Over the summer of 2024, I worked at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) as a software development and research intern under Dr. Jeffrey Klenzing. My practicum focused on the generation and application of natural and physical science, especially through the development of Pysat, which is an open-source software developed mostly at Goddard and used by astrophysicists around the world to interface with and analyze satellite data. Additionally, I contributed to an ongoing research initiative in the Heliophysics Science Division (HSD) by working on analysis and visualizations for a research project on Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs).
I was able to find my practicum site at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and connect with my site supervisor, Dr. Klenzing, because of my previous involvement with NASA. I have been with NASA since high school, and I was out in contact with Dr. Klenzing by my previous mentor, Dr. Bell. For future scholars who are seeking site supervisors or finding sites, particularly in scientific research, I would recommend finding individuals either at universities or in labs with research and work similar to your area of interest. Reaching out to these individuals can be instrumental in finding a mentor to guide you through your practicum project. You should make sure to contact them early enough to be able to coordinate back and forth regarding whether or not there is room for you, whether or not you can work with them, and how to figure out all the logistics and make sure that everything works with your timelines. If you’re struggling to get a response, be sure to leverage connections both through the University of Maryland career center and corresponding scientific and research departments and any personal connections you may have. Any way that you can get in contact with a potential mentor is great, and it could lead to you securing your practicum site, supervisor, and project, and sometimes even provide long-term career options or a potential change in your career trajectory.
During my internship at NASA Goddard, I had two primary roles. Firstly, I was a developer on the Pysat development team, building and repairing satellite data processing pipelines and elements. For work mostly consisted of Python software development, building new features or ensuring proper function of existing (sometimes broken) features via debugging and testing. I would also apply knowledge of the physical workings of the instruments to properly handle them during the data processing and rebuild or brainstorm how to address any broken handlings. Secondly, I worked on a research project with some of the scientists in the HSD investigating traveling ionospheric disturbances. My role on this project was mainly centered around applying machine learning for forecasting and analysis of certain properties of interest, in addition to extensive data analysis and visualization of general ionospheric data to detect and explain potential causes of and trends relating to TIDs.
This role allowed me to immerse myself deeply in not only the computational and AI/ML aspects of satellite data processing and ionospheric research but also the physics behind both satellite instruments and many ionospheric processes. In investigating the causes behind TIDs and the factors affecting them, I became much more familiar with the analysis techniques physicists use to draw conclusions from historical large-scale data on driving forces behind unexplained phenomena. In addition, I learned about these driving forces and how to actually relate them to the data through ionospheric and plasma theory.
Beyond the science, I was surprised to learn how much of an impact a small team could have. A tool like pysat, which is used by thousands of physicists across the world, has directly contributed to a host of major accomplishments in physics, and will continue to be meaningful and an invaluable resource to the astrophysics community, was made by and is being maintained by a small group of scientists and developers centered at Goddard. It was a cool experience learning that individuals and small teams can have such a large impact. This impact, in addition to the immersion in both of my areas of interest and study (physics and computer science), helped me adjust my career aspirations. Previously, I had been somewhat split between my interests, but this role helped me understand what I would be looking for that could deeply involve both. I could get the best of both worlds by building a functional tool that others can use and can have a global impact but also being able to relate everything to the physical universe around us. This has helped guide me to seeking roles that allow me to make an impact and focus on both computer science and physics in the future.