STUDENTS VISIT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — This summer, students participating in a research experience for Undergraduates (REU) program had special opportunity to explore NASA behind the scenes at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.

An REU is program conducted during the summer in which students create their own summer project to research.

Twelve REU students, four graduate students, and three professors made the two-day trip to Texas in June. The students visited the Museum of Natural Sciences where they saw various exhibits and attended a planetarium show. Also on the agenda was a stop at the Johnson Space Center. The students got a first-hand taste of "space politics" in action as they attended a weekly meeting of a committee that discusses the future of NASA space programs and missions.

While at the Johnson Space Center the students visited different research labs. The labs included such research as dating meteorite samples and another researching the effects of impacts by space debris on spacecraft. The students also saw the lunar rock samples brought back by the Apollo missions in the late 60’s.

On the public tour of the Space Center the students visited astronaut-training facilities, viewed mock-ups of the International Space Station and the Saturn 5 rocket displayed at Rocket Park.

Student comments, such as that from undergraduate student Sonya Barner, indicate they thought the trip was worthwhile, interesting, and fun. "I liked the opportunity to actually observe work at JCS first-hand," Barner said.

"Much better than a textbook," Adam Rowland added.

UA Professor Derek Sears along with Dr. Dick Marston and Dr. Steve McKeever, both professors with Oklahoma State University, served as advisors to the students on the trip.

Students attending included:

Adam Rowland works on the OSU campus and is a student at Texas A&M University.

Three grad students--Chris Neel, Ramona Gaza, and Brandi White are OSU students, and Shawn Nichols attends the U of A.

Undergraudates:

Tahirih Motazedien: Corvallis, Oregon

Katherine McKeever: Stillwater, Oklahoma

Isra Sunhachawi: Merritt Island, Florida

Jay Wright: Springdale, AR

Adam Rowland: Lake Jackson, Texas

Spencer Riley: Farminton, Utah

Sonya Barner: Jackson Mississippi

Nik Hagedorn: Memphis, Tennessee

Thomas Dougan: Coffeyville, Kansas

Justin Thompson: Hot Springs, AR

Jennifer McGee: Conway, AR