Entry Date: 7/16/09
Internship Day Twelve (Two hours)
Thermal modeling was the focus of the EAT today. The presenter was Jared Clements, one of the program managers for the University Nanosat Program. The presentation began reasonably; Dr. Clements covered the idea of K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Stupid) and also explained how many satellites are built with a cold bias as it is much easier to heat a spacecraft using resistors rather than to cool a satellite. He then went on to demonstrate that the hardest part to model is the battery as it is difficult to determine its specific heat. Following the battery discussion, things became more complex. We were introduced to a world of equations involving multiple different variables, coefficients, and symbols. Frankly much of this new information was over my head and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one. However, despite a lack of understanding the presentation was valuable as it gave various resources to use when creating a thermal model and also gave the undergraduates a taste of what is to come in order to create a successful thermal model.
Re: Internship Experience
By j.akagiJustin & Jordan,
I really enjoyed reading about all of your internship experiences to date... it sounds like the two of you did a lot of really cool things throughout the past six weeks. You learned about many different areas of engineering, including: satellite systems engineering (in the University Nanosat Program expert area telecons), microwave engineering (H3 antenna stations), software & embedded systems engineering (C programming and breadboarding), structural engineering (also in the UNP EATs), and real-world applications of calculus (Gauss' Law, Ampere's Law, thermal modeling).
As you probably understand now, engineering covers MANY different areas and disciplines. To paraphrase my wife (who finally figured out what I do after a few years of listening to me talk about work), "engineers are people who solve problems." Although we like to use many fancy names for our individual job titles and work descriptions (since there are a lot of things that need fixing in the world), I think that sums it up pretty nicely.
I do hope both of you learned a lot in your internship this summer... in terms of technical skills, and more importantly, your career aspirations.
-Justin
PS: Will you be posting your final powerpoint presentations once it is public? I look forward to seeing it, if possible.
PPS: I really enjoyed your anecdotes; I wish I had been there to hear some of them (i.e., how did Dr. Shiroma teach you about electrical engineering principles using kim chee and shave ice analogies?)