NASA co-op provides advantage
for engineering students
By Ian Clift
Summer Reporter
Ever since she was young, Allison Bahnsen has wanted
to be an astronaut, but after seeing the Johnson Space Center, with
a staff of around 50,000, she was "no longer dead set on just being
an astronaut."
Bahnsen is one of 16 aeronautical and astronautical
engineering students who co-ops at NASA's Johnson Space Flight Center.
"There are more Purdue students at NASA Johnson
than from any other school," said Mark Williams, associate head of the
School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He said they have other students
in the other NASA locations.
Bahnsen, a junior in the Schools of Engineering,
said "there are so many things you can do (at NASA), someone from any
field of engineering could find a job there."
Bahnsen said, "I think I would be happy just working
there. I could do anything in aero or anything in engineering and be
happy down there."
Last semester Bahnsen worked within the extra and
intra-vehicular activities division at Johnson. "We had to work on certifying
devices that would be used in space," she said. The activity division
must first certify specific items that astronauts request for personal
hygiene and strength training.
Tests are run for things such as hazardous gases
that may be emitted from objects in a vacuum, as well as for alcohol
content, because the space station water system is very sensitive to
it.
But Bahnsen's job isn't always the same; she's
been able to work in the support room to mission control. "I supported
two missions," Bahnsen said, "If they have a problem finding things
in the space shuttle we can tell them where the (items) are."
Bahnsen has also seen two shuttle launches in Florida,
once on a co-op road trip and once just for fun. She has been a volunteer
for a fire drill in an orbiter mock up and has met with several astronauts.
"Five or six astronauts talked to our group," she
said. "They were all extremely nice because they were once in our shoes."
Many of the astronauts had been former members of co-op programs.
Williams said that in most cases, students participating
in co-ops are actually given jobs with some meaning.
Bahnsen said that she definitely wants to work
for NASA or one of their aerospace partners. "In the co-op program,
if you like what you're doing you will have a job (in the place where
you work). That's a comforting fact."
Williams said, "NASA is now in the mode of hiring.
People who have co-op experience tend to be very marketable."
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