GREENBELT, Md. (PRNewswire) -Kristina Rohlin of Russel, PA,
has traveled to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. for the
NASA Robotics Academy.
In its second year, the annual NASA Robotics Academy introduces its 29,
carefully selected participants to challenging and inspiring robotic
research projects.
The NASA Robotics Academy is a unique, exciting program that targets
rising college freshmen and sophomores, individuals that internship
programs often overlook. Each participant is particularly interested in
robotics and often experienced in robot design and development. Many are
veterans of high school robotic programs such as the For Inspiration and
Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Competition.
Therefore, the undergraduate students’ preliminary knowledge of robotic
systems and a youthful tendency toward ingenuity and innovation plus key
contributions from graduate students and robotic specialists prime the NASA
Robotics Academy for success.
The majority of the NASA Robotics Academy’s participants are stationed
at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the University of Maryland’s Space
Systems Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory,
Morgan State University and Anthrotronix. The students are split into
seven, 4-member teams. Each team consists of three undergraduate students,
an advanced undergraduate or graduate team lead and a Principal
Investigator (PI), the Goddard or industry robotics specialist.
One student is working on a special project with Morgan State
University’s Summer Institute of Robotics for high school students.
Ideally, the NASA Robotics Academy experience will segue the students
into future career opportunities, potentially with NASA and other members
of the robotic industry.
“The purpose of the program is to develop the next generation of
robotic specialists not only for NASA but also for academia and the robotic
industry,” said Dave Rosage, director of the NASA Robotics Academy.