Julie Leslie...

Hey guys-

If you desperately want to co-op for NASA then you are in the right place.

Now I'm trying to remember everything I've done to get here. I'm not really sure where I can stop. I interviewed for a co-op position during my first and second semesters of college. That means that the first time I went in for an interview, I didn't even have a GPA for college yet. So everything was riding on high school and how hard I worked then. And of course in order to get into the advanced classes in high school, you need to work hard in middle school, and to do well in middle school, you need to learn as much as you can in elementary school, and. ok, I'll stop, but I hope you see how long I worked and did my best to get this job!

Anyways, I was born and grew up in St. John, Indiana, near Chicago, and graduated from Lake Central High School. My entire family went to Purdue University, but they didn't have my major, so I headed to Texas A&M University to study Biomedical Engineering. I'm interested in tissue engineering, and especially the way that we can grow cells in space for research. If we can grow replacement organs, then there wouldn't be long waiting lists for transplant recipients, and many diseases, like diabetes, could be prevented or reduced.

During my first undergraduate tour, I worked in the Biomedical Systems Division of the Engineering Directorate. I had some cool projects working on exercise equipment for the International Space Station (ISS). Since the astronauts are staying up in space for a few months at a time, it's very important for them to exercise every day. Because they're not using their leg muscles and bones to walk and support their weight, astronauts lose bone and muscle mass very quickly if they don't exercise. Then when they got back to one G (gravity on earth), they would be too weak to walk. During this tour, I worked on components for a "weightless" weight machine and a treadmill. I also used a 3-D Modeler Machine to create plastic models of the weight machine and the astronauts who will be able to use it.

For my second tour, I made a switch to Mission Operations. I worked with flight controllers in Mission Control, which was awesome. I've even talked to the astronauts up on the ISS. I worked as a payloads flight controller for STS-112 (9A) and STS-113 (11A).

I worked my third and fourth undergraduate tours, and am now a graduate co-op in Space Life Sciences. I'm working with top NASA scientists, and I have my own research projects. I've worked on tissue engineering in modeled microgravity and on microfluidics projects. When cells grow in Earth's gravity, they grow in a flat plane. In microgravity, where they can float, however, cells can grow in three dimensions. NASA has figured out a way to make the cells feel like they're in the microgravity of space while still on the ground. By growing in a rotating bioreactor, the cells are continually falling, just like in orbit around the Earth. Using microfluidics allows an entire science experiment to be done on a glass chip about the size of a domino. Since weight, volume, and energy requirements are limited on the ISS, microfluidics may offer a way to do more science in less space.

My experiences working at NASA helped me decide to pursue a Ph.D. in Bioengineering. I am starting my doctoral program in August 2005 at Rice University. I will continue to co-op during the next 5 years, and hope to continue my work at NASA after graduation, in research and as an astronaut.

Working at NASA is great; there are thousands of enthusiastic people here, and you'll find lots of friends with all the other co-ops and contractors. If you want to work for NASA after college, you've almost got to be a co-op first. It seems like the general consensus here is that if you want to be a NASA co-op, you've got to show NASA that they need you. Be persistent and enthusiastic. And talk to us! My email at Rice : jel4960@rice.edu.