Project Pitch:

Ever since I was little, planes, rockets, and pretty much anything that could fly has fascinated me. One of my earliest memories is of getting a model Saturn V rocket. I would sit late at night on my bedroom floor with the rocket on my lap as I carefully mimicked the launch of the legendary rocket, making sure to break at nine seconds for “ignition sequence start” and to yell after zero “liftoff” even though now I know the callout was “all engines running.”

Ever since those early days, I have been obsessed with the aerospace world. I spent hours watching SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Rocket Lab all become major private aerospace companies, studying up on old planes like the X-1 and the F-104 as well as researching modern planes like the F22, the F35. I read and then re-read and then re-re-read memoirs from Scott Kelly and Chris Hadfield as they went into detail about their time on the International Space Station as well as “The Right Stuff”. I even accomplished an honors project with Sarvjit studying rocket and jet fuel and took the time to do an intro course in Aerospace Engineering through MIT’s 16.00x online course and the USC Explore Engineering summer program.

Today, I am excited to study the topic that has so engulfed me for my entire life in college. Yet, I’m still not a hundred percent sure what it means to be an aerospace engineer and what their work entails. This is what led me to my essential questions: What are the design elements of a plane and how have they changed over time? What is it like to fly those planes and how does that affect the design process? What are the design elements of spacecraft and rockets and how have they changed over time? What are the commonalities between both and at the end of the day which do I enjoy studying the most? Through these questions, I hope to end up coming to a conclusion of what exactly it is I would be studying in college and which field (between aerospace and aeronautical engineering) I enjoy the most.

After deciding on these questions, I was left wondering how exactly I could accomplish this goal, which led me back to my experiences earlier this year with online classes. Classes like 16.00x have already given me a good introduction to the field of aerospace engineering, but there are more classes out there to go more in-depth and get a better understanding of the field. Classes like 16.885x or Intro to thermodynamics will give me a better understanding of the field while also allowing me to learn information that will be greatly beneficial to me in college. I could also pair these classes with classes on the history of both space and powered flight as well as advanced math and science classes to accomplish and answer many of my essential questions.

While this is a great plan for my project if COVID makes it impossible for me to work outside, I also came up with another plan that would allow me to accomplish these goals in a much more exciting way. This would be through an internship or volunteering at the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum. The Intrepid offers a large collection of both air and spacecraft from different eras and a massive veterans group that holds knowledge that is both unrecorded and fleeting. Working at the intrepid would allow me to work side by side with these aircraft as I simultaneously learn about them in online classrooms which would provide unparalleled depth and opportunity.

On a day-to-day level, an internship at the Intrepid would likely look like giving short lectures on the different planes on the flight deck, running small tours around the ship, giving lectures inside the Concorde, and possibly talking about the growler and the Polaris missile (the US’s first submarine-based nuclear missile), which they have classified as “exhibit explainer.” I could also volunteer to help restore aircraft onboard the ship, or even shadow veterans, getting the chance to learn from the people who flew and worked on those planes. After finishing working at the Intrepid (which I am assuming would entail relatively normal hours) I could go back home and still take online classes on these subjects, allowing me to pair hands-on knowledge and experience with “classroom” knowledge.

At the end of my project, I will hope to have learned a deep breadth of knowledge in the field and will be prepared to make a decision in college on what specifically I want to study. I can share this with the community in several ways, like a slides presentation on what I’ve learned, to a paper or a poster.

Looking realistically into the future, it is hard to say for certain whether the Intrepid will be an option. Currently, the museum is closed due to winter, paired with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the museum has every plan to reopen soon and will likely need people willing to work weird hours. Additionally, the requirements to be a volunteer are threefold: you must be over 18, you must work at least 8 hours a month and you must volunteer for at least a year. The first two of these are no problem at all, however, because of college I obviously will not be able to continue to volunteer for the entire year. Finally, I know that the volunteering program was put on pause last year because of COVID, but I have also heard from a family friend I have at the museum that they are looking to restart the program when they reopen. If you choose to approve my project, I could have these questions answered rather fast through a few emails to museum executives and have a clearer path moving forward. If working on the Intrepid is impossible, then there are other small local museums here in NJ that I could work with/visit to get a similar experience, albeit to a much smaller scale and without the constant exposure volunteering on the Intrepid would give me. I also know that the staff would be more than willing to connect me to veterans and volunteers for online events.

Thank you so much for reading my pitch! I hope to see you aboard the Intrepid in April!

 

ACTION ITEMS:

Action Item Area: Intrepid Internship

Reason for Item: Having an internship on board the Intrepid would give me unparalleled access to aeronautical and aerospace related equipment, and would add depth to my understanding of the field

Resolution: Over Spring Break I had the amazing opportunity of talking with David Giacomini (the head of Volunteer Services for the Intrepid) on board the ship. David thought that an internship on board the intrepid would be an excellent part of my senior project and thought that it would work perfectly. Now I am simply waiting for specifics on hours.

 

Action Item Area: Coursera Classes

Reason for Item: Coursera classes, and other online classes will be the bread and butter of my project, as I use them to greatly deepen and expand my knowledge in the field and allow me to enter college prepared and ready.

Notes: Would include a number of classes (different number depending on amount of time dedicated to Intrepid), that would cover a wide variety of fields. I have already put together a handful I think are interesting, but would like to find more and discuss with either an advisor or a teacher to decide which to enroll in. Below is a link to a list of 8 online classes I have pulled out as interesting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VcYIao3AGUxHJplXS9U9AuFebafQKk1SV9DAGS64N9U/edit?usp=sharing

Resolution: I have chosen the classes (ranked 1-4). 

 

Action Item Area: Finding people to interview

Reason for Item: Finding a mix of different people to interview who both are studying aerospace engineering, and have experience working with and around aerospace equipment, will continue to add to my understanding of the field

Notes: In addition to volunteering, I have already discussed interviewing veterans from the Intrepid, which at this time seems highly likely, but it is still not certain. Besides veterans, I am also going to have to find current aerospace students to volunteer, which I can do through both personal networking (friends and friends of friends who are studying) as well as through the help of the school (alumni networking).

Resolution: Make a list of people (and wait for some from the Intrepid for veterans), and begin reaching out once the senior project is underway. Have already talked to two aerospace engineers. One at the University of Michigan, and one at Georgia Tech

 

Action Item Area: Novel/Memoir to Read

Reason for Item: Requirement

Notes: Finding a memoir to fit this won’t be to challenging, and it will probably be a memoir or novel from a famous pilot, or astronaut. I have researched a little into each of these options and found great options in both categories. In particular, Michael Collin’s memoir is very highly related and very topical to my project, additionally, Sully Sullenberger’s memoir seems very good as well.

Resolution: I will read catching fire by Michael Collins.

 

Action Item Area: Daily/Weekly Plan

Reason for Item: Having a plan for each day of the week will help me stay motivated and give me goals to reach.

Notes: Hard to predict exactly what this will look like as there are still moving parts.

Resolution: Create the plan likely during the first week and start every Monday by making that weeks plan. 

 

Changes made while creating Action Items:

While creating this I didn’t discover any major changes in the project, although it is worth noting that the Intrepid may offer me a volunteering opportunity that has a much heavier emphasis on history then aerospace engineering, and if this is the case the only major change I will have to consider is how to incorporate that into my final presentation, as I will still accomplish my goals for understanding aerospace engineering through online courses.

 

Major Goals of my Project:

Have completed at least two coursera courses on aerospace engineering and related information. At least one of those classes should be directly related to aerospace/aeronautics, while the others should probably be adjacent fields (like materials science, engineering mechanics, thermodynamics, etc.). This is in order to have answered a lot of my initial questions and be as prepared as possible for college.

IF POSSIBLE, have completed a volunteering opportunity aboard the Intrepid, allowing me to deepen my understanding of the field while having hands on, up close experience with aerospace vehicles.

Have interviewed at least two different people, one with someone experienced in the field (such as a veteran) and one with someone who is currently studying aerospace engineering. Having at least these two interviews will be important as it will allow me to have different vantage points in on the field. Two, however, is just a minimum, and I am hoping to achieve somewhere closer to six total (with three from each perspective) so that I can avoid individual bias and have a more holistic view.

 

My Weekly Plan

• Week 1
  • Iron out all coursera classes and begin taking them. Begin volunteering on board the Intrepid (post 4/10 Birthday)
• Week 2
  • Continue moving forward with coursera classes while simultaneously securing interviews for the upcoming weeks
• Week 3
  • Continue moving forward with coursera classes, conduct interviews, and evaluate if I could add another course
• Week 4
  • Continue moving forward with coursera classes, continue to conduct interviews, last chance to add extra courses
• Week 5
  • Continue moving forward with/beginning to finish coursera classes, conduct final interviews
• Week 6
  • Finish all coursera classes and have all interviews accomplished.

 

My Daily Plan:

On a day to day level, I would aim to work in two, two hour shifts with each one focusing on one class. I would also try to spend around an additional two hours studying that information and recording it in some form of notes that is easy to access. If the Intrepid volunteering opportunity is possible, I am not sure how much time this would exactly take up, however, the museum is reopening on Thursday, March 25, and are planning on being open from 9am-5pm, meaning that is the longest I could be working on board. If this were the case I would still aim to complete 2 hours of coursera work if possible.