What I Do As a senior materials research engineer in the Environmental Effects and Coating Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center I conduct research on the durability of spacecraft materials in the space environment. This means I determine if materials that spacecraft designers use to build spacecraft will get damaged, or whether they will be durable, in the space environment. Although space, above the Earth where the International Space Station orbits, is a “vacuum environment” there are many harmful environmental exposures that can damage spacecraft materials. These include solar flare x-rays, ultraviolet radiation (which can give you a sunburn), charged particle radiation from the Sun (such as electrons that can produce “northern lights”), thermal cycling and atomic oxygen (highly reactive oxygen atoms). To study the durability of spacecraft materials, I fly spaceflight experiments on the exterior of the International Space Station! These experiments are part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) missions.
Why Engineering? I always did well in math and loved art, and as a college freshman at Michigan State University, I developed an interest in chemistry and atomic physics. So I thought that engineering would be a good combination of these fields. I took a course at MSU called “Introduction to Careers in Engineering” which was very helpful! During the class the Chairman of the Department of Materials Science showed us a piece of special wire, called shape memory alloy, which he crumpled into a ball. Then he heated it with a lighter and it “magically” formed into a perfect coil. I found the material fascinating and decided to try materials science engineering, and ended up loving all my materials science classes. Then, between my junior and senior years I obtained a summer job working in my field conducting metallurgical failure analyses. That job helped me to know I wanted my career to be in materials science engineering.
School Days I have both a bachelor's degree and a master’s degree in materials science from the College of Engineering at Michigan State University.
My Day At Work My daily activities vary depending on the status of my flight experiments, but my typical research tasks include fabricating spaceflight samples and characterizing the samples before and after space exposure. Characterization and testing can include photo-documentation and measuring sample properties such as: optical properties (i.e. reflectance, transmittance, and absorptance), mechanical properties (which tells you how easily it breaks), density and surface morphology, etc. I love photography, so taking photos of sample surfaces at high magnification with optical and scanning electron microscopes is one of my favorite research tasks. I also spend a lot of time graphing the research data, writing papers and giving presentations.
Best Part I find the most exciting part of my work is having experiments that are flown in space! Since the space shuttle retired, my MISSE experiments are launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in either a SpaceX or Northrup Grumman Cygnus spacecraft. Then the experiments are robotically transferred onto the ISS external MISSE-Flight Facility (MISSE-FF), where they are exposed to the space environment for 6 months to a year. After the mission, the MISSE experiments are returned to Earth in a SpaceX capsule (via “splash-down”) and I test my samples post-flight and see how well they survived the space exposure. I get to work closely with many other researchers (from Glenn, other NASA centers, universities and industry) on my flight experiments. It is both the interesting people I meet and the fascinating projects that make me love my work at NASA. Another part I really enjoy about being a research engineer is that I write about my experiment results in papers and present them at national or international conferences. I have given papers at conferences around the United States and also internationally! Another wonderful thing about my work at NASA is that since 1998 I have been collaborating with high school girls on my flight experiments.
Proud Moments After working in my field since 1989, I am known internationally for my technical expertise. This is a great accomplishment that I am very proud of. I have been honored by receiving numerous honors and awards including two of NASA’s highest honors: the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for “Outstanding Contributions to the Understanding and Enhancement of Spacecraft Materials Durability” and the Space Flight Awareness Honoree Award for “Contributions to the Hubble Space Telescope Multilayer Insulation Failure Review Board and Impacts on Hubble Servicing Missions.” I am also very proud of receiving numerous national awards including the National Aeronautics Association (NAA) Katharine Wright Trophy, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Resnik Challenger Medal Award, SAE International’s J. Cordell Breed Award for Women Leaders, the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement (RNASA) Stellar Award and the Michigan State University (MSU) Distinguished Alumni Award (Go Green!! ;-). But, perhaps I am most proud that in 2009 I was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame at the Ohio State Capitol!
Challenges I feel very unfortunate that my career challenges have been primarily academic in nature, such as conquering a difficult class in college (like mechanics) or trying to understand a technically challenging problem at work. Fortunately, at NASA we usually work as part of a team, so if there is an aspect of my research I don’t understand I can get help from another researcher who has the skills to solve the problem. I have been fortunate that I have not run into anyone whom indicated that I could not succeed in a “non-traditional” career, as other women have. Perhaps it is because I have had a positive attitude and have always strived to do my best. Keep in mind: If you are confident in your abilities, others will be too!
My Family I am the youngest of 4 children, and I love to get together with family. I am married and I met my husband, Henry, while working as at NASA in 1986. Henry is also a materials engineer at NASA Glenn. We live in Hinckley, Ohio and we have two sons: Henry and Dan. Henry has a BS in Philosophy and lives in Santa Monica, CA. And, Dan has a BM in Commercial Music Production and lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dan is currently developing a wellness based business to provide massage therapy, bio-tuning and Yoga lessons.
Dreams and Goals My long term goal is to provide Low Earth orbit space environmental durability data to the space community, thus having a positive impact on the space program.
Inspiration As a little girl I became interested in the space program as my father (a biomedical engineer) and my older brother shared their interest in the space program with me. My dad ran medical tests for the early space program and my brother used to paint wonderful space science-fiction paintings. I remember our family watched Neil Armstrong take the first step on the moon on July 21, 1969. We watched on a little black & white TV up at our cottage on Lake Michigan. It was 9:56 pm and the moon was bright and visible and we ran back and forth between the TV and outside on the deck to look at the moon. My parents also greatly influenced me as they taught me that you can succeed at anything you set your mind to. I was also fortunate that my master’s thesis advisor helped me get a summer job at NASA Glenn in 1986. After working for the summer at Glenn as an intern, I knew I wanted to have a career conducting research at NASA.
Want to be an Engineer? I think it is important to get shadow opportunities and summer jobs in the field(s) you are interested in to see if you really enjoy the work, and to gain contacts with people who learn of your abilities and skills.
Additional Thoughts I collaborate with university students as well as students from an all-girls high school to conduct some of the experiments she does for NASA.
Hobbies I enjoy running, biking, hiking and photography. I also enjoy doing some arts & crafts such as beading, painting, rock collecting, etc. I like making handmade gifts for family and friends. I also love to travel! My favorite quote is: “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”