Elizabeth Speck interned at NASA. Courtesy | Elizabeth Speck
Elizabeth Speck is a senior chemistry major and math minor from Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. She interned this summer at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Langley, Virginia.
Q: What is one question that everyone always asks you about working at NASA?
A: Everyone always asks if we faked the moon landings, which we definitely did not. Speaking of moon landings, I saw the shed where they keep the Apollo 1 capsule. No one is allowed in there, but it was right next to a wind tunnel that I saw do a test at Mach 5 [five times the speed of sound], which reverberates through your chest. I also got to see a rocket launch.
Q: What is Langley?
A: Langley is the oldest aeronautics research center in the nation. It was founded back in 1917, before NASA or NASA’s predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, existed. Langley is mostly a flight research center, but I was working in materials research.
Q: What materials did you research?
A: My project was called “Extreme Environmental Protective Coatings.” I worked to synthesize materials that would go into a coating which would keep different materials protected from high temperatures and high pressures while in space.
Q: How did you get your internship?
A: I’ve done a fair bit of chemistry research over the summers, which is how I had the background I needed in order to be accepted. The classes I took at Hillsdale in the chemistry department helped me make good insights into the project. There were about 20,000 applicants who applied to NASA, and only 1,700 were accepted across the United States. There were about 25 students in my program at Langley.
Q: Why did you want to work at NASA?
A: When I was in third grade, I was obsessed with becoming an astronaut. We went to the Kennedy Space Center, and I was glued to the exhibits. I really love chemistry and materials research, and I saw that NASA has internships for chemists, so I applied. It was crazy to work at a place that has so much history.
Q: Have you done aeronautics research before?
A: No. When I researched at the University of South Dakota, my research was in inorganic chemistry. At the University of Wisconsin, I researched organic polymer synthesis.
Q: What did you learn about NASA?
A: I learned a lot about aeronautics, and also got to tour different NASA facilities. You learn a lot about the different projects while you’re there. The internship really broadened my perspective on what NASA does. They have all these different projects, and everyone is so excited to talk about what they’re doing and to collaborate.
Q: What is your favorite memory from the internship?
A: We did a lunar landing simulation, and I didn’t crash my pod, even though the other researchers did. It’s really hard for astronauts to see where they are landing on the moon because the moon is in grayscale. The simulation helps astronauts to practice and to study how astronauts are able to use equipment.
Q: How was the community at Langley?
A: I wasn’t expecting a great community at Langley, but the researchers were a really great group of people. Everyone is a nerd, in the best way. Our group of interns became really close. We went on camping trips together and had movie nights twice a week and went to the beach a lot together. It was a huge blessing.
Q: What was the biggest challenge of working at Langley?
A: We had to come up with creative solutions to some pretty challenging problems and work a lot of long hours. The project was difficult, but it was never taxing to work on, and I felt very productive. My mentor really pushed us, and I absolutely loved that.
