A Dozen NASA Interns From Johnson Space Center Are Road Tripping To Kennedy Space Center To Tour And

Start Studying For Finals NOW

The semester has hardly started and you think it's already a good idea to start studying for finals?

I think its a good idea to avoid the panic looming at the end of the semester. I don't need a crystal ball to predict the posts on Facetumblinstatwitter - students stressing about what grade they need on the final to pass their class rather than actually studying. In attempt to snuff this distress I have a few proven habits if used throughout the whole semester will make finals week more zen.

1) Office Hours

As intimidating as the master behind your grade may seem the value of visiting your professor during office hours well outweighs the fear. Sometime not even the internet has the answer to your problems. After exhausting the knowledge of your friends, teaching assistant, and solutions manual studying can feel hopeless. Professors can often detect when your thinking is heading in the right direction and how to help you out if you are completely lost. Remember that they want you to succeed as long as you are willing to put in the effort.You can get the most out of office hours by trying the problem first, and coming up with question beyond "I don't get it". It is obvious when you are putting forth your best verses just fishing for an answer.

2) Optional Homework Is Mandatory Homework

Don't be fooled by a professor's modern teaching ideologies of "graded homework is a waste of time". Even if the professor assigns optional practice problems for your success in the class "optional" in professor speak means"mandatory". Why not become as comfortable with the material as possible? Understanding concepts a little at a time is much more manageable then cramming at the end of the semester.

3) Allocate Study time

Studying for courses between classes and attending your weekly study group may seem like enough time was dedicated. After recollecting the number of times you checked twitter you realize not a lot of studying went on. Printing out a copy of your class schedule and blocking out time strictly for studying will help you visualize how much time is needed. Two hours of study time should be dedicated for every credit you have per week. As a full time student of 12 hours that would be 24 hours of studying a week. As an engineering student with a 12 hour course load you square it and get 144 hours of studying (just kidding). If focusing for longer than the duration of a Spongebob episode is difficult for you consider using the 50/10 study rule. Study for a solid 50 minutes and then take a 10 minute break (not the other way around).

4) Take Useful notes

While attending lectures (and not sleeping in) be mindful of what you jot down. Will you be able to decipher your chicken scratch by finals week? Reconsider what will be useful to write down as a homework reference and what to underline for review during finals. Take advantage of presentations and notes professors posts online so you can record only what's most important to you. As the only person in your study group with legible notes you have rights to charge a Chipotle burrito tax every time they want to copy them.

In addition to tech stuff I enjoy drawing to! All doodles by me.

It Begins 4,900 Teams of Robot Builders

You may or may not have noticed the anxious stir experienced by high schoolers around the world. Not the stir associated with the holiday season or fear of returning back to school but caused by anxiety for a six week long engineering mission. Tomorrow, January 3rd, over 4,900 FIRST Robotics teams will be assigned a game for which they design, fabricate, and program a 120lb robot to compete. Really, a bunch of high schoolers are going to build a sophisticated machine requiring skills way beyond what they learn in school? Sounds like 4,900 teams of overly confident loony toons to me. I assure you from experience being on one of theses ambitious bot building teams that it is possible with copious amounts of drive and dedication.

Tubes, balls, frisbees and even miniature robots have been tossed, thrown and launched by these high schoolers' mechanical creations. At competition following their build season, teams compete with each other in the game assigned weeks prior. Games in the past have been similar to traditional sports such as soccer, basketball, ultimate frisbee, and volleyball. Until tomorrow teams have no clue what kind of robot they will be creating.

FIRST Robotics is the master mind behind getting students and their communities hooked on robotics. Inventor Dean Kamen and professor Woodie Flowers, FIRST founders, wanted to inspire the next generation of innovators. Their mission is reflected in the competition's name FIRST Robotics - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. Kind of a mouthful but tech savvy love their acronyms.

Get in on this crazy tech action by watching the FIRST Robotics Kick Off where the new game will be revealed January 3, 2015 10:15am EST : http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/news-feed/2015-first-robotics-competition-kickoff

This is last years game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5zWzICG5to

The FIRST Robotics team a part of is the Duluth East Daredevils team 2512. Here is a previous robot a robot designed for an ultimate frisbee competition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZqM96bJaH4

FIRST Robotics Link: http://www.usfirst.org/

Mars Dust into Thrust: NASA Co-Op #2 Week One

You would think pursuing a double major in electrical engineering and computer science would provide enough breadth to remain confident at a Co-Op... wrong. As I start my second Co-Op tour at NASA Johnson's Propulsion & Energy Conversion team I am finding that the more you learn the less you know. This summer I will be LabVIEW programming for In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) a system that turns Mars dust into fuel. ISRU is a rover payload that takes in mars atmosphere and soil and turns it into liquid methane and oxygen (fuel options). Other capabilities is getting O2 to breathe and excavating drinkable water. One of my projects is to control with a National Instruments compact cRIO an oxygen liquefier and a new water concentration sensor. The sensor I am testing uses spectroscopy to eliminate sensor erosion from corrosive Mars materials. These tasks are very chemical engineering heavy which require understanding a system and how to control it safely. I am excited to tackle this learning curve, understand more about Mars mission energy systems, and become more comfortable with chemical engineering concepts. WAYS TO GET INVOLVED Watch what NASA is up to: https://youtu.be/p_snvjghMJg Learn how to program with LabVIEW: https://youtu.be/IOkoyuikj5Q?list=PLdNp0fxltzmPvvK_yjX-XyYgfVW8WK4tu Read about our journey to Mars: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html ISRU in more depth: https://youtu.be/M3HbD1S_H5U

Resources for Women in STEM

As a women in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) I wanted to share my resources with you. Each of these camps I participated in, teams I joined and communities I became a part of boosted my confidence in my STEM abilities and fueled my passion to pursue my dream career.

1) NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award- National Center for Women and  Information Technology (NCWIT) hosts an award for high school students interested in pursuing a career in computer science. “The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing honors young women at the high-school level for their computing-related achievements and interests. Awardees are selected for their computing and IT aptitude, leadership ability, academic history, and plans for post-secondary education.” 

As an Aspirations Award winner you have access to exclusive scholarships, internship opportunities and get to be a part of a network of thousands of other women passionate about computer science. I know many groups over-hype their networking but this group has honestly opened so many unique doors for me. Five of us NCWITers had the opportunity to represent the group at President Obama’s Champions of Change Event at the White House. There were receptions at Facebook, Google, and the main event at the White House. We got to advocate for Women in STEM and I talked about project based learning.

Another opportunity that was a result of being an Aspirations Award Winner was my ability to attend Defrag Tech conference in Denver Colorado on a scholarship. My first posts on this blog are about Defrag.

2) NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Community Women studying in computer science in college, from an academic alliance institution, a major or minor in a related major, and qualifying GPA can become a part of this community! (very similar to the aspirations award group described above). In addition there is also a yearly collegiate award for $7,500 for three members in their junior year or above. 

3) St. Olaf Engineering and Physics Camp for Girls this is a top notch camp for high schoolers where for a whole week you are spending the majority of your time with power tools in your hand designing a Rube Goldberg machine using solenoids, motors, and limit switches. The other part of your week? Presentations from women engineers, liquid nitrogen ice-cream, looking a Saturn through a telescope, and the best college food in the Midwest. Think Northfield, MN is too far away? Trust me, this camp is worth that trip. 

4) Women In Engineering Camp at Michigan Tech College High schoolers get ready for a week long crash course in engineering. Learn about electrical, chemical, computer, and mechanical engineering. While I was there we built submarine robots and imaged logo figures onto glass with a laser.

Didn't see something for your age group? Check the “Launch your Career in Aerospace” post. Photo descriptions in the captions.

Successful Potato Challenge and Minnesota Give to the Max day fundraising for student space camp scholarships. After 24 hours of potatoes, over $10,000 was raised reaching the goal to receive an additional $10,000 donation match! Wow, that's a lot of education! Learn more about The Mars Generation who kicked off this effort: http://themarsgeneration.org

Be a Super Fan at a FIRST Robotics Regional

Robots will be swerving around the playing field starting with the first regionals held February 25th every weekend leading up to the FIRST Robotics Championships April 22nd  in St. Louis Missouri. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) challenged students to build 120-lb competitive robots in just six weeks. The moment for students has come to showcase their tote stacking machines at regionals throughout the world.  As a robotics enthusiast, friend or family of a team member, or you just want to get a piece of the tech action attending a regional is exciting! Below are five tips on how to be a super fan at a FIRST Robotics Regional and make the most of your experience watching these glorious geeks' gadgets.

1) Discover Where To Attend FIRST Robotics Districts/Regionals are free and open to the public! If you don't already know where and when your closest FIRST Robotics Regional is being held scroll through this list to find out: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/regional-events A typical account of a regional: The event starts on a Thursday and teams compete in practice matches that do not effect their ranking. Friday is when qualification matches for ranking starts and teams compete in a Round-robin fashion. Team's rank determines if they will compete in finals. Some awards are given out Friday evening. Saturday begins with qualification matches in the morning. After lunch finals are held, a winner is declared, and awards are given out. Saturday is the best day to watch for fierce competition. If you cannot attend a regional in person each competition is broadcast online.

2) Learn About The Game: Recycle Rush In Recycle Rush, two alliances of three teams race against the clock to stack as many game pieces as possible in two and a half minutes. Game pieces include totes, recycling containers, and pool noodles (litter). The stack that grants the most amount of points is six totes and a container! For double the points alliances can cooperate with their opposing alliance to stack totes in the middle of the field. Recycle Rush Game Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6UYFKNGHJ8

3) Explore The Pit Area Shouts of "Robot robot!" can be heard from students clearing the aisles for their machine. Beyond the playing field is a sea of teams fixing their robots, formulating game plays, and exchanging buttons with fellow FIRST members and fans. The pit area is a must see stop for fans and tech enthusiasts. Each team has approximately a 10ft x 10ft x 10ft space to work on their robot, store hardware, and chat with fans about their work. Similar to a NASCAR pit stop, team members quickly change out their robot's 12V batteries and replace burnt motors. Pick up a pair of safety glasses at the entrance of the pit area and feel free to collect buttons from teams, check out the diverse robot designs, and ask about a team member's experience. From my experience at competitions Thursday and Friday mornings are prime times for button collecting.  

4) Know The Robo Lingo Every sport seems to have their own language using slang like hail mary, alley-oop, and meatball. This sport of the mind has a jargon of its own.

Gracious Professionalism (GP)- This is the most powerful mantra of FIRST Robotics, a mind set that promotes "competing like crazy" yet "treating others with respect and kindness" as co-founder Woodie Flowers explains. As a result you will see team members helping other teammates from rival teams fix their robot, patch some code, and loan a few tools.

Buttons- Generic name given to giveaways teams hand out to students and fans in the pit area. This robot swag can consist of necklaces, hats, bandannas, pens, candy, miniature safety kits, and of course buttons.

Chairman's- Short for the Chairman's Award, the most prestigious award presented to teams for their efforts in community outreach, promotion of STEM, and embodiment of FIRST Robotics' goals. The teams selected serve as role models for other FIRST Teams. Regional Chairman's award winners win the opportunity to compete in the World Championships. Teams preform outreach, write an essay, create a video, and give a presentation to be eligible.

Poolitics (Pool noodle politics)- Coined by robotics strategist and coach Karthik relating to decisions made about the use of pool noodle game pieces. The pool noodles act as litter in Recycle Rush and an alliance receives points if the opposite alliance has litter in their zone.

Coopertition (Co-Op)- Another ethos of FIRST that "is founded on the concept and philosophy that teams can and should help and cooperate with each other as the compete", as described on usfirst.org. To further encourage cooperation a part of Recycle Rush is creating a sack of yellow totes with the opposite alliance.

Worlds- Short for World Championships, FIRST teams dream to compete at Worlds where there are eight competition fields and hundreds of robots. Teams can win the right to go to words by winning a Regional/ District event, Chairman's Award, Engineering Inspiration Award, and Rookie All Star Award. Awards are given out on Saturdays, the last day of competition.

Team Number- Each team is assigned a number when they register for first robotics. Some teams have been registered for over 20 years! The higher the number, the younger the team.

Chute Door- Whoops, almost left out poor chute door. Chute door is where players can drop totes into the playing field for their robots to receive. There has been a surprising amount of speculation by teams debating if their robot should receive totes from the door or pick up existing ones on the field. Several videos are up online with students observing how the tote falls through the chute door to determine if it will even land upright in a robot, Chute door has become this year's obsession for many strategists.

5) Volunteer At A Regional Take super fanning to the next level by volunteering at a Regional or District event. To be a volunteer and help the cause there are both technical and nontechnical positions. Volunteers have helped with field set up, field take-down, pit announcements, game set up, food distribution, judging, and more. Check it out! http://www.usfirst.org/community/volunteers

Space Habitat Simulator in The HIVE lab.

One Stop Career Advice 

Links to career posts by me to help you transform a passion into a profession

Introduction to USAJobs | Score a Career with the US Government Part 1 

USAJobs Resume Builder | Score a Career with the US Government Part 2

Pathways Internships | Score a Career with the US Government Part 3

It’s Never Too Early to Intern

Internships – Beyond Your Project 

What Can You do with a Computer Science Major?

Make the Most Out of Your Summer Career Experience 

What’s a Co-Op & How Do I Get One?

Not a Typical Internship - Alternatives to a Summer Internship