Duke TIP asked four different aerospace professionals to give advice to current TIPsters who are interested in aerospace engineering. Here’s what they said:
Chris Cordell
“I have always felt that space travel is one of the few things that humans truly invented.”
Former TIPster Dr. Chris Cordell designed and teaches Spacecraft Mission Design at Georgia Tech. He also works as a research engineer at Georgia Tech, and has studied trajectory simulation, including the supersonic retropropulsion of high mass vehicles entering the atmosphere of Mars.
When did you first get interested in the aerospace industry?
I’ve always been interested in space and space flight. I remember looking up into the night sky and seeing all of the stars, and just being drawn to the incredible vastness of space, wondering what all is up there and wanting to be able to experience it. Aerospace Engineering was a natural fit with my lifelong interests and math/science skill sets.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was a kid, an astronaut. Through high school, as I experienced all that physics and math could offer, that transitioned into some type of career that would let me continue to explore those two areas, like an engineer or physicist.
Who did you look up to as a role model?
I would say my parents just because of all they have done for me, both directly and indirectly, throughout my life.
What advice would you give to students who are interested in aerospace engineering?
If you really like Aerospace Engineering, you will find a way to get through and learn the material, even though it’s a tough discipline. You need to be willing to develop strengths in math and physics, and have the overall ability to look at a problem and come up with a solution (which is something that I have found must be developed over time by actually solving problems!)
What is the most exciting part about aerospace engineering?
I have always felt that space travel is one of the few things that humans truly invented. You can watch a rock roll down a hill and imagine a wheel, or watch ducks swim on a pond and imagine a boat, or even watch birds fly and imagine an airplane doing the same. But what would we watch to learn how to go into space? That, to me, is exciting; to realize that we have developed the ability to leave our planet and go out into the cosmos, and that we did that based on our own imaginations and technical skills and ingenuity.
Christianna Taylor
“It’s the most AMAZING career you could have!”
Christianna Taylor is an aerospace engineer and PhD candidate in Aerospace Engineering. She taught Engineering Problem Solving last year for Duke TIP. Over the
course of her career, she has worked on satellites; next generation airplane designs; navy operations; spacecraft and launch vehicles; and many other areas of aerospace.
When did you first become interested in the aerospace industry?
I’ve wanted to be an astronaut since I was a little girl and I watched Halley’s Comet with my mom. She called me outside to watch it and I got to stay up late with my mom and watch the stars. When we learned about the solar system in school, and they said you had to be really smart to go into outer space, I knew that I could make it one day. So I pursued engineering because I liked to build things and, in undergrad school, I finally got to design aircraft. I switched over to spacecraft during grad school when I got my PhD and have never been happier. I still want to be an astronaut, but Halley’s Comet outside with my mom in Chicago is what started it for me.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an astronaut, but I also wanted to do everything. I use to say I was going to be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, you name it. When I grew up, I chose to get my doctorate in engineering so I could build things and still work on space. If I wasn’t an engineer working in space,I’d be a photographer for National Geographic. It’s the only other thing that seems interesting to me, but even I’d still probably convince them to let me cover NASA and all the launches.
Who did you look up to as a role model?
Mae Jemison!!! She was the first African American female astronaut and I wanted to be just like her!!! I met her a few years ago and I completely broke down and cried because she was everything that I ever wanted to be and more. I couldn’t help it. I completely got choked up and I don’t get choked up for anybody. But then my idol took me to dinner, and spent the entire evening at a conference with me, just talking, and I just remember thinking how much I had looked up to her since I was a little girl. I eventually want to become a professor and I can only dream to touch as many lives of young women as she has, but I hope to be just like her one day. I still get excited every time I see her.
What advice do you have for students interested in aerospace engineering?
Do it!!! It’s the most AMAZING career you could have!!! I’ve been to six different NASA sites, saw the last shuttle launch, met some of the most amazing people around the world, from all walks of life, doing everything from science and engineering to art to social media and tweeting to the public. Plus you get to build stuff! How cool is that?!!
What do you find most exciting about aerospace engineering?
Right now, it’s when I hear how far the Voyager missions have gone. I think it’s amazing how we look for dark matter, and discover planets and stars, and we’re literally looking at our future whenever we look up into space because it’s so far away it takes time for the light to reach us. So whatever we see now has already happened far in our future, but we don’t know it yet because we’re still waiting for the light evidence to reach us. I love imagining Voyager encountering our future or watching the light go by it. It just blows my mind. I also loving dreaming of what I’d do if I went exploring as far out as the Voyager probes have gone and reporting back my findings. I’d also love to discover a star and name it after my mom and dad. Space is so big and vast, that every single one of us could name stars and we’d run out of names.
What activity (or activities) would you recommend for kids interested in exploring the world of aerospace engineering?
Build things!!! When you parents throw out old electronics, ask them to supervise you to take them apart. My uncle was a carpenter and anytime he came to fix something in the house, they learned it was just easier to give me a screwdriver and help him then convince me to leave him alone. I’ve put up dry wall, installed plumbing, rewired old TVs, phones, and anything with a circuit. My family realized it was easier to let me do it and learn about it then ask a million questions and never give them any peace. The coolest thing about engineering is the hands-on building aspect and, no matter what you learn to build, it will translate to the space sector. We’re just lucky we get to build spacecraft and instruments, but the most important activity is to build (and take apart) anything you can get your hands on (with your parents’ permission)!
Michael Surratt
“I love the collaboration with other smart and talented people to make challenging dreams become reality.”
Michael Surratt is an aerospace engineer and PhD candidate at the University of Southern California. He taught Spacecraft Mission Design term 1 at Georgia Tech last summer, and researches the different ways bodies move through space—which guides our ability to land on various planets and satellites!
How did you first gain interest into the aerospace industry?
When I was 5 and 6 years old, my parents took me to both NASA Kennedy Space Center and NASA Johnson Spaceflight Center. That left a big impression on me. It seemed like important and challenging work.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
At various times, I wanted to be an astronaut, a particle physicist, a Naval Aviator, a nuclear submarine commander, an astrophysicist, and then finally a spacecraft designer.
Who did you look up to as a role model?
The Apollo astronauts, the engineers designing the Saturn V rocket, and US Navy admirals from World War II were all role models who influenced me while growing up.
What advice would you give to students who are interested in aerospace engineering?
“Aerospace” encompasses a broad variety of specialties. Various engineering, natural science, and computer disciplines come into play across large and complex aerospace projects. I happen to hold degrees in Aerospace and Astronautical Engineering, but I have worked with specialists from many other science, technology, and business disciplines. We all can make worthwhile contributions in aerospace work from many different perspectives.
What is the most exciting part about aerospace engineering?
I love the collaboration with other smart and talented people to make challenging dreams become reality. It’s like making science fiction become real, to me.
Did you ever participate in a science fair, and if so, what was your best submission?
I remember making a volcano simulator for a science event in elementary school. It spouted lots of ash in red and black.
What activity (or activities) would you recommend for kids interested in exploring the world of an aerospace engineer?
I think kids should get access to our industry’s history by way of any aviation or space flight museum that they can find. For example, artifacts from the Apollo program are scattered across many states in the USA, not only at the “big name” museums in Washington, DC or Seattle. Also, kids should get access to the people working in the field today. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics is our leading professional society. Our members do K-12 outreach programs throughout the year, across the country. Check out this link for more information. You can also browse the main AIAA site for more information about the aerospace industry.
David Reeves
“If you want to work at NASA, study, do well in school, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and keep dreaming.”
David M. Reeves works as an aerospace engineer at NASA in Langley, VA, and has worked on missions to the moon, Mars, and how to land on an asteroid. He attended space camp the summer after fifth grade where he learned about space and conducted a pretend space mission (see the photo of david at right!). Ever since then, he’s been fascinated by space.
What do you do for NASA?
I work on planning missions. I’ve looked at missions to the moon, missions to Mars, including figuring out how and where we’d want to drive and explore after we land on Mars. Right now I’m working on a mission that will send a robot to an asteroid, land on the asteroid to pick up a large boulder, and then bring it back to a place near the moon where astronauts can visit and study it.
When did you get interested in aerospace engineering?
I went to a small space camp the summer after fifth grade where I learned about space and conducted a pretend space mission. Ever since then, I’ve been fascinated by space and dreamed of walking on the moon.
What is the most exciting part about your job?
Every day when I come to work, I get to work on something that will one day go into space. I get to dream about doing something that no one else has done and design something that will go somewhere no one has ever been.
What is an example of a project you’re working on at NASA?
Working on the Asteroid Redirect Mission, I get to work with a team to figure out how our spacecraft will fly around the asteroid to choose which boulder to pick up and then figure out how it will actually land on the asteroid and pick it up.
What exercises or games have you learned in your profession that students can practice?
Anything where you get to be creative and solve problems that force you to think outside the box. I played with a lot of Legos and other building games. I used to ask my parents to let me take apart broken electronics and other items so I could figure out how they worked.
What advice would you give to students who have an interest in the field?
Never give up and work hard every day. Don’t let others tell you what you can and cannot do. If you want to work at NASA, study, do well in school, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and keep dreaming.