PLEASE Help Me Support NASA!!!

About 2 weeks ago oh, I was at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida chaperoning the University of Portland robotics team in their bid to compete in the 2022 NASA Lunabotics competition. Yes, I am recovering nicely from COVID, thank you. As a kid who wanted to be an astronaut right until I got glasses (then I wanted to be Eddie Van Halen, lol), it was a profoundly emotional trip for me.

After seeing the sheer camaraderie, brilliance and “Crowd Learning” I want more people to engage in the NASA magic. I know I can waffle on, so for those of you bored already and motivated to help get robotics learning into the lives of the children and young adults in your life - embrace this link: 

https://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/centers/kennedy/technology/nasarmc.html

Back to tea and waffling…

Now let me be clear, I was “Professor of Last Resort” when it came to getting the team a chaperone, as I saw that everyone else had taken a step back without my knowing, but what true geek in their right mind would say NO to a trip to “THE NASA IN MOVIES - Cape Canaveral” ?. Yes I have wanted to embrace that Saturn IV since I was 6 and used to ogle in wonder at the picture in my “Purnell’s Concise Encyclopedia Of Science” whilst watching “The Six Million Dollar Man”. I went. Would you say no and disappoint the team? Uh huh, I’ll take one for the team, sure. :-D

I will write more on the competition later, but I really want one of the team to do so (Thayne). Instead in this post I want to focus on what the major upside for me personally was - learning from the incredible and inspiring people I met at NASA and their missions. As federal employees they get paid squat compared to even the salaries that my CS graduates are getting this year ( Note to FAANG - you are seeding huge problems for yourself and the industry in the future. Good luck with that.) but what was really humbling was the sheer dedication to the “mission” that they each had without being unreasonable people. Hanging around tech media I met so many people who fit the latter category.

Now my shameless praise of the people I met:

Al Gibson  -  I learned more from this guy than anyone in a long time. He really gave me insight into the power of observation in solving problems which I want him to share here in the near future. But I  had to stop and berate him when he vehemently claimed he was not an engineer. He made Engineers accountable. HE DESIGNED AND RAN QUALITY ASSURANCE ON THE SHUTTLE AFTER CHALLENGER. Wow. Talk about spotlight pressure.  I warned Al that I will be featuring a couple of video interviews with him, federal PR permissions withstanding, as that knowledge has to be shared. Also I hope to get him up here to Portland to lecture if I can find some corporate sponsors (Ahem, hint hint) and I want to try and get him to visit two of the F-15 airframes he used to look after when he was in the Airforce which are now stationed at PDX Airport with the Air National Guard. Al is the kind of guy who will make you tear apart your own BS excuse for why something is not done properly and make you grateful for being honest. Then he'd crack open a beer with you. Truly passionate and truly one of the best. The Right Stuff.

Now to the focus of this post and in seeking your support:

Isabel Kennedy - Director of Education, The Astronauts Memorial Foundation - Director for STEM outreach. I stopped to talk to Isabel when she was walking around her baby son Leo, who had the best “Woken-From-A-Nap-Grumpy-Old-Man-Face” I had ever seen. I have yet to reach Isabel but want to see if I can get a couple of posts done with her to articulate your options for participating in spreading engineering knowledge.

Her mission is to spread STEM education to our children by creating these kind of opportunities to collaborate and disseminate learning. Sorry, I wasn't one of the Sports Jocks Dad's but making robots seems so much more valuable than a compound cricket ball in your face at 60mph. (Yep, my front teeth burst through my lower lip digging into the ball, pretty heavy metal moment for an 11 year old nerdy Surj, lol .... I learned to catch after that.)

If you support Isabel's mission, you pave a better future for all of us by investing in the children and youth around you. Just do it. Write, Post. Relay. Donate. Whatever you can do, do it. I've asked Isabel to post as well.

https://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/centers/kennedy/technology/nasarmc.html

Ken Stafford, Worcester Polytechnic Institute  - Career Air Force, Retired, Flew C-130’s for  Special Missions - Ken’s wisdom and sheer experience of engineering made him a joy to listen to and learn from. His student team clearly appreciated his leadership and shepherding. From Engineer to Aviator like Alan Shepard his calm engaging personality and deep domain knowledge was refreshing. Especially when they were doing pitstops and fixes. Great learning. You know a master of a subject when they can explain it to you so you learn and understand.

Apparently reaching my word limit and time to get back to summer teaching prep. More to come. Post pandemic, it’s time for this Patel to post.

Next Post: I hope I am mentoring the next Marc Andreesen. Actually Marc should be mentoring him. What does Avery Lyford think and for that matter what is he up to these days?

Many thanks to Andy Barron in helping me get this post together and putting up with the stranger calling out of the blue who can’t remember names so well.

Also huge professional kudos and compliment to one of my first IoT Students, Kevin Hoser who masterfully conceived and architected the robot and sub systems. Kevin caught Covid before the trip and really was an inspiration, leading the technical aspects over Zoom. Kevin’s IoT class project - a Polyphonic Midi Stepper Motor Organ  - will be featured in a post coming soon. I of course rolled my eyes and demanded better of him but when he demonstrated it to me my jaw dropped and I was inspired to look at synthesis very very differently. I want people to know about his incredible engineering talent as he heads into the workforce. 

Gratuitous Saturn IV shot. <trembles, lol>

Thank you to the universe for this trip. I needed the boost to put me into orbit again.<3 Thank you to the Robotics team. You re-inspired this jaded old heavy metal listening tech hippy professor.