this is the first blog I have EVER written so go easy on me. I grew up in the heart of MD and lived in the same house for 18 years. I was lucky enough to have a large family that nurtured all of my interests. Of course I was an avid lego-er, played with anything Radio Controlled, and developed an interest in any and all types of models (planes, trains, cars). A lot of my enthusiasm and hobbies came from my father and older brother. At the ripe age of 12 I rebuilt my first motorcycle engine, and from there continued to learn about automobiles. Throughout high school I was a member of JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society), which was a total blast. We traveled for competitions and had to solve all sorts of engineering problems. In college I pursued my love of engineering and was extremely fortunate to be able to work in a Biologically Inspired Robotics laboratory where we built cockroach robots and micro air vehicles. Not too long ago, my father (who works at NASA on the Earth Observation Systems) informed me of a fantastic opportunity for the summer. And so, I find myself here at NASA in the Lunar and Planetary Science Academy about to embark on an exciting journey to Sudbury, Canada!

P.S. Below you’ll find a picture of me after caving with what we like to call a little “belly mud.”

Brady Doepke

School: University of Kentucky

Major(s): Mechanical Engineering

About me: I am currently a senior in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Kentucky. This summer I will be working with the recently launched LRO Spacecraft. My group is working on the LOLA instrument which uses LASERs to determine the distance between the spacecraft and the Lunar surface and the distance between earth and the spacecraft.
During the school year I am a researcher in the Dynamics Structures and Controls lab the UK. I study inflatable aircraft structures for deployable UAV systems. I am also part of the UK Design-Build-Fly team (a UAV construction competition) and I am the team pilot.

Stephen Indyk

Major(s): Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Concentration
Institution: Rutgers University

About Me:Hello, I am a Mechanical Engineering senior at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Some activities I am and have been involved with include fencing, remote control airplane building/flying, bicycling, hiking and photography. My interest in space and space exploration stems mainly from the vehicles. It fascinates me that we can design and build complex machines that are capable of such adverse environments and conditions.

I feel fortunate that my project lies directly in my interests of space exploration. My group is designing a robotic system to operate in microgravity. The purpose of this robotic system would be to collect samples from an asteroid or to repair a satellite. The difficult aspect of the project is that the robotic system need to counter act any forces applied to the surface it is working on. This is to say, if the robot is not fastened to the surface, and wants to drill a hole, it will just spin off the surface. Like many engineering challenges, it is a hard problem that will take much time and energy to solve, but will provide a great sense of accomplishment when completed. I hope to gain a better understanding of a space environment from the Sudbury trip. This education will enhance my capabilities to design better space systems.

Hamilton Moore

School: Auburn University

Major(s): Electrical Engineering
Bachelors of Science, 2011
Wireless Engineering
Bachelors of Science, 2011
Business and Engineering Technology Minor, 2011

About me: To tell you a little bit about me I am originally from Decatur, Alabama and am currently attending Auburn University pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering. In my spare time I enjoy spending time outdoors including hiking, mountain biking, camping, hunting, and fishing. At Auburn I am also involved in a team that is designing and building a small cube satellite to be sent into low earth orbit. The team is called Aubie-SAT and when completed will be the first student built satellite to be sent into orbit by a university in Alabama.

Over two years of working on Aubie-SAT, a student built satellite, I have become increasingly interested in a NASA internship. NASA is on the forefront of technology, explores the depth of the unknown, reveals the secrets of the cosmos, and is benefiting mankind through its discoveries. Space is fascinating, there is truly so much that can be learned from the universe. Discoveries that can change the world and benefit all of mankind are found in space. It is for these reasons that I am interested in space and believe that it is worth understanding. In the future I hope to be able to work alongside a team doing worthwhile research while advancing the project with my research, skills, and abilities. I also would like to help lead a team while staying actively involved in R and D.

This summer I am interning with NASA at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Maryland. I am working on a four man team that is working to develop a laser communication system with ranging. This system when completed will be able to send data through space via laser as well as measure the distance of various objects. This is truly and exciting project; one in which carries major implications in the space technology sector.

CJ Nicklow

School: West Virginia University

Major(s): Electrical and Computer Engineering

About me: I’ve grown up in Morgantown, WV my whole life. I am interested in mathematics, physics, and most of all engineering. I originally came into college looking forward to pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering with a secondary degree in Electrical Engineering because of how interested I have always been in computers and electronic devices since I was little. I was always an avid video game player and played with all kinds of little electronic toys until I got bored with them and tore them apart. During the beginning of my Junior year at WVU though I gained an interest in pursuing Electrical Engineering more than Computer Engineering and my emphasis has really changed on which one I want to go to grad school for. What caught me was electro-magnetics and the math, science, and theory behind it. Also, every job I have looked into with computer engineering is looking for a programmer and nothing else. I like to program but I am looking forward to the hardware more than the programming in the long run. I’m planning on going to grad school for a masters in electrical engineering and also attempt for a Ph.D in the same field, and I will also hopefully finish my minor in mathematics if I don’t get a chance to take the class in the next 2 semesters. I became interested in space at a very young age and I have been since. I started working with NASA last summer at the IV&V center in Fairmont, WV. This is my first year with Goddard, and I have to say, I love it. I am working with an awesome group on a very challenging project. We are working on free space laser communications and range finding. We hope by the end of the summer to be able to send a signal to a satellite and receive it back, be able to read the message, and calculate how far away the satellite is.
Some of my other interests consist of football(which I played all the way through middle and high school), sports in general, lifting, video games, traveling, music, and weirdly enough, Mathematics. Throughout my life I have loved to play football, I was an offensive and defensive lineman on good teams. I have played countless games, ranging from Atari, to the Wii, to the XBOX 360, and computer games. I have had no time as of these past few years to play though, engineering is a great major, but it is very, very time consuming.