School and Research
17/10/09 22:29
The school year has started, and although I am not as busy as I was this summer, it is still exhausting. I just finished up a week that included two tests, a design project, and a presentation, and this coming week I have one more test. I also started working in the Engine Research Center on campus under Professor Scott Sanders. My project is still in the initial stages, but I will know more about it soon.
My biggest time commitment so far this semester has been with the Zero Gravity team, which I am co-leading. This year we had enough interest to form two different teams. One will be continuing in the reduced gravity program investigating ultrasonic cooling in microgravity. I will be working with the team applying to the Systems Engineering Educational Discovery (SEED) program. For this program we apply to projects that have been proposed by industry and accepted by NASA. Both teams will be finishing up the application process this week or next, and we will find out our status in December.
I am starting to think about what I want to do next summer for work. I applied for the staff position at NASA Academy, and Dr. Six said they would make a decision in a month or two. I am also looking at different private space jobs, such as something with SpaceX. I am also looking to see what some of the people I met from this summer going to be doing. I will see a good number of them at the SpaceVision 2009 conference in Tucson, Arizona in November.
I have put up some information about the research I did this summer at NASA Academy, as well as my poster and paper on oxygen production from lunar materials.
Nathan Wong
My biggest time commitment so far this semester has been with the Zero Gravity team, which I am co-leading. This year we had enough interest to form two different teams. One will be continuing in the reduced gravity program investigating ultrasonic cooling in microgravity. I will be working with the team applying to the Systems Engineering Educational Discovery (SEED) program. For this program we apply to projects that have been proposed by industry and accepted by NASA. Both teams will be finishing up the application process this week or next, and we will find out our status in December.
I am starting to think about what I want to do next summer for work. I applied for the staff position at NASA Academy, and Dr. Six said they would make a decision in a month or two. I am also looking at different private space jobs, such as something with SpaceX. I am also looking to see what some of the people I met from this summer going to be doing. I will see a good number of them at the SpaceVision 2009 conference in Tucson, Arizona in November.
I have put up some information about the research I did this summer at NASA Academy, as well as my poster and paper on oxygen production from lunar materials.
Nathan Wong
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A Crazy Summer
21/08/09 15:39 Filed in: NASA Academy | School
The summer of 2009 has pretty much ended, and I can say it was the best summer of my life. Having the opportunity to do so many things and meet so many interesting people has been amazing. From skydiving, to traveling across the country, to just hanging around the Huntsville area, there was never a moment where I was bored, mostly due to the 10 other amazing people I lived and worked with over the summer, but as I said during the NASA Academy graduation, before the beer, this summer doesn’t end.
It is going to be important to keep in contact with everyone I have met this summer. And the things I learned, I will continue to take with me throughout my life. I am already planning on seeing many of the people in the Academy throughout the year. Halloween or Wongapalooza ’10 anyone? This summer has also changed my views of what I thought of my future. I have really pulled a 180 on what I think I need to do with my life, and have some things planned that will hopefully validate those decisions, including a new job this semester, and maybe taking a semester off in the spring to go work.
After the hectic times of the summer, it was good to come back home and have some time to relax, and I used that time very effectively. I was also able to meet up with my friends who are still in town or in the area. I am moving back to Madison this week to get ready for school. I am excited to get back and see how the experiences of the summer affect the way I look at school.
Sometime next week I will put up some information about the research I did at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Also if any prospective NASA Academy Applicants read this, feel free to contact me with any questions you have. I would be glad to help.
Nathan Wong
It is going to be important to keep in contact with everyone I have met this summer. And the things I learned, I will continue to take with me throughout my life. I am already planning on seeing many of the people in the Academy throughout the year. Halloween or Wongapalooza ’10 anyone? This summer has also changed my views of what I thought of my future. I have really pulled a 180 on what I think I need to do with my life, and have some things planned that will hopefully validate those decisions, including a new job this semester, and maybe taking a semester off in the spring to go work.
After the hectic times of the summer, it was good to come back home and have some time to relax, and I used that time very effectively. I was also able to meet up with my friends who are still in town or in the area. I am moving back to Madison this week to get ready for school. I am excited to get back and see how the experiences of the summer affect the way I look at school.
Sometime next week I will put up some information about the research I did at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Also if any prospective NASA Academy Applicants read this, feel free to contact me with any questions you have. I would be glad to help.
Nathan Wong
NASA Globe Trotting
20/07/09 12:24 Filed in: NASA Academy
It has been a crazy last few weeks with little time devoted to sleep, and a lot of time spent traveling. We spent the Fourth of July weekend traveling down to Lake Martin, to spend some time on the water and relax for a weekend. It was good to be able to sit around and do nothing for a while.
The next weekend I went with some of the Academy members to Las Vegas for an epic and eventful weekend. Lots of stories that will never be told came out of that weekend, but what I can say is that I love that city and am already planning my return trip for Wongapalooza ’10. So get ready.
This last weekend we all flew out to Los Angeles to visit the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Dryden, and Space X. It was good to be able to see how the private space sector does their job, after being immersed in the government side for so long. It was refreshing to see how they perform their business, and it seems like an awesome place to work.
This week I said goodbye to the Academy as they flew back to Huntsville. I will be spending the week up in San Jose at the NASA Lunar Science Institute Forum, where I will be presenting a poster with the project I worked on at school this last semester.
Right away when I get back we are leaving for New Orleans, Houston, and then back to New Orleans. It will pretty much be a solid 3 weeks where I have not been at work, but I have work that I am able to take on the road with me.
Only three more weeks left…ahhhh.
Nathan Wong
The next weekend I went with some of the Academy members to Las Vegas for an epic and eventful weekend. Lots of stories that will never be told came out of that weekend, but what I can say is that I love that city and am already planning my return trip for Wongapalooza ’10. So get ready.
This last weekend we all flew out to Los Angeles to visit the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Dryden, and Space X. It was good to be able to see how the private space sector does their job, after being immersed in the government side for so long. It was refreshing to see how they perform their business, and it seems like an awesome place to work.
This week I said goodbye to the Academy as they flew back to Huntsville. I will be spending the week up in San Jose at the NASA Lunar Science Institute Forum, where I will be presenting a poster with the project I worked on at school this last semester.
Right away when I get back we are leaving for New Orleans, Houston, and then back to New Orleans. It will pretty much be a solid 3 weeks where I have not been at work, but I have work that I am able to take on the road with me.
Only three more weeks left…ahhhh.
Nathan Wong
Three crazy weeks, too many sleepless nights!
23/06/09 13:59 Filed in: NASA Academy
I am already into my fourth week in NASA Academy and time is flying by. We have done so much, and have so much planned. Every week just keeps getting a little but crazier and crazier. The tone was set for the summer in our first weekend by attending Space Camp. A childhood dream fulfilled, as well as a great opportunity to spend some time with the ten people I will be doing everything with this summer. Some of the activities included riding the multi axis trainer, a lunar walking simulator, riding space shot multiple times, shooting off rockets, flying a fighter plane simulator, getting rescued from a sinking helicopter, as well as a shuttle mission simulation. They scored the shuttle mission, and somehow our academy did not come in first despite being in tip-top shape from our training at Sammy T’s the night before. Although we did not win the shuttle mission, we did win the most outstanding team award.
The next weekend was followed by our attempt to watch the STS-127 launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We (read Ron) drove 12 hours through the night on Thursday June 11 into Friday June 12 to get to KSC and get our badges to be able to watch the shuttle launch from on the base, as close as you can physically get. We decided to celebrate getting our badges by going to the beach. We then went back to the hotel to get to sleep so we could get to KSC by 4 a.m. for the shuttle launch.
We got the dreadful call around 2 a.m. that the shuttle launch had been scrubbed (fancy NASA speak for delayed). Most of us were so upset, that we went to sleep for another 9 hours, while others went to the beach to watch the sunrise. We followed up our 14 hours of sleep with another glorious day at the beach where we met with some of the members of the Goddard Academy. We also went out to dinner with them, and eventually had a Latin Dance party with the wait staff there. We drove home the next day. That trip can be summarized by 23 hours of driving for 8.5 minutes of a shuttle launch that never happened.
Finally last weekend’s events escalated the craziness to a whole other level. We woke up Saturday to drive to the Cullman Airport, where we would be boarding a plane at 0 ft and leaving a plane at 13,000 ft. 9 out of the 10 Academy members plus our operations manager decided to risk life and limb by skydiving. We ended up waiting for 7 hours before our turn to jump came up, but it was more than worth it, and I will definitely be doing it again. That night we went back to our favorite hang out, Sammy T’s for a foam party. It was a crazy night to compliment a crazy day. On Sunday we drove up into Tennessee to go on the Jack Daniels distillery tour. It was an amazing tour, but since it was Sunday we were not able to purchase any consumable souvenirs.
I am sure that these first three weeks will not even compare to the seven we have remaining, I only hope that I will be able to keep up the grueling pace and be able to enjoy every minute of it.
Nathan Wong
The next weekend was followed by our attempt to watch the STS-127 launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We (read Ron) drove 12 hours through the night on Thursday June 11 into Friday June 12 to get to KSC and get our badges to be able to watch the shuttle launch from on the base, as close as you can physically get. We decided to celebrate getting our badges by going to the beach. We then went back to the hotel to get to sleep so we could get to KSC by 4 a.m. for the shuttle launch.
We got the dreadful call around 2 a.m. that the shuttle launch had been scrubbed (fancy NASA speak for delayed). Most of us were so upset, that we went to sleep for another 9 hours, while others went to the beach to watch the sunrise. We followed up our 14 hours of sleep with another glorious day at the beach where we met with some of the members of the Goddard Academy. We also went out to dinner with them, and eventually had a Latin Dance party with the wait staff there. We drove home the next day. That trip can be summarized by 23 hours of driving for 8.5 minutes of a shuttle launch that never happened.
Finally last weekend’s events escalated the craziness to a whole other level. We woke up Saturday to drive to the Cullman Airport, where we would be boarding a plane at 0 ft and leaving a plane at 13,000 ft. 9 out of the 10 Academy members plus our operations manager decided to risk life and limb by skydiving. We ended up waiting for 7 hours before our turn to jump came up, but it was more than worth it, and I will definitely be doing it again. That night we went back to our favorite hang out, Sammy T’s for a foam party. It was a crazy night to compliment a crazy day. On Sunday we drove up into Tennessee to go on the Jack Daniels distillery tour. It was an amazing tour, but since it was Sunday we were not able to purchase any consumable souvenirs.
I am sure that these first three weeks will not even compare to the seven we have remaining, I only hope that I will be able to keep up the grueling pace and be able to enjoy every minute of it.
Nathan Wong
Week 1: Work, Play, Space Camp, and Sammy T’s
08/06/09 08:47 Filed in: NASA Academy
Week one of NASA Academy has gone by in a blur. I have begun working on my project at work, which should be starting to speed up starting this week. I am excited to be working with such intelligent people, who will help me work on the project. I didn’t have keycard access to my building for the first part of the week, so it was always a gamble on whether someone would be around to open the door for me, but now my badge gets me into the building.
Most weeks have a similar structure at NASA Academy, and it goes:
Monday – Work with mentor’s during the day. We then have a rap meeting at night in the dorms. We go over past week events, get a preview of what is coming up, as well as ask any questions we may have. Monday nights, they also have concerts in the park, which some people might go to.
Tuesday – Work with mentor’s during the day. We have a speaker come into the dorms at night. These will be speakers from around the Huntsville area. Tuesday night is also dollar bowling and beer night at the local bowling alley.
Wednesday – Work with mentor’s during the day. We watch a series called from the Earth to the Moon. It was a mini series directed by Tom Hanks that aired on HBO.
Thursday – Work with mentor’s during the day. We have a speaker come into the dorms at night, similar to Tuesday nights. There is a bar down the street that has karaoke on Thursday nights also.
Friday – In the morning we have tours of the Marshall facilities, followed by a fireside chat. During these fireside chats, we bring in a leader at Marshall to come in and talk with us about what they do. They will be from the public as well as the private sector. This is followed by work on a team project. We do not know the details of this team project yet.
Saturday & Sunday – Most of the time we will have weekend trips planned either to a NASA center or something around Huntsville.
This past weekend we went to Space Camp, I will put up a bit about that sometime later in the week, as well as talk about some of the things we have planned.
Nathan Wong
Most weeks have a similar structure at NASA Academy, and it goes:
Monday – Work with mentor’s during the day. We then have a rap meeting at night in the dorms. We go over past week events, get a preview of what is coming up, as well as ask any questions we may have. Monday nights, they also have concerts in the park, which some people might go to.
Tuesday – Work with mentor’s during the day. We have a speaker come into the dorms at night. These will be speakers from around the Huntsville area. Tuesday night is also dollar bowling and beer night at the local bowling alley.
Wednesday – Work with mentor’s during the day. We watch a series called from the Earth to the Moon. It was a mini series directed by Tom Hanks that aired on HBO.
Thursday – Work with mentor’s during the day. We have a speaker come into the dorms at night, similar to Tuesday nights. There is a bar down the street that has karaoke on Thursday nights also.
Friday – In the morning we have tours of the Marshall facilities, followed by a fireside chat. During these fireside chats, we bring in a leader at Marshall to come in and talk with us about what they do. They will be from the public as well as the private sector. This is followed by work on a team project. We do not know the details of this team project yet.
Saturday & Sunday – Most of the time we will have weekend trips planned either to a NASA center or something around Huntsville.
This past weekend we went to Space Camp, I will put up a bit about that sometime later in the week, as well as talk about some of the things we have planned.
Nathan Wong
Day 0
01/06/09 07:30 Filed in: NASA Academy
My week in La Crosse flew by. I was able to see most of my friends, but was unable to see them all. I spent most of my time preparing for NASA Academy, either by shopping, packing, or other random tasks I needed to complete. I flew out on Saturday from Madison, through Chicago, DC, and finally arrived in sunny, hot, and humid Huntsville, Alabama minus my bags. After reporting my missing bags, I went to the North Campus Dorms at the University of Alabama Huntsville, where I will be staying for the next 10 weeks.
The NASA Academy operations manager Ron Turba was gone at a wedding, so on the first day I did not see anyone from my program. I ended up meeting most of the people in the Propulsion Academy, and going out to dinner with them to a nice little Mexican restaurant…..mmm guacamole.
On Sunday I met up with a couple of the interns in my program for a game of Frisbee and lunch. We had an orientation meeting on Sunday also. It was our chance to learn exactly what we would be doing this summer, and meet everyone. After the meeting we went to TGI Fridays for our first meal as an entire Academy, followed by an impromptu social gathering with the propulsion academy. All I have to say about that is Academy 5, Propulsion 0.
Today we have another orientation and we get to meet our principal investigators (PIs). Hopefully I will get a chance to take some pictures today and put them up. I am also still working on getting a page up about the research I did this last semester at school.
Nathan Wong
The NASA Academy operations manager Ron Turba was gone at a wedding, so on the first day I did not see anyone from my program. I ended up meeting most of the people in the Propulsion Academy, and going out to dinner with them to a nice little Mexican restaurant…..mmm guacamole.
On Sunday I met up with a couple of the interns in my program for a game of Frisbee and lunch. We had an orientation meeting on Sunday also. It was our chance to learn exactly what we would be doing this summer, and meet everyone. After the meeting we went to TGI Fridays for our first meal as an entire Academy, followed by an impromptu social gathering with the propulsion academy. All I have to say about that is Academy 5, Propulsion 0.
Today we have another orientation and we get to meet our principal investigators (PIs). Hopefully I will get a chance to take some pictures today and put them up. I am also still working on getting a page up about the research I did this last semester at school.
Nathan Wong
60% complete, if I stopped now I might pass with a generous curve
16/05/09 21:26 Filed in: School | NASA Academy
Three years down, two to go. Every year seems to go a little bit faster than the last, and hopefully that trend continues. The last couple of weeks have been really busy between studying for finals, finishing projects and papers, as well as preparing for NASA Academy this summer, but now I am rewarded with 2 weeks to do absolutely nothing and I intend to do exactly that. I am leaving Madison on May 20 to go back to La Crosse, where I will fill my days with sleeping, eating, tennis, and maybe a couple McDouble’s with Mac sauce (the Joe Schwartz special) to cancel out that exercise.
Before I leave to go back to La Crosse I need to work on an abstract I will be submitting for the NASA Lunar Science Institute 2009 Forum. The topic of the paper is the decay of reactivity caused by ultraviolet radiation on lunar soil in a controlled humidity environment. I have been working on this project all semester with the help of Kim Kuhlman of the Planetary Science Institute. If this paper gets accepted it will be the first conference I have ever attended presenting my own work, so I am really looking forward to that. By the time I leave for Huntsville I should have a page up explaining that work in more detail.
With so much going on at school, I have still made some time for fun. I went to a Flight of the Conchords concert. I was able to get tickets early for being in their fan club. I seem to have this ability to join weird fan clubs that get me weird perks, like this and knowing when and where in the country I can get a free chipotle burrito. The concert was amazing, but I followed that up with an Elton John and Billy Joel concert. The presence of these two legends alone made for a great time, but the show they put on cannot be expressed in words.
Lastly I have been “elected” (read ran unopposed) as treasurer for the UW – Madison student chapter of AIAA. So this will be something to look forward to when I come back from summer. If I don’t put anything up here for the next two weeks, it is probably because I am taking a nap. I need to store up on as much sleep as I can before the hectic schedule this summer will bring.
Nathan Wong
Before I leave to go back to La Crosse I need to work on an abstract I will be submitting for the NASA Lunar Science Institute 2009 Forum. The topic of the paper is the decay of reactivity caused by ultraviolet radiation on lunar soil in a controlled humidity environment. I have been working on this project all semester with the help of Kim Kuhlman of the Planetary Science Institute. If this paper gets accepted it will be the first conference I have ever attended presenting my own work, so I am really looking forward to that. By the time I leave for Huntsville I should have a page up explaining that work in more detail.
With so much going on at school, I have still made some time for fun. I went to a Flight of the Conchords concert. I was able to get tickets early for being in their fan club. I seem to have this ability to join weird fan clubs that get me weird perks, like this and knowing when and where in the country I can get a free chipotle burrito. The concert was amazing, but I followed that up with an Elton John and Billy Joel concert. The presence of these two legends alone made for a great time, but the show they put on cannot be expressed in words.
Lastly I have been “elected” (read ran unopposed) as treasurer for the UW – Madison student chapter of AIAA. So this will be something to look forward to when I come back from summer. If I don’t put anything up here for the next two weeks, it is probably because I am taking a nap. I need to store up on as much sleep as I can before the hectic schedule this summer will bring.
Nathan Wong
So Much To Do, So Little Time
Only a week and a half left of classes this semester, and I am feeling the crunch. I still have one more midterm this semester, as well as a design project, two papers, and my finals. I have been extremely busy with my independent study class, where I have been looking at the effects of UV radiation on lunar soil, and the role that a potential lunar habitat atmosphere would have on the reactivity of the soil. Once I am done with this project I will add a page to my research activities describing it in more detail.
I have also been getting prepared for my internship this summer in the NASA Academy program at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. I will be working for 10 weeks as a research associate with mentor Dr. Peter A. Curreri on my project titled “Techniques for Oxygen Production from Lunar Materials.” Put simply I will be looking at how to get oxygen from lunar soil.....MAGIC? One of my big big purchases for this internship besides my new computer is a high-definintion video camera. I will be doing a lot of blog updates during NASA Academy and hope to put up some videos of what I am doing.
I have also been selected as a NASA student Ambassador. You can check out that website at intern.nasa.gov. To get to my page you click the “Enter Site” Button, then the link on the top banner that says “NSAVC Map”, then click on the state of Wisconsin. Right now it does not have a lot of content, but their goal is to” design a “Gen Y-driven” community that effectively serve, communicate with, and motivate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) focused students to participate in research, education and workforce opportunities at NASA and related space exploration organizations.” I believe they will have some blogging tools and social networking built into it. I am excited to be chosen for that, and look forward to what they have in store for me.
As a side note, I have joined google adsense. Thanks to everyone who has checked out the ads. I also have google analytics, which shows me site traffic data. Interesting to see I have some foreign traffic (thanks Joe, Doug, and Paul). I now also have a twitter account, and will try to do frequent updates when I am at NASA Academy via twitter. You can check that out and follow me at twitter.com/nathanpwong. I am also an Amazon associate, so if you want to purchase anything off Amazon.com send me an e-mail and I will send you a link that I can get credits for referring you.
Nathan Wong
I have also been getting prepared for my internship this summer in the NASA Academy program at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. I will be working for 10 weeks as a research associate with mentor Dr. Peter A. Curreri on my project titled “Techniques for Oxygen Production from Lunar Materials.” Put simply I will be looking at how to get oxygen from lunar soil.....MAGIC? One of my big big purchases for this internship besides my new computer is a high-definintion video camera. I will be doing a lot of blog updates during NASA Academy and hope to put up some videos of what I am doing.
I have also been selected as a NASA student Ambassador. You can check out that website at intern.nasa.gov. To get to my page you click the “Enter Site” Button, then the link on the top banner that says “NSAVC Map”, then click on the state of Wisconsin. Right now it does not have a lot of content, but their goal is to” design a “Gen Y-driven” community that effectively serve, communicate with, and motivate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) focused students to participate in research, education and workforce opportunities at NASA and related space exploration organizations.” I believe they will have some blogging tools and social networking built into it. I am excited to be chosen for that, and look forward to what they have in store for me.
As a side note, I have joined google adsense. Thanks to everyone who has checked out the ads. I also have google analytics, which shows me site traffic data. Interesting to see I have some foreign traffic (thanks Joe, Doug, and Paul). I now also have a twitter account, and will try to do frequent updates when I am at NASA Academy via twitter. You can check that out and follow me at twitter.com/nathanpwong. I am also an Amazon associate, so if you want to purchase anything off Amazon.com send me an e-mail and I will send you a link that I can get credits for referring you.
Nathan Wong
Site Updates
I have my first real update to the site! I have added some information about the research I performed on PUMA while at NASA Glenn last year. I hope to have all of my research added to the site within a week, but with Engineering Expo going on at UW - Madison this week it might have to wait until the week after. Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, advice or suggestions.