Q&A Session with Susan Fehres

Q:  In science class we are building a space shuttle out of paper.  I find this
    an unnecessary project that would not help me later in life even if I 
    was in NASA.  All it is doing is wasting trees.  What do you think 
    about this project?    I think it would be more productive and fun if 
    we drew it!
  
A:  I can't really tell from your brief description, but it doesn't sound 
    like you are doing much science in the project... Perhaps part of the 
    project is learning why the shuttle is black on the bottom ( where it 
    gets heated to a higher temperature, so the black surface rejects 
    heat by radiation more efficiently than the white upper surface) .  Or 
    does it help you learn  how a glider works (the shuttle glides when 
    it lands, fuel is only used on the launch and for manoevering),  by 
    generating lift by the way the air flows around a wing ( the air 
    travels a longer path to go over the top of the wing than to go under 
    it.  This means the air must flow faster, which has the effect of 
    lowering the pressure above the wing, relative to below the wing.
    That pulls the wing upward, carrying the shuttle up with it).  Why not 
    go on to build some gliders, even paper airplanes, which is 
    interesting especially if you approach it scientifically. there are 
    some good kits for gliders, and good paper -airplane books in  
    libraries.  Try to make  great paper airplanes while in school, it 
    will  help you understand flight later. Or maybe this project has a 
    totally different goal. Why not ask your teacher, explaining that 
    this is very different from all the other science projects? Also, 
    this may sound callous, but the paper you use for your shuttle 
    isn't very much paper in the grand scheme of things.   Think of the 
    stacks of newspaper your neighborhood probably recycles every week. 
    While you are learning, sometimes you have to use up resources, but 
    it is worth it to learn things.


Q: You said you were not a straight "A" student.  Do you think you would have
   done better if you were?

A: Not really.  Studies have shown that on the average (!) the straight 'A'
   students don't come out on top in the work world, probably because 
   work and school  are such different environments.   If you are a 
   straight-A student, and you are taking challenging classes, that is 
   really great, because you are working hard and getting the most from 
   the school system.  And you will have a big advantage in getting 
   scholarships and college admission (some colleges are very  selective).  
   But if if you are not straight- A, don't assume that it is the kiss of 
   death.   It definitely isn't.  I would suggest you work to get
   A's , but that if you don't, keep trying but don't imagine it means 
   you are "no good" at that subject.   Never give up.


Q: Can you describe a problem you are working to solve i.e. an example of
   an actual project?

A: Developing a new method to insulate fuel tanks for future space vehicles.


Q: What is very inspiring about your work?

A: Working on new, innovative solutions to real-life problems. Working 
   for NASA in general.


Q: What do you find the most rewarding in this kind of work?

A: Working on new, innovative solutions to real-life problems. Working
   for NASA in general.


Q: What are the biggest drawbacks?

A: Too many interesting projects divide my time up. Lack of cooperation from 
   co-workers.


Q: How do you balance free time with your work, especially with lab work or
   experiments which may last into late shifts?

A: In my job, it would be travel for meetings that clashes with my personal 
   life, especially now that I have a child.  It is a problem.  I try to 
   avoid travel while I have this young  baby around. And, I don't have 
   time to volunteer as much as I would like. Or take hikes.  Or do sports.


Q: What are some ideas you have for us about improving female enrollment in
   math and science classes and careers.

A: Get the word out to school girls what a great future awaits them in 
   science or engineering if they like to figure things out and solve 
   problems, and  how important for their future  it is to do well in math 
   and science.  And that school is not a social scene, a game or a waste of 
   time.  It is a chance to prepare yourself for the rest of your life, if 
   you take the chance.  You don't need A's.  You do need to understand 
   math and science.


Q: What is your opinions on whether we should push for all female math 
   classes?

A: Probably a good idea, but I know I  personally avoided a very good 
   all-girl high school. It seemed so giggly.  So the girls won't like it, 
   but they aren't able yet to choose in their own best interest.
   
   I know it seems a strange idea, as though women need special 
   protection, but that is not what this concept is about:  the behavior 
   and expectations of girls and boys are so very different, it is almost 
   like teaching a mixture of deaf and blind students using mostly words but 
   some writing on the chalkboard.

   The better alternative is separating the students into one deaf and one 
   blind class,  in order to let them learn.    In this case, the blind but 
   hearing students would be the boys in a 'mixed classroom' , who benefit 
   from the emphasis on the spoken word:  many studies show that our typical 
   classroom teaching style rewards the aggressive, competitive style of 
   boys over the typically more cooperative reflective behavior of girls.


Q: I do not always feel that math & science go hand-in-hand.  In math
   everything comes out black and white.  In science, there are so many gray
   areas.  Could you make a connection for me?

A: Well, they are very different classes while you are in school.  They 
   seem unconnected, but they are not. math is a pure abstract endeavor, 
   whereas science deals with all the complexity of real life, so much of 
   which we don't understand at all.  Math is like the language of 
   science,  just like you use language and composed  your  question to me in 
   words and used the rules of grammar to make sentences, math is used to 
   analyze  experimental data, to predict future events.  Here are some
   examples:  perhaps to see if a certain medicine really helps people  or 
   does it do nothing or even  harm some of them.  ( This is how they figure 
   out the results of  tests using new cancer  drugs or AIDS drugs,  
   testing on thousands of people over years, who during the course of 
   the study  also get into accidents, take other drugs,  get other
   illnesses, some just get well naturally  how can  you figure out what 
   your new drug is doing to them?  by using statistics, a branch of math ),
   another example - you use  math to predict by calculating , say, where 
   a planet will be at a given time so you can train your telescope on it, to
   measure something to compare with your theory.


Q: How did you get involved with the NASA program and why did you choose to
   stick with NASA as a career?

A: I always was fascinated by the space program,  and I am lucky to be 
   working in it.  When I was finishing my Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, 
   I applied for a job at NASA and luckily, they needed someone with my 
   training.  It is a privilege to work on such interesting projects, 
   in such a worthwhile institution.


Q: Were you ever pressured by your parents or friends to pick a different
   field of study?

A: It was more a matter of indifference, because they all assumed I would 
   become a housewife, so it didn't matter what I was good at or 
   interested in.  It was clear they thought my interest in so-called 
   masculine subjects was a little pointless,  but I had made a 
   deliberate choice not to be limited by having been born female, so I 
   ignored their subtle influences as much as possible. And I chose smart 
   friends, who are rare people and, oddly enough, probably not
   in the 'in crowd' in your school. I hope things are better now for
   schoolgirls.  My teachers and especially the so-called counselors at high
   school  encouraged me to go into teaching or journalism, although 
   friends who were boys who were any good in science were encouraged to 
   go into engineering.

   So I  encourage you to be rather skeptical of what adults, including
   counselors, suggest or fail to suggest, because they are often wearing
   blinders.  They are limited by their own upbringing and success or 
   failure. You are in school to get the tools to function in the 
   workplace, and to become an intelligent adult citizen. I  hope you 
   will not waste your school years by reacting to, or trying to guess 
   what other people expect of you.