Gary Moskowitz
An eight-week stint working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
taught Lucy Abramyan a lot, including the importance of circles and
triangles.
The 16-year-old Clark Magnet High School senior was one of five
Southern California high school students to participate this summer
in an intensive science and engineering program at JPL.
Lucy was selected from about 80 students who applied to
participate in the NASA Summer High School Apprentice Research
Program. Students were selected based on grade-point average,
application questions, math class prerequisites and interviews.
Lucy worked with JPL engineers to design computer programs that
will be used on the Mars Exploration Rover Mission.
She worked on computer programs that manipulate how a robot will
move in space and how the rock abrasion tool, known as a RAT, will
operate.
"What I'm doing now is what I want to keep doing for a long time,"
Lucy said. "I wanted to be an astronaut for the longest time, but I
have decided I prefer to stay on the ground and help get people into
space. I love the challenge of it all. Solving problems is the
biggest thrill.
"Now when I'm sitting in class and we're learning about something
easy like circles or triangles, I know it can be used to make
something like a robot," she added.
Lucy plans to apply to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and Caltech, and wants to study computer science or electrical
engineering.
The NASA summer program is an excellent opportunity for students
to get a real glimpse of what a career in science can be like, said
Mark Powell, a JPL engineer and coordinator for the Mars Exploration
Rover Mission.
"I wish I could have done something like this in high school,"
Powell said. "I think I would have worked harder for something like
this. This is one of those things that motivates students to get
through more challenging coursework, which really helps in college.
Lucy helped us finish a lot of our work on time and far exceeded our
expectations."
For more information on the summer research program at JPL, call
393-5386.
