A Crazy Summer
21/08/09 15:39
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
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60% complete, if I stopped now I might pass with a generous curve
16/05/09 21:26
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
29/04/09 16:48
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
13/04/09 22:28
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.