KSC Student Interns With NASA This Fall
KEENE, N.H., 9/3/10 - Nicole Mihalko, a math/physics major in Keene State College’s Honors Program, is a fall 2010 intern with the NASA Undergraduate Student Research Program (USRP). She will be studying the optical properties of astronomical silicates (interstellar dust) at the Goddard Space Flight Center. The USRP internship, NASA’s largest nationwide internship program, places qualified undergraduates from around the country with outstanding NASA mentors at NASA centers and research support facilities.
A graduate of Trumbull High School, in Trumbull, CT, Nicole began her 15-week internship on August 30, 2010, and will be working with Dr. Stephen Rinehart, who served as the associate project scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope.
“Working for NASA has been a dream of mine since the fifth grade,” said Mihalko. ” I enjoy physics, I like group research, and I like to take a leadership role in projects.” Her goal after finishing her studies is a career at NASA.
“Because the project Nicole will work on is multidisciplinary, the call for participation described the ideal candidate as self-starting and someone who would demonstrate initiative in carrying out the program in collaboration with a team of NASA scientists,” said Dr. Margaret Walsh, professor of Sociology and director of the Keene State College Honors Program. “Nicole has carried a heavy course load consisting of chemistry, linear algebra, calculus, cognition, and computer science. I look forward to seeing her research progress as she works closely with researchers at the Goddard Space Flight Center.”
For more information on USRP visit http://usrp.usra.edu/.
