Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Cory Simon

Senior
Computer Engineering

Cory Simon just can’t get enough of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In the last two years, this National Merit Scholar has completed four cooperative education (co-op) experiences with the NASA center. Simon’s most recent tour ended in August, and he’s already planning to return once he completes his bachelor’s degree. Below is a Q&A about Simon's experiences.

Q: How did you get your co-op at the Johnson Space Center?
A: I walked up to the NASA booth at the Career Fair on campus, handed them my resume, interviewed, and waited for a phone call. About a month later, a woman called me and told me I had a position if I wanted it, and two months later I was in Houston starting work.

Q: Why did you want to be a co-op student at the Johnson Space Center?
A: Of all the companies I handed my resume to, the work at the Johnson Space Center looked the most interesting, but I didn’t realistically think I could get a job there. Now that I have the job, I can’t imagine a better place for me to be. I’ve done tours here in spring 2006, summer 2006, spring 2007, and summer 2007.

Q: What have you done at your co-op?
A: In the spring and summer 2006, I worked in the Avionics Systems Division to certify a new digital video recorder for flight on the shuttle. I helped prepare it for a microgravity test, performed radiation testing, ran simulation tests with NASA’s Electronics Systems Testing Lab, ran electromagnetic interference and emissions tests, and traveled to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration testing inside the Space Shuttle Atlantis. I actually flipped switches, communicated with test technicians, and was responsible for running the test in the shuttle for a while.

In the spring 2007, I was part of the Robotics Division team that developed and tested the Astronaut Interface Device, a wrist-mounted computer that allows astronauts to observe and command multiple robots remotely. I wrote Java graphical user interfaces to display an image from and control cameras on the robot to move and rotate the robot; created software to help other programmers debug their software during development; integrated a GPS unit, push buttons, a joystick, and camera into the software; and wrote and executed plans to test the usability of the device by a person in a spacesuit.

In the summer 2007, I chose to work at a higher management level within Avionics to learn more about how larger projects are managed and to get a different perspective. I learned about the communications and tracking system on the Orion—the new space vehicle that will replace the shuttle and take people back to the moon.

Q: What was your favorite part about the co-op?
A: At the Kennedy Space Center, I got to go into the Space Shuttle Discovery while it was on the launch pad to help inspect some of our hardware that was thought to have a cabling issue. I sat in the commander’s chair facing straight up. It was the coolest thing I’ve ever done.

Q: What have you learned from your co-op tours?
A: I’ve learned how to work effectively in a team of engineers and have a much better appreciation for the importance of teamwork and communication within engineering. I’ve also learned a lot about NASA and the Johnson Space Center. I’ve worked with and heard talks from the rock stars of NASA—Chris Kraft, the inventor of mission control; John Young, a famous astronaut who flew on Gemini and Apollo; and Gene Kranz, the flight director during Apollo 11 and 13. Plus, I’ve learned about systems engineering, how to manage and be part of a team, and more.

Q: What are your future plans?
A: I plan to return to Iowa State for the 2007-08 academic year, then study abroad in the summer, and graduate in fall 2008. After that, I plan to do a co-op as a graduate student in Johnson Space Center’s avionics division in 2009 and attend grad school at Georgia Tech. After grad school, I’d like to start working full-time in the Johnson Space Center’s avionics division.

10/16/07

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