2017 Summer NASA International Internship Projects
Project Title Advanced Life Support Internship Opportunity
Mentor
Name
Michael Flynn
Organizatio
n Code
Code SC, Bioengineering
Research
Area/Field
Water Recycling
Project
Description
Advanced life support systems include all systems and
technologies required to keep astronauts alive in space: water
recycling, air recycling and waste treatment. This Internship is
primarily focused on water recycling but is cognizant that an
optimized system will include integration with air and waste
systems. Our research areas include:
Systems that can recover energy from waste.
In situ resource utilization in spacecraft and on planetary
surfaces
Application of space flight systems technologies to
sustainable terrestrial development.
Requiremen
ts
Innovation a required skill. Our group focuses on training the
next generation of NASA scientists on how to innovate and to
develop the next generation of water recycling space flight
systems that will enable the human exploration and colonization
of the Solar System.
The ideal candidate is an undergraduate or graduate student in
the fields of: Engineering (Chemical, Environmental, Electrical,
Industrial, Civil, Computer), Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology,
Physics, and Environmental Science and must have at least
completed their freshman year of college and a GPA of 3.00 (out
of 4). Professional Working Proficiency (ILR level 3) of the
English language is the minimum level required. The participant
must be a team player and comfortable working with
professionals of different cultural and scientific background. At
the end of the internship the participant will be required to
submit a white paper.
Dates
TBD
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Project Title Biosensor Development
Mentor Name Jessica Koehne
Participating
NASA Center
Ames Research Center
Research
Area/Field
Nanotechnology
Project
Description
Development of biosensors is an active field due to a wide
range of applications in lab-on-a-chip, diagnostics of infectious
diseases, cancer diagnostics, environment monitoring,
biodetection and others. One of the strategies used for
selective identification of a target is to /preselect/ a probe that
has a unique affinity for the target or can uniquely interact or
hybridize with the target: sort of a "lock and key" approach. In
this approach, one then needs a platform to support the probe
and a recognizing element that can recognize the said
interaction between the probe and the target. The interaction
result can manifest optically (by using dyes, quantum dots for
example) or electrically. The platform design and configuration
may vary depending on whether optical or electrical readout is
used and what environment the sensor will be utilized.
Electrical readout biosensors have gained much attention
because, in principle, they can be made more compact than
optical technologies. Advances in microfabrication and related
technologies have been aiding the electrical readout based
biosensor development to the forefront. A previous NASA Ames
innovation involves a nanoelectrode array consisting of an
array of carbon nanofibers as individual nanoelectrodes. Each
nanofiber, which is a solid nanocylinder, has a probe attached
to it. The array size, chip size and wafer size can be controlled.
In order to maintain that this device is stable over a wide range
of testing conditions, the sensor will placed in various chemical
and electrical environments. The project involves pursuing the
above or closely related avenues to demonstrate the sensor
functionality in a variety of testing conditions. Intended NASA
applications include water quality monitoring for ISS and lab-
on-a-chip for point of care diagnostics for astronaut health
monitoring.
Requirement
s
Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Dates
TBD
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Project
Title
Computer Science Programmer
Participatin
g NASA
Center
Ames Research Center
Research
Area/Field
Project
Description
Develop 3D virtual globe technology and applications in Java, C+
+, iOS and Android
We are delighted at the prospect of Inzamam Rahaman working
for NASA this summer as part of the Intern Program. We have a
lot of challenging things to accomplish with NASA World Wind
technology, http://goworldwind.org/ as we port it from Java to
JavaScript.
http://worldwindserver.net/webworldwind/examples/
BasicExample.html
http://worldwindserver.net/webworldwind/examples/BingLayers.h
tml
http://worldwindserver.net/webworldwind/examples/Shapefiles.ht
ml
http://worldwindserver.net/webworldwind/examples/MultiWindo
w.html
Source Code:
http://worldwind31.arc.nasa.gov/svn/trunk/WebWorldWind/
API documentation:
http://worldwindserver.net/webworldwind/api-doc/
Requireme
nts
Status
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Mentor
Patrick Hogan
Number of
Students
Approved
by Export
Control
Yes
Project Title CubeSat Cluster Test-Bed
Mentor Name BJ Jaroux
Participating
NASA Center
Ames Research Center
Research
Area/Field
Small Sats
Project
Description
Team members will use available off-the-shelf or spare
laboratory hardware to develop laboratory test bed of at least
two "Cubesats" and one ground station that will be used for on-
going software and communications architecture development.
The "Cubesats" may be complete units with all subsystems, flat-
sats, or development units consisting of just a processor and RF
subsystem. The team will develop ground software as
necessary to demonstrate operation of the units including
simulated intersatellite communications and simulated
downlink.
Requirement
s
Student should have an Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical
Engineering or Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Systems
Engineering or other related engineering major.
Dates
TBD
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Project Title Data Mining and Analysis for Sustainability Base
Mentor
Name
Rodney Martin
Participatin
g NASA
Center
Ames Research Center
Research
Area/Field
Data Mining
Project
Description
The Intelligent Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center
will be integrating advanced technologies into a new "Green"
building known as "Sustainability Base" at the Ames campus.
Sustainability Base is high-performance, LEED Platinum
certified building that will incorporate NASA innovations and
technologies to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon
footprint, and lower operating and maintenance expenses
compared to traditional buildings. It will function as a living
experimental platform, integrating the latest technologies as
they evolve.
This internship opportunity will assist in defining and
implementing demonstrations of NASA technology in
Sustainability Base. In particular, the intern will employ
advanced data mining algorithms on data acquired from
Sustainability Base to learn how the building operates and then
monitor how it is performing over time. This could include
measurements of energy use, mechanical system performance,
environmental parameters, and other key performance
indicators. For example, correlations between environmental
control system settings and temperature ranges in workspaces
can be established and then monitored to give early indication of
performance degradation or unexpected changes to the building
configuration. However, basic data analysis and gaining an
intuitive understanding of data from various building systems
(BACnet data, lighting, shade, photovoltaic sensor data, etc.)
will also be an important precursor to any application of the
advanced data mining algorithms. In addition to global building
performance, the algorithms can also be used to detect changes
in individual energy use as well. In either case, the algorithms
will provide early indications of off-nominal performance to
building operators or occupants, enabling corrective actions to
maximize building performance and efficiency.
Additional information on Sustainability Base can be found at
http://www.nasa.gov/sustainability-base/.
Additional information on data mining algorithms can be found
at http://ti.arc.nasa.gov/tech/dash/intelligent-data-
understanding/.
Requiremen
ts
The focus of this effort may relate more to automated tracking
and consolidation of energy data and plug load management and
analysis, so the ideal candidate will have experience in scripting
or application development to extract real-time data from APIs
and websites for logging into a PostgreSQL database.
Experience with MATLAB; Familiarity with Linux OS is
preferred; Strong analytical and organizational skills; Interest in
sustainability; Interest in data mining algorithms for health
management. Senior undergraduate at junior/senior level or
higher preferred.
Dates
TBD
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Project Title
Explore Impact of Network Delays on Distributed
Spacecraft Testing
Participating
NASA Center
Ames Research Center
Research
Area/Field
Small Sats
Project
Description
Team members will use available off-the-shelf or spare
laboratory hardware to explore the possibility of using
standard network systems and protocols to run mission
simulation and closed-loop hardware-in-the-loop tests remotely
where significant parts of the system are connected over the
internet. For example, a spacecraft bus could be at one
location, a payload at a second location and a dynamic
simulation environment could be at a third location, all
connected over the internet. The team would identify the
problems associated with such an arrangement (e.g. latency)
and suggest approaches to mitigate them.
Requirements
Student should have an Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical
Engineering or Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Systems
Engineering or other related engineering major.
Status
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Mentor
BJ Jaroux
Number of
Students
Approved by
Export
Control
Yes
Project Title Lunar Topographic Products from Orbital Images
Participating
NASA Center
Ames Research Center
Research
Area/Field
Computer Science
Project
Description
Digital terrain models are essential for cartography, science
analysis, mission planning and operations. The NASA Ames
Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) has developed software to
automatically generate high-quality topographic and albedo
models from satellite images. Our software, the Ames Stereo
Pipeline (ASP), uses stereo vision and photoclinometric
techniques to produce 3D models of the Earth, Moon, and Mars
with very high accuracy and resolution. The intern will assist
IRG to improve the quality of topographic products from lunar
orbital images. In particular, the intern will help develop multi-
stage stereogrammetric methods to exploit the full potential of
multiple, overlapping views of a planetary surface. The intern
will work closely with NASA researchers and engineers
throughout the internship. Very strong emphasis is placed on
incorporating and integrating the intern's research into IRG's
on-going projects. Research results may be published in one (or
more) technical forums: as a NASA technical report, a
conference paper, or journal article.
Requirement
s
The intern must have a background in Computer Science or
Mathematics. Practical experience with computer
programming, Linux-based software development and open-
source tools (gcc, git, etc) is required. Experience with C++ is
strongly encouraged.
Status
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Mentor
Terrence Fong
Number of
Students
Approved by
Export
Control
Yes
Project Title
Metabolic control for adaptation to spaceflight
environment
Mentor
Name
Yuri Griko
Organizatio
n Code
Code SC, Division of Space Biosciences
Research
Area/Field
Space Biology/Metabolism
Project
Description
With the growing interest in long haul flights and the
colonization of the solar system, it is becoming important to
develop organism self-regulatory control systems which would
be able to meet the requirements of extraterrestrial
environments rather than requiring an Earthly environment in
space. A better mechanistic understanding of metabolism offers
a means for sustaining astronauts in long-duration missions
beyond the low Earth orbit. Recent data obtained from several
research reports have shown that metabolic suppression could
protect biological organisms from damaging effects of space
radiation and microgravity. The ability to drastically reduce and
suspend metabolism appears to be closely tied to the unique
survival of bacteria and some invertebrates (e.g., tardigrades)
after a prolonged exposure to cosmic vacuum and radiation. It is
possible that there is a monophyletic origin for this adaptation at
the molecular level among a variety of different organisms. Our
ultimate goals are to demonstrate proof-of-principle for
metabolic suppression as means to reduce the negative effects
of spaceflight environmental issues such as radiation and
microgravity.
In order to demonstrate the potential application of the
metabolic control technology the PI's laboratory at NASA Ames
Research Center has engineered a hypo-metabolic chamber with
a range of life-monitoring equipment for high-throughput testing
of hypo-metabolic parameters and conditions that enable
reversible induction of a state of suspended animation in non-
hibernating animals.
This internship opportunity will assist in defining and
implementing demonstrations of the metabolic control
technology using different animal models.
Objectives of this research are:
1. To characterize the hypometabolic state
2. To develop methodology for real time monitoring of
respiratory and other physiological parameters and
conditions associated with the hypometabolic stasis.
In the proposed experiments, the intern will work in
collaboration with molecular biologists and engineers to (1)
reproduce induction of the reversible suspended animation-like
state in selected animal models, and to (2) establish a
comprehensive life support system for monitoring physiological
parameters of the hypometabolic state.
Requiremen
ts
Student should be willing to work with animals. He/she should
have basic knowledge of life support systems (respiratory
parameters, ventilation, and core body temperature control),
have basic laboratory skills and technical knowledge for
monitoring physical parameter from telemetric devises, and
have software management skills.
Strong analytical and organizational skills; interest in biology;
interest in data analysis. Senior undergraduate at junior/senior
level or higher preferred.
Dates
TBD
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Project Title
Monitoring Changes in ASRS Reports using Python and
Text Mining
Participating
NASA Center
Ames Research Center
Research
Area/Field
Computer Science
Project
Description
Students applying for fellowship opportunities will be required
to submit a proposal to the mentor. Prior to submitting a
proposal, students will create a proposal summary with a
description of their idea, and they will submit it to the mentor
for their approval. The mentor has 10 business days to respond
to each proposal summary. It is anticipated that mentors will
only approve a couple proposal summaries, and they will work
with those students to create their proposals and to make sure
the topic is mutually beneficial to both the mentor and student.
Requirements
We aim to develop tools that can be used to monitor the
changes in the aviations safety reports submitted to NASA
Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) program. ASRS
collects and analysis the voluntarily submitted aviation safety
incidents reports in order to reduce the ikelihood of aviation
accidents. We need tools that can help ASRS to monitor
changes in the narratives of the reports over time and can
summarize these reports.
Status
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Mentor
Hamed Valizadegan
Number of
Students
Approved by
Export
Control
Yes
Project Title Nanotechnology in electronics and sensor development
Mentor
Name
Meyya Meyyappan
Organizatio
n Code
Code T; co-mentors: Code-TSN
Research
Area/Field
Nanotechnology
Project
Description
Nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene and
a variety of inorganic nanowires offer tremendous potential for
future nanoelectronics, nanosensors and related devices. We
have active ongoing programs in these areas. Several examples
are given below. Chemical sensors to detect trace amounts of
gases and vapors are needed in planetary exploration, crew
cabin air quality monitoring and leak detection; there are
numerous societal applications as well. We have been working
on CNT based sensors amenable for various platforms including
smartphones.
Flexible electronics on substrates such as textile and paper is of
great deal of interest to us. We have fabricated gas/vapor
sensors on cotton textile as well as cellulose paper. Other
interests in paper electronics and flexible substrates include
memory devices, energy storage devices, displays and detectors.
Finally, we have also been revisiting vacuum tubes although in
the nanoscale, using entirely silicon based technology. These
radiation resistant devices offer exceptionally high frequency
performance. Our interest here extends to exploring the nano
vacuum tubes for THz electronics applications.
In all the areas, the projects include material growth,
characterization, device fabrication, device testing and
evaluation, reliability and lifetime assessment.
Requiremen
ts
For device related aspects, majoring in electrical engineering or
physics is preferred. For the remaining aspects of the project,
majors in material science, chemistry and other engineering
disciplines are welcome. PhD candidates and talented
undergraduates will get preference.
Dates
TBD
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Project Title Prognostics and Health Management
Participating
NASA Center
Ames Research Center
Research
Area/Field
Project
Description
Explore prognostic and forecasting concepts in the context of
aeronautics vehicles and airspace operations. The task involves
literature review, algorithm development (likely in matlab) and
realization of some of the concepts in relevant aeronautics
simulations. It may also involve some lab experiments during
which the candidate would age components relevant in an
aeronautics context.
Requirement
s
The outcome would be one or more of:
algorithms
experimental data
report or publication
poster presentation
Matlab required, labview desired.
Status
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Mentor
Kai Goebel
Number of
Students
Approved by
Export
Control
Yes
Project Title Studies of the aqueous history of Mars
Participating
NASA Center
Ames Research Center
Research
Area/Field
Computer Science
Project
Description
Student will analyze data from a variety of spacecraft to
understand the geologic history of sites of interest, in order to
better understand the role of water in the history of Mars. This
opportunity may include computer modeling, data analysis,
and laboratory work. If times allows, preparation of a
manuscript. Potentially, the sites will be proposed as landing
sites for the 2020 Mars Rover. Student will also develop
software for the analysis of CRISM data.
Requirements Experience in Unix or equivalent fluency in IDL preferred.
Status
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Mentor
Eldar Noe
Number of
Students
Approved by
Export
Control
Yes
Project Title
The Influence of Mechanical Unloading on Biological
Function
Mentor
Name
Elizabeth Blaber
Participating
NASA Center
Ames Research Center
Research
Area/Field
Life sciences, biology
Project
Description
The spaceflight environment, including microgravity and space
radiation, is known to negatively impact mammalian
physiology, including somatic stem cell-based tissue
regeneration. The degenerative effects of spaceflight that we
understand best include rapid microgravity-adaptive bone and
muscle loss, loss of cardiovascular capacity, defects in wound
and bone fracture healing and impaired immune function.
These implications pose a significant risk for long-term human
space exploration. Our work focuses on the influence of
mechanical unloading on stem cell proliferation, differentiation
and regeneration and how alterations in stem cell function may
be the cause of widespread tissue degeneration in space.
In this opportunity, the selected student will work with
research scientists to analyze the response of mouse bone and
bone marrow stem cells to mechanical unloading using both
spaceflight samples and mouse hindlimb unloading
experiments. The student will investigate stem cell responses to
microgravity and mechanical unloading using gene expression
and protein analysis and furthermore, will investigate the
influence of stem cell function on whole bone tissue properties -
including structural and molecular analysis. Furthermore, the
student will also work with scientists on optimizing conditions
for an upcoming spaceflight experiment where we aim to
identify key molecular mechanisms that cause degenerative
effects in bone tissue through impaired differentiation of
mesenchymal stem cells. The student will conduct cell culture
and gene expression/protein assays to characterize wildtype
stem cells compared to the transgenic model. The student will
then work with research scientists to determine the optimal cell
culture parameters to conduct the experiment in spaceflight
hardware.
Requirement
s
Laboratory experience is preferred.
Dates
Spring, Summer, or Fall 2017
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Project Title
Upgrading a Space Debris Simulation Software for planetary
defense assessments
Mentor
Name
Chad Frost
Organizatio
n Code
RD, Mission Design Division
Research
Area/Field
Space Debris Mitigation / Planetary Defense
Project
Description
NASA Ames Research Center has developed a simulation
software that models the space debris environment in Low Earth
Orbit (LEO). The goal of the current software is to assess the
efficiency of a concept for collision avoidance between debris
and active satellites. The investigated system would use photon
pressure from ground based lasers to slightly change orbits to
avoid collisions on warning.
For the internship, the main task will be to upgrade the
simulation software to include the near earth object (NEO)
environment (asteroids) and enable the assessment of cubesat
based asteroid detection systems. You will change the main body
of the previous simulation from the sun to the earth, introduce a
population of asteroids into the model and investigate the utility
of cubesats to detect those asteroids as they come close to
Earth. In addition, you also will help to maintain the original
software for space debris modeling.
Requiremen
ts
The intern should have a background in the sciences or
engineering, and ideally Aerospace Engineering or Physics. The
project requires programming skills in C and Matlab and an
understanding of orbital dynamics.
Dates
TBD
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Project Title
Engineering Student Intern, Experimental Aero-Physics
Branch
Mentor Name Kurtis Long
Participating
NASA Center
Ames Research Center
Research
Area/Field
Mathematics, Physics, Engineering
Project
Description
The student will help with a variety of experimental projects
which investigate the fluid mechanic, aerodynamic, and/or
aero-acoustic characteristics of manned and unmanned
spacecraft, aircraft, rotorcraft, ground vehicles, ships,
structures, sports balls, and other objects. The experimental
projects will be conducted in conjunction with on-site research
mentors, using NASA Ames wind tunnel, water channel, lab,
and/or computer facilities. The student will assist with many
different phases of one or more test programs; these phases
may include prior data review and test planning, test logistics,
experimental design and setup, model construction and
installation, instrumentation calibration, installation, and
operation, test video/photo documentation, post-test data
plotting and analysis, and report development. The student may
also assist with the development and execution of various
computer programs used to analyze or simulate the results of
experimental test programs.
The main outcome of this internship will be experience with a
variety of disciplines related to fluid mechanics, aerodynamics,
and/or aeroacoustics.
Requirement
s
Physics, Science, Math, Engineering backgrounds preferred
Dates
Spring, Summer, or Fall 2017
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
Project Title Rotorcraft Aeromechanics
Mentor
Name
William Warmbrodt
Participating
NASA Center
Ames Research Center
Research
Area/Field
Aeromechanics
Project
Description
The Aeromechanics Branch is responsible for aeromechanics
research activities that directly support the civil
competitiveness of the U.S. helicopter industry and the
Department of Defense. Branch programs address all aspects of
the rotorcraft which directly influence the vehicle's
performance, structural, and dynamic response, external
acoustics, vibration, and aeroelastic stability. The span of
research also includes unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
platforms, including quadcopters and other advanced, small
remotely piloted vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft.
The programs are both theoretical and experimental in nature.
Advanced computational methodology research using
computational fluid dynamics and multidisciplinary
comprehensive analyses seeks to understand the complete
rotorcraft's operating environment and to develop analytical
models to predict rotorcraft aerodynamic, aeroacoustic, and
dynamic behavior. Experimental research seeks to obtain
accurate data to validate these analyses, investigate
phenomena currently beyond predictive capability, and to
achieve rapid solutions to flight vehicle problems. Databases
from the flight and wind tunnel experimental programs are
validated, documented and maintained for the benefit of the
U.S. rotorcraft technology base.
Requirement
s
Broad background in science and math classes typical of an
upper division undergraduate in mechanical, aeronautical or
aerospace engineering. Knowledge of MatLab, Simulink, CREO
ProE/SolidWorks/AutoCad,, VSP, Rhino, C++, python, or other
programming/software languages is desired, but not
mandatory.
Dates
Spring, Summer, or Fall 2017
Hours
40 hours per week (standard)
