Amarachi Okorie...

Elizabeth M., myself, and Cassie J. @ Fall 2000 Xmas party

Hey what’s up!
Thanks for checking out the JSC co-op program

My name is Amarachi Okorie. I am a proud member of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of '02! WHÖÖP! In English, that means I come from the greatest university on earth, Texas A&M University.

Personal Background

I've lived all over the US and Nigeria. In fact, I lived 12 years in Nigeria, and yes I speak a Nigerian language, Igbo. And my first name means "The grace of God" in Igbo.

I currently consider myself a Houstonian, since my family has lived here the last 6 years: a very long time for someone who moved a lot and attended 4 different high schools. Besides the life-sucking summer heat, living in Houston is not so bad.

Hobbies, hobbies, let’s talk about hobbies: I enjoy playing some sports, especially racquet sports like tennis, racquetball and badminton. Though I’m not very good at most of them (but if I do say so, I kill at badminton =)

I sing a lot, read a lot, and eat a lot. I’m also notorious for my obsession with all things salsa. And I enjoy traveling if it involves a lot of salsa dancing ;) This year’s dance destinations include such cities as Havana-Cuba, Miami-Florida and San Juan-Puerto Rico. I hope to do more in the future.

Open air market in Old Havana	Streets of Havana	Old San Juan,Puerto Rico	Someplace with lots of Cuban art

I also got into model rocketry during my first tour here. It was lot of fun doing this with all the other rocket-savvy coops around here.

School & Work Stuff

I graduated from Texas A&M with a B.S in Computer Engineering and a math minor, and I am currently completing my 4th co-op tour in the Engineering Directorate before beginning my graduate studies in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University this fall.

I am working as a graduate co-op in the Electronics Design Branch of Avionics Division on a Wireless Crew Communications Project for the International Space Station. The project has entailed both board design and software development for components of a bluetooth-based audio communications network, intended to improve crew efficiency and mobility. This tour is more challenging and different from my previous undergraduate tours because I have more control of the project and have been responsible for major decisions on technologies and tools used in the project.

My 3rd co-op tour was also in the Electronics Design branch. I worked on various projects for the Autonomous Extra-Vehicular Robotic Camera (AERCam). AERCam is a free-flying camera system with various capabilities for performing intelligence-guided visual inspections. My projects included: developing firmware for the video system’s compression/decompression integration test board; Designing a serial LVDS receiver and RAM transmitter in VHDL to receive data from the video system and send in packets to the processor RAM; Modifying a circuit for MEMS-RS232 communication; designing a closed-loop thruster simulator; etc.

Testing prototype circuit in the lab

My second tour was in the Intelligent Systems Branch of the Automation, Robotics and Simulation Division. My project was part of a proposed upgrade to the robotic arm's RMS (Remote Manipulator System) control system, and involved designing/developing an interface between controlling software (device drivers), computer hardware (PC104+ card) and a set of control panel switches.

And lastly, my first tour was at the Exploration branch (EX13) of the Advanced Development Office. I worked on the Information Team designing and developing new web architectures and a data management system. I developed server-side tools for automated reporting and recording of conceptual design elements using Active server mechanisms.

I have really enjoyed all my work tours: they have matured me technically by giving me the opportunities to learn many things I wouldn't otherwise learn in school and helping me choose my specific research and career interests.

Other Fun

With no homework or studying to cramp one’s style after work, I’ve also had the chance to try some new things as evidenced by the pictures below.

All adding to my belief that co-oping at NASA is the coolest experience ever!
Thanks for stopping by. Send your pithy questions/comments to me at amareb@ieee.org