Engineering grads working at NASA will come to campus
They teach people how to walk in space, protect astronauts from decompression sickness and ensure spacecraft hardware is safe in flight. Three University of Wisconsin–Madison alumnae will visit campus this week to talk to students of all ages about their careers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Media and members of the public are invited to attend Friday, April 15, 12:30-2 p.m. in Engineering Hall, located at 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison.
The talk will be the keynote presentation at the 2011 Engineering Expo, a three-day event run entirely by UW–Madison students that showcases engineering to elementary, middle and high school students, as well as the public. The trio will discuss their contributions to the International Space Station (ISS) and other NASA projects. They also will take questions from the audience.
Karina Eversley, Angie Lenius and Nikki Williams all graduated with degrees in engineering mechanics, in 1996, 2006 and 2000, respectively.
“I like coming back to Madison and trying to inspire other people to work for NASA or keep on with engineering,” says Eversley, who has served as a mentor to Williams and many others. “It’s really important that people stay interested in science and engineering, and NASA is one of the places that inspires people to do that.”
Karina Eversley is a flight controller and spacewalk instructor. She provides crew member training and monitors astronauts during missions to ensure their safety and successful completion of tasks. Eversley’s group is also responsible for verifying equipment and the safety of jobs astronauts are asked to perform. Her role has often involved working with International Space Station collaborators around the world, including Russia, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency.
Lenius is a project manager for various flight hardware projects for the International Space Station and space shuttle missions. She is the project manager for the development of an ISS portable oxygen monitor that will protect astronauts from decompression sickness and replace the current, obsolete monitor. She also is working on a system that will separate oxygen from the ISS atmosphere and compress it to store for later use.
Williams coordinates with several NASA groups to ensure hardware is certified and ready for flight. She has developed a variety space shuttle items for astronauts and helps convert traditional, commercial hardware into items that can be taken into space.
“Another one of the reasons I do these kinds of talks is that it wasn’t necessarily easy to get into this,” Eversley says. “NASA can get as many co-ops and interns as they want, so now that I have a foot in the door I can help give other people a leg up in getting here.”
In addition to Expo, Eversley, Lenius and Williams also will meet with smaller groups of engineering students, including the UW–Madison chapters of the Society of Women Engineers and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
UW-Madison College of Engineering Assistant Dean for Student Development John Archambault is coordinating the visit, which is sponsored by the UW-Madison Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute. Mechanical engineering student David Engeldinger is an Expo coordinator available to assist media on Friday.