Ben Stahl...

So you’re fumbling through the co-op bios to get a feel for what it’s like to work at NASA, huh? Well then to clarify, let me start by saying this is the coolest place to work on the face of the planet. I am currently a senior at the University of Texas at Austin (Go Horns!) majoring in aerospace engineering. I was born and raised in Garland, Texas and graduated high school in 2001. I have always been a math and science guy, and during my sophomore year of high school I decided that I wanted to be an engineer. The idea of aerospace fell in to place soon after, I mean who wouldn’t want to be a rocket scientist? I am slated to graduate sometime in the next decade, but until then I have been keeping myself busy in Austin as well as here in the Clear Lake area. I love following UT football and basketball, as well as playing co-op softball (1-7 record, that’s right, we actually won a game!). This is my second tour here at Johnson Space Center with two more yet to go.

Now I know this may seem a little strange, but I didn’t have to sell my kidney or give up my first born child to get the opportunity to work at JSC. It turns out, all you need to do is register with your university co-op office and/or go to the engineering career fair. I spoke with representatives at the career fair, who granted me an interview with the esteemed Bob Musgrove, JSC’s co-op coordinator. I made it through the interview without having a heart attack, and the rest is pretty much history.

I just finished up my second tour this summer. I was in the Orbit Flight Dynamics Branch of the Mission Operations Directorate. My main project was to validate a shuttle flight rule through computer simulation. I also spent quite a bit of time sitting on console with the Flight Dynamics and Trajectory Officers during real-time simulations, which was awesome! Working in this group was an absolute blast. I love the work and the people here, and recommend the branch to any aerospace co-op.
For my first tour, I was assigned to the Applied Aeroscience and Computational Fluid Dynamics Branch in the EG/Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division. In a nutshell, the Aero & CFD Branch is responsible for the computational aspect of fluid flow analysis. My projects involved trajectory modeling for potential foam debris coming off of the external tank and striking the shuttle. This again is another great place for an aero co-op.

While at work, there are tons of fun things going on, like demos of on-site shuttle simulators, or lectures by astronauts and other imporatant people (That’s me and Mr. Chris Kraft in the picture). There are also many classes and training sessions you can become involved in. During my first tour, I took an introductory Russian language course.

While we co-ops aren’t hard at work, we are hard at play. It seems like every night of the week there is something fun to do, from rock climbing to 2-for-1 night at the dollar theater. As for the weekends, we have gone on all sorts of trips. I have been to Galveston tons of times this summer. It isn’t the greatest beach in the world by any means, but its only 20 minutes away! I also got to go skydiving for the first time, road tripped to Austin, and have been volunteering at the local fire department. I’m hoping to try to get started on my pilot’s license when I’m down here next Spring. Whenever there isn’t an official event scheduled, there are always plenty of cool co-ops to just hang out with.

Co-oping at JSC has to be one of the most rewarding opportunities out there. Not only is it a blast, but you also gain real world work experience. On top of that, you get paid. Who could ask for anything more? I can’t wait for the spring, when I will be working in the Crew and Thermal Systems EVA Tools Group. If there is anything I didn't cover, you can email me at benstahl@mail.utexas.edu. I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have.