Week 1 Of NASA Co-Op Tour #4 You Know It's Going To Be A Good Semester When The First Person You Recognize

Looking Forward to Leadership Conference NCCWSL

Following Memorial Day I will be traveling to DC for NCCWSL, National Conference for College Women Student Leaders, by AAUW (American Association of University Women). AAUW Duluth chapter has given me the awesome opportunity to meet students from around America, represent my engineering discipline and refine my leadership skills.

While Co-Oping at NASA I learned what categories of leadership they look for when hiring branch chiefs, flight directors and even center directors. NASA looks for individuals that can Lead Change, Lead People, are Results Driven, have Business Acumen, can Build Teams and have Discipline Competency. Our center director, Ellen Ochoa, has all of these leadership skills. A leader in a lower position may not have to have business acumen or have weaknesses in two of these categories. With leadership skills identified I have chosen what workshops I should attend...

I Get Knocked Down, but I Get Up Again: Persevering through Life’s Challenges

The Human Side of Collaboration

Be Better: Enhanced Speaking Skills for Women

...including keynote speakers and a trip downtown to learn about advocacy, politics, and policy making from a panel of women who work for senators and representatives on Capitol Hill. I am avoiding sessions that could be replaced by a TEDTalk and sessions presented by business folks that may be there simply to pitch their company - these are all disappointments I have experienced in past conferences.

I am half surprised and half not surprised about how politically charged some of these workshops and lectures are (NCCWSL is hosted in our nation's capitol after all and AAUW uses policy to advance equality). Many leaders in industry do not interface with politics on a daily basis so I hope there is enough relevant content that will truly challenge my understanding of leadership. I want brutal honesty on how I can improve and tools that I can use in industry. I will attend with an open mind.

When I visited the White House in 2013 for a tech related Champions of Change event I advocated for project based learning in schools - reducing standardize testing and implementing measurable projects mirroring challenges in "the real world". During this excursion my primary message will about continuing and growing Earth observation missions. For a final spring semester I wrote about how crucial Earth observation missions are to our environment, safety and economy. I will be sure to post an abridged version here soon. While Earth observation is my primary message I will be sure to also talk about the importance of the "A" in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math), how trade schools are critical to American jobs and manufacturing and last project based learning again.

I will be live blogging during the conference so subscribe via email to get the latest blog posts and follow me on Twitter @KirsiCootie!

Ideas for Teachers: Apollo Mission Control Simulation Lesson Plan

In this activity students will watch clips of system failures from Apollo 13 movie and must come up with their own solutions to the problem. This activity would be good for 3rd or 4th graders but can be modified to be harder or easier.

Introduce the Flight Positions

Split up students into five groups EECOM (Electrical Environmental and Communication) Power, EECOM Environment, BOOSTER, GNC (Guidance and Navigation Control). and SURGEON. They should have paper and a writing utensil.  

Teacher: "You are each flight controllers in NASA's Mission Control in Houston, TX. Have a picture on the board of NASA's mission control. For this mission I am the flight director but you are all  experts on a space craft system. You are in charge of three astronauts heading to the Moon in this space craft. If you have something you want communicated to the astronaut you must tell me. Have a picture of the Apollo 13 command module attached to the Lunar Lander on the board.

Point at EECOM Power

Teacher: "EECOM Power, you are in charge of the power system that keeps the communication system, computers, heat, and lights on the space craft. You will get data on the battery level, amps, volts and which systems are on."

Point at EECOM Environment

Teacher: "EECOM Environment, you are in charge of the air system on board the space craft. This means scrubbing the carbon out of the air and supplying enough oxygen. You will get data on the O2 CO2 and poisonous gas levels."

Point at BOOSTER

Teacher: "You are in charge of the boosters that fly the astronauts too and from the Moon. You make sure that there is enough fuel to accomplish each task. You will get data on the fuel level and functioning boosters."

Point at GNC

Teacher: "You are in charge of making sure the space capsule is flying in the right direction. You will get data on the flight path of the space craft."

Point at SURGEON

Teacher: "You are in charge of the health of the astronauts. You will get data on their temperature, vital organs, and comments from them on their well being,"

Above are examples of data slides you can display I made with an old Mission Control Picture. Note that these levels and figures in coming up simulation data are not very accurate. For example - in reality over 15% CO2 would cause black outs and brain asphyxiation. What is most important is that data is fluctuating and the students learn what data is important, how to write down observations and react.

Begin Mission

Pull up the current and nominal flight data on the board.

Teacher: "Here is the current data for each of your systems. Write them down because they may change and you may need to fix your systems when something goes wrong."

Students write down data.

Houston We've Had A Problem

Teacher: "These three astronauts are on a mission to the Moon, but something goes horribly wrong. And you have to do something about it. Let's see what happened..."

Show this clip: https://youtu.be/kAmsi05P9Uw

Teacher: "You are tens of thousands of miles away from the astronauts but must fix the problem. Pull up the new set of data. Here the latest data. Tell me whats wrong and how you think we can fix it.

Students write down new data and discuss among themselves whats going on. Students then let the flight director know whats going wrong. Change the data three times so it fluctuates, don't wait for students to write everything down, this is a real time crisis and things won't run as planned.

Example of data slide 4, the vitals show error because in real life the Apollo 13 astronauts took off their vital sensors for privacy.

Teacher checks in with EECOM Power and lets students share their thoughts

Teacher: "Looks like we are loosing power rapidly and can only use certain devices at once. We need to figure out how keep the astronauts alive, send data back to Earth using the computers, and collect enough data on board so we can keep each flight team updated. Hand them batteries, paper clips/ wires, lights and switches. Each light represents an electrical device on board. You must find the correct electrical configuration to power the devices and order in which they must be powered on."

Teacher checks in with EECOM Environment & SURGEON and lets students share their thoughts

Teacher: "Looks like we are losing oxygen for the astronauts to breath. How long till its all gone? Students suggest answers. Here are the materials on board to create a new air filter. This square peg in a round hole. Make it work. Dump the materials on their table." Inspired by this clip: https://youtu.be/C2YZnTL596Q

Teacher checks in with BOOSTER  & GNC and lets students share their thoughts

Teacher: Has BOOSTER & GNC sit closer to each other "Looks like we are off trajectory to the moon, the lunar lander is broken, the space craft is accelerating in the wrong direction we are losing fuel and the only logical thing to do now is head back to Earth. Both of you are needed to solve this problem. Give them a model of Earth, Moon, Capsule and attached Moon Lander. Work together to figure out how to then back to Earth with limited fuel."

Teacher: Talking to all. "Once you come up with a solution come up to the front and explain to your fellow flight controllers what you came up with and why it will work. The other flight controllers can argue if they think it won't work and why. Astronaut lives are at stake so it is necessarily to speak up if something is a faulty idea or you have a better solution."

Students work to solve their problems. Give them a little bit of time to work on it. After each team presents their solution.

Teacher: "Let's see how the NASA engineers solve the problems you were given..."

Note: You may want to scan these clips for swear words before showing them in class. And end the clip accordingly.

EECOM Power: https://youtu.be/KhoXFVQsIxw

EECOM Environment & SURGEON: https://youtu.be/Zm5nUEG5Bjo

BOOSTER & GNC: https://youtu.be/gmLgi5mdTVo

Teacher: "Lastly let's see if the crew makes it back after your adjustments"

https://youtu.be/-1BPx5Wsm7k

Celebrate with astronaut ice cream!

Working on a Main Bus Switching Unit test bed for a solar array regulator.

#NASAIntern #jsc #glenn #NASA

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

Boost Your Scholarship, Award and College Applications

Participating in lightning-round tech award reviews revealed a number of ways you can make an application, if for a scholarship, award or school acceptance, more powerful...

Use narrative writing to illustrate your experience and put the reader in your shoes. While reading some responses I could see the world the applicant was living in and shared their emotions and goals. 

Sprinkle you answers with quantities to communicated how you contributed: volunteered 10 hours a month, presented to 100 students and built a 120lb robot in six weeks.

YOU ARE NOT BRAGGING, you are showing the reader your hard-work, influence and achieved goals. The application reader does not have the power to read minds. You are NOT being humble, you are communicating poorly. Save your "humbleness" for a thank you letter to the scholarship/ award committee after you win.

Avoid repetitiveness in questions although that experience can fit into multiple answers. As a reader, seeing repeated experiences depreciate the experience's value. 

Try to use the max character/ word count. But do not do so if you need to use fluff or sacrifice concise communication/ meaning. 

Robotics Pit Area: Where students repair their robot between matches

National Conference for College Women Student Leaders 

NCCWSL Wrap Up

Little broccoli shoots - the young trees sprout, compared to the elder trees spared by loggers. The broccoli are proof of an investment, confidence that the Iron Range's timber is desired. With Norway Pines lit like honey mead and faults of farmland irrigation exposed by a birds eye view, I descend upon Range Regional Airport. The NCCWSL leadership conference sprouted its own investment in hopes that we will become leaders that initiate positive change. Our definition of positive change was shaped by NCCWSL's keynote speakers, workshops, excursions, exchanges, and interpretations. If these experiences were taken at face value I do not believe "that" definition of positive change is best for our country. If taken with a grain of salt, a packet of pepper and a squirt of ketchup then a rational, moderate, and welcomed definition of positive change can be found.

Messaging

As reflected in this week's workshop titles and bios of speakers, this conference resonated primarily with the hopes and dreams of left-wing thinkers. Right-wing thinkers and the bipartisan curious may have been dissuaded by the polarity, thus surrendering the awesome opportunity to meet and be empowered by tenacious women who also strive to strengthen America. This conference did a stellar job energizing women with the same beliefs but did not teach us how to listen to, work alongside and communicate with those in strongest opposition. Like a fancy Sunday picnic I was equipped with metaphorical seasonings. I softened the extreme rhetoric and enhanced rudimentary flavors - ideas that reasonable human beings could get behind. For example, Melissa Harris-Perry is a passionate speaker, PhD, professor, and author. The delivery of her ideas, catered toward the conference goers, may shut down audiences she might want to persuade the most. Sifting through her flourishes, I found motivation to learn more about American history and search for the history of individuals lost from the pages of public school textbooks. I hope future NCCWSLs tackle the challenging task of teaching future leaders the ability to effectively and respectfully communicate with individuals with different beliefs.

Leadership

Meeting former chiefs of staff exemplified the presence of influential women on Capitol Hill. This brief panel and 2017 Women of Distinction Awards celebrating the success of five women gave conference goers a tangible illustration of successful professional women. With the presence of seasoned leaders, I did not learn any new leadership strategies to take back to my Co-Ops. Despite marketing the conference for "college student leaders" only a third of workshops and lectures claimed to be leadership focused. The third of leadership focused content did not offer content that challenged my understanding of leadership like I hoped for. Leadership is a challenging topic to teach effectively without elementary group activities, polarizing rhetoric, and parroting TED Talk clips. Equipped with the network of so many influential women leaders NCCWSL could recruit seasoned leaders to mentor conference goers to provide experience based leadership education.

Civic Action

Aspiring astronaut, sexual assault survivor and author of a bill of rights - Amanda Nguyen was my favorite speaker at the NCCWSL conference. Nguyen described how she drafted the Survivors' Bill of Rights Act of 2016, persisted to ensure it was passed in the Senate, unanimously passed in the House, and ultimately signed into law October 7th, 2016. Nguyen continues to write law into existence through Rise - which she founded. AAUW (American Association of University Women), parent organization of NCCWSL, has be active in formulating women's rights since 1881 including actions around Title IX. Despite this rich history with civic engagement NCCWSL offered no opportunity to draft law or engage with state representatives to make change. During this conference there was a lot of identification of problems with few avenues and instruction to find a solution. Workshops and lectures could be focused around finding solutions and our tourist outings to D.C. could be replaced with constructive meetings with Senators and Congressmen. Conveniently held in our nation's capitol NCCWSL has a unique opportunity to get young leaders engaged with constructing civic solutions.

Clickety clack I could type my opinions on NCCWSL all day. NCCWSL attendees and my actions moving forward is what will make the difference for future conferences. NCCWSL will send out a survey for feedback where conference goers can express their ideas for next year. Additionally there is an opportunity to become a student leader and help shape the curriculum for NCCWSL. My idea for a component of a future NCCWSL includes...

*Creating a theme around the conference such as working women, parental leave or equal pay.

*Prior to the conference students would draft legislation or thoughts to share with state representatives.

*First day of the conference students would meet in groups to refine legislation and their message.

*Second day students would meet with leaders on Capitol Hill to introduce ideas and/or legislation.

*Last day students would be to debrief and brainstorm next steps and action items for post conference.

I am thankful that AAUW Duluth chapter sponsored my NCCWSL journey. I am also thankful for the opportunity to meet other student leaders, hear their stories and get connected. No matter how involved I will be with this conference in the future, I am motivated to improve my communication with individuals with different beliefs, find new effective practices of leadership I can apply at my Co-Op, and learn how my civic action can improve our nation.

July 14th NASA's New Horizons will fly by Pluto (the dwarf planet *sigh*) follow this link for front row seats.

Potato Challenge

When: Thursday November 17th

What: 24 hrs... 12 oz of water... 10 medium potatoes... awesome prizes!

Who: You! Click here to sign up.

Why?? The purpose of eating only potatoes is to raise money to fund scholarships so kids can go to space camp! The potatoes of course is in honor of Mark Watney, from The Martian book by Andy Weir, who survived on Mars by eating mostly potatoes grown in his and his friends’ feces. This fundraiser is a part of the larger “Give to the Max Minnesota Day” Nov 17th, when local groups strive to raise awareness and money.

Details: Depending on how much money is raised you can add toppings and have other snacks. As of the time of posting you can’t even put salt or pepper on your potatoes! Here is the dollar amount vs topping chart and prize details.

Donate: Click here to give money for kids’ space camp scholarships.