Learn about the Western Aerospace Scholars Program and read an interview with an aerospace science instructor!
September 15th, 2019 Writer: Mona Matsuda Editor: Aarti Kumar Engineering
One of our staff writers, Mona Matsuda, participated in the Western Aerospace Scholars Program this summer. Learn about her experience with the program and read an interview with an aerospace science instructor in this article !
What is the Western Aerospace Scholars (WAS) Program?
The WAS program is a program built for sophomore and junior students interested in the aeronautical field. The program is funded by NASA, and is held in several places, including the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. In this article, I will be introducing a general overview of the program, talking about my experience with the program, as well as sharing my interview with someone from the United States Air force.
WAS Sophomore Program
Personally, I signed up for the program because I was originally interested in aerospace, but not to the point where I was committed to a major in college or a career. It’s a free program and one of my teachers recommended me for it, which is the main reason why I joined the program in the first place. I explored the WAS Sophomore program, which is a program that allows sophomores from the Northwestern states of the United States to take a glimpse of what it’s like to study the aerospace field. The sophomore program mainly focuses on introducing rockets, rovers, and other aspects of space exploration. This program mainly contains two parts:
A 4-week online course: WAS offers an online course that is about 4 weeks long with assignments every 2 weeks.
Real-life experience: This program also supports students interested in the aerospace field by providing a 1 month long experience at the Boeing Academy at the Museum of Flight. This experience can only be accomplished by completing the 4-week online course. During the real life experience, you also get a free museum tour, free lunches, and an educational membership at the museum of flight which allows you to bring another person with you to the Museum of Flight for free till you graduate high school!
Overall Experience at WAS:
Takeaways from this program:
You get to meet new people from different schools
You get a sense of what this field of study is all about
The program is free and you get free lunch + snacks!
Drawbacks:
The program is a little intensive
The teamwork can be a little tough, and you will encounter problems from working with others in the program itself.
If you are interested in this program, check out their website to learn more!
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At the WAS Program, I met Andy Woodrow, a current Aerospace science instructor. He received his education at Boston University, as well as at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
M.M.: When did you realize that you were interested Physiology?
A.W.: My love for physiology came from my first job after high school at a physiology lab at a medical school, where I learned about tissue and systems through the use of electron microscopes for a research project.
M.M.: Were you intending to go to a different path?
A.W.: Yeah, but along with my experience at the physiology lab, I started leaning towards studies of how we are as humans and went full time. I took that experience and drove away from going to medical school; instead, went into my study in physiology, as a research physiologist primarily.
M.M: What is your job in the Air Force like?
A.W.: In the air force, my job was to identify the challenges that a human has, especially for altitude, going above 50,000 feet for high gravity forces ranging from 6 to 9 g’s. and for sustain duration missions which lasts more than 10 hours. Physiologists would work on a research project related to how to make the pilot’s life easier in those conditions.
M.M.: Do you design any equipment as a physiologist?
A.W.: Yes, we design equipment like oxygen breathing systems, g trousers (g-suits that astronauts wear), and full pressure suits or space suits to prevent health consequences in space. We also design altitude chambers which are like vacuum chambers, centrifuges, and we use deceleration tracks, a track that stops things really quickly, we also test if the equipment work in extreme temperatures.
M.M.: What is your favorite thing about being a part of the air force?
A.W.: I love how I get to meet many people through the experiences. I’ve lived in 12 different places, and in each place, you meet these new people that you get to work with. In the past, I’ve been on a trip and got to meet a friend of mine that I worked with about 20 years ago, and we still get to interact and talk together because I had the chance to work with him in the past.
Thank you Mr. Woodrow for doing an interview with us!
Contributions:
Mr. Andy Woodrow, aerospace instructor
Work Cited:
Images –
Kwak, Chaney. “Seattle's Classic Flight Museum Takes Off.” Via, calstate.aaa.com/via/places-visit/seattle-museum-of-flight.
“Washington Aerospace Scholars.” Washington Aerospace Scholars | The Museum of Flight, 12 Mar. 2019, www.museumofflight.org/Education/Explore-programs/Washington-Aerospace-Scholars.
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