Student Success Stories

Our students have done some amazing things with the NASA support we provide!  The following anecdotes represent just a few of the students we have supported over the years.  To submit your own DCSGC Student Success Story to be featured here, please email Eric Day at day@spacegrant.org.

Tareq Alosh
Tareq Alosh from Catholic University worked on a research project which led to the unveiling of the electromechanical response of carbon nanotube yarns under tension – a new discovery with important implications for many engineering applications.  The discovery resulted in the publication of the findings in the research journal Carbon, and Tareq completed his Master’s Thesis around the project.  His involvement led to two summer internships at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.  An article highlighting his research is presented on Catholic University’s website at: http://mechanical.cua.edu/sidebarlinks/cntyarn.cfm.

Angeline Bajar
Angeline Bajar from Catholic University worked on a research project which led to the unveiling of the electromechanical response of carbon nanotube yarns under tension – a new discovery with important implications for many engineering applications.  The discovery resulted in the publication of the findings in the research journal Carbon, and it also encouraged Angeline to pursue her graduate studies and continue the research.  She presented the research findings at the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers’ Engineering Research Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2013.  An article highlighting her research is presented on Catholic University’s website at: http://mechanical.cua.edu/sidebarlinks/cntyarn.cfm.

Hannah Clark
Hannah Clark, a computer science major from Howard University, landed the opportunity of a lifetime as a result of participating in three of our activities.  When she was in middle school, Hannah attended a workshop we co-sponsored for female students in the DC Public Schools promoting STEM careers for young women.  As a result of our workshop, she became the first recipient of our affiliate’s Space Camp Scholarship for Students.  She was so inspired by Space Camp that she decided to pursue a career in space science, and has mentored other middle and high school students.  Upon enrollment at Howard University, Hannah also received our William Taylor Memorial Scholarship Award.  The Award allowed her to focus on her academics instead of getting a job she otherwise would have needed, and it paid off when Hannah received the news that she was one of only 1,500 students from an applicant pool of more than 40,000 to receive a paid Google Engineering Practicum Internship in Mountain View, CA in Summer 2013.  The twelve week program provided Hannah with hands-on experience via a software project, skills-based training, and professional development.  Hannah directly credited landing this unique opportunity with her participation in our programs.  Hannah epitomizes the DC Space Grant Consortium STEM pipeline!

Henry Fingerhut 
Henry Fingerhut, a Georgetown University student we supported in an internship at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, impressed his NASA GSFC mentor so much that he was invited to return to work on the research project the following summer. 

Raul Garcia-Sanchez
Raul Garcia-Sanchez, a Howard University student we supported in an internship at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, impressed his NASA GSFC mentor so much that he was invited to return to work on the research project the following summer. 

Erica Good
Srica Good from Catholic University worked on a research project which led to the unveiling of the electromechanical response of carbon nanotube yarns under tension – a new discovery with important implications for many engineering applications.  The discovery resulted in the publication of the findings in the research journal Carbon.  She presented the research findings at the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers’ Engineering Research Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2013.  An article highlighting her research is presented on Catholic University’s website at: http://mechanical.cua.edu/sidebarlinks/cntyarn.cfm.

Nicole Hermann
Nicole Hermann, who we supported in an internship in NASA Headquarters' History Division, was hired as a Strategic Analyst for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters.  She said of her experience, “I’m working at NASA HQ in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, none of which would have been possible without the support provided by the DC Space Grant while I was an intern.”  Nicole also was invited to present her capstone thesis research paper at the 62nd International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in South Africa.

Joseph Lukas
We supported Joseph Lukas from George Washington University in research on micropropulsion.  Joseph Lukas was awarded two fellowships to complete his Ph.D. research on this project. 

Derssie Mebratu
We supported Derssie Mebratu, a doctoral engineering student at Howard University, with two scholarships to intern at NASA GSFC during Summer and  Fall 2012. His NASA mentor was so impressed with his research that he continued to fund him on the project through Spring and Summer 2013. Derssie was offered a full-time position at NASA GSFC upon completion of his Ph.D. Derssie submitted an article on his NASA research that was published in the Spring/Summer 2013 issue of the INSPIRE Journal and can also be found on the INSPIRE website. NASA also asked Derssie to serve as a NASA Student Ambassador, and his NASA Student Ambassador profile can be seen on NASA’s website. As a NASA Student Ambassador, Derssie generated awareness at Howard University of the vast STEM opportunities available at NASA for underrepresented minorities. He also served as a mentor to STEM students, including an undergraduate DCSGC scholarship recipient.

Tara Shreve
One of the faculty research projects we funded at American University in Summer 2014 garnered the attention of the Catalyst, the student science magazine on campus.  Tara Shreve, a student reporter for the Catalyst and a mathematics major, not only wrote an article about the project, she joined the project as a student researcher and received a Space Grant scholarship.  A few months later, Tara won a prestigious 2015 Barry Goldwater Scholarship based on the work she did on this project.  Her experience on this project has led her to pursue a Ph.D. in Geophysics, with the goal of conducting research in remote sensing techniques and teaching at the university level.

Kyra Smith
Kyra Smith was the 6th grade student team leader when we sponsored the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program Mission 1 to the International Space Station activities at Stuart-Hobson Middle School, which is 85% minority and Title I classification, where more than half of the students receive free or reduced lunch.  More than 30 teachers and 1,100 students participated in the activities, and two patches and one experiment from SHMS were selected to be flown to the ISS in May 2012.  As a result of these activities, Kyra was invited to attend the 2nd Annual White House Science Fair hosted by President Barack Obama in February 2012, to represent the DC Public Schools.  Kyra also got to meet Guest Speaker Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Tracy Tabib
In Summer 2012 we supported a research project for American University student researcher Tracy Tabib, to study the effects of ionizing radiation on inflammatory proteins in the brain. Her research findings led to a collaboration with a team from Johns Hopkins. Tracy graduated with a B.S. in biology, and her experience with this NASA-funded research project made her very competitive when applying for Ph.D. programs. She was offered positions at eight of the nine top-ranked Ph.D. programs in the country. Tracy ultimately chose a Ph.D. program at Duke and started the program, seeking her advanced STEM degree, in Fall 2013.

George Teel
We supported George Teel from George Washington University in research on micropropulsion.  George was invited to NASA AMES Research Center for a Summer 2014 internship due to his involvement on this project.

Marcio Villanueva
Marcio Villanueva, a DCSGC intern working on research and development for the new INSPIRE VLF-4 Receiver Kit, traveled to Huntsville, AL as part of his internship.  While in Huntsville he became aware of new career opportunities, and was hired by Boeing in Huntsville as an Aerospace Engineer.  He worked on the upper stage of the ARES project.  Marcio continues to serve as a DCSGC INSPIRE Ambassador and submitted an article for inclusion in the INSPIRE Journal.