[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 4 - 12:27:50 ]
Hello to our early arriving Women of NASA chat participants! Women of NASA chat with Karen Gundy-Burlet from NASA Ames Research Center will begin today at 1:00 p.m., Pacific Standard Time. Be sure you have read Karen's profile at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/bios/kgb.html before joining this chat.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 5 - 12:28:32 ]
Once the chat begins, Karen will attempt to answer as many of your questions as she can, but please be patient. The chat will be "moderated" if Karen gets behind in answering your questions. This means that only a few questions will be posted to the chat room at a time. Don't worry if your questions do not appear on your screen immediately. They will be posted as Karen answers those ahead of you.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 6 - 12:28:59 ]
As a reminder, remember to enter "Your Handle" in the box provided, before posting questions to the chat room. Once you've done this, please let us know that you have logged on for today's chat.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 7 - 12:29:33 ]
At the conclusion of today's chat, we ask that you take a few minutes to let us know what you thought about it. For your convenience, you may use our online feedback forms at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys. We look forward to hearing from you!

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 13 - 13:11:12 ]
Thank you for joining us for today's chat with Karen Gundy-Burlet from NASA Ames Research Center. In addition to turbomachinery code research and design, Karen works closely with her counterparts in industry and academia to insure that the state-of-the-art codes directly impact domestic research and design efforts. Karen has also been involved in a community program aimed at helping students develop an interest in science and engineering. She has sponsored several high-school students on the Space Biology Program, training them in computer science and aeronautics.

[ Anousheh - 8 - 13:03:14 ]
Hi, I'm Anousheh. I am really glad that I have this opportunity to talk with you.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 11 - 13:06:44 ]
RE: [Elizabeth] When was the video " Fast Forward the Future" recorded? Is it still available? Where could I find it?
I believe the video was recorded around 1990. I believe the teacher's resource center at NASA Ames still has copies. Their number is (650) 604-3574.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 14 - 13:13:33 ]
RE: [JFKHigh-JFKHigh] Hi Karen, I am a highschool junior and very much interested in the field of astronomy. However I am not quite sure of my line of education. Basically stuff like what college majors/minors etc. The folllowing is my list of questions: 1) AS per your experience, is aeronautical engineering or physics a better option? 2)You mentioned something about a Student Space Biology Program for juniors.... What is that all about and how do you apply for it? 3) what type of jobs are available in NASA Especially in the research area? 4)And finally the job opportunities and the working environment in this field.
1) Hmmm...I believe that physics would be a better background for someone interested in astronomy. There are physics departments that do specialize in astrophysics. 2) The Student Space Biology program still exists at NASA Ames and the person in charge of the program is Tom Clausen. You would need your teacher's support and approval, and I suggest that only students in the bay area would be close enough to make the commute worthwhile 3)Research Jobs at NASA: Space Biology, Astrophysics, Aeronautics, Space Transportation, Information Technology and Many Many others 4)Research positions tend to be at government labs, universities and in the rare corporate research lab. I LOVE what I do. It is a very heady experience to figure out something that hasn't been thought of before!

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 17 - 13:15:34 ]
RE: [Yaitza-Yaitza] Hi, I'm Yaitza and I live in central Florida. I am 18 and just starting college. I want to become an electrical enginneer and I wanted to know if there are any co-ops that I can participate in.
There are COOP programs at NASA-Ames and at most of the large companies that I am aware of. You should contact your COOP program coordinator in your college to find out the positions that you can apply for.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 19 - 13:18:50 ]
RE: [Yaitza-Yaitza] Are there any projects at Nasa that beginners like me can work on?
I started at NASA knowing nothing about Trig, Calculus, Physics or computer science. A good mentor is able to break down and define a problem challenging enough for a student to learn how to do research.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 24 - 13:23:49 ]
RE: [JFKHigh-JFKHigh] Is a master's degree required before your Phd.? Besides what about the salary ranges in this field?
A Masters degree is generally required before the Ph. D. I suspect beginning Aero engineers (BS or MS levels) are in the 30-40K range (It has been a long time since I have been there! :^) ). The salary range at most companies goes well into the 100K region. Government salaries are a bit lower. The top-level government researchers that I know of have topped out at about 100K (GS 15 step 10).

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 25 - 13:25:04 ]
RE: [JFKHigh-JFKHigh] What is the difference between astronautics and aeronautics?
Aeronautics deals with aerodynamics of aircraft. Astronautics deals with the aerodynamics of Space Transportation Systems. There can be quite a bit of overlap between the 2 areas.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 26 - 13:25:51 ]
RE: [Yaitza-Yaitza] Are there any mentor programs at nasa? I live near KSC and could use a mentor like you around!
You should check out Kennedy's Web page and see what mentorship/educational programs they have.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 28 - 13:29:25 ]
RE: [Caroline-MsCope/homeschool] Hi, is the Space Biology Program still open, and can anyone who wants to participate in it go?
As I said in another message, Space Bio is still running. You should talk with Tom Clausen [at NASA Ames Research Center] to get more details.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 29 - 13:30:59 ]
RE: [JFKHigh-JFKHigh] Is it more advisable to work at govt. labs or private organizations?
There are some serious tradeoffs here. Government labs tend to be more stable in their hiring, and you tend to do some really fascinating speculative research.....but your salary tends to be lower. Out in industry, the research is more directed to the company bottom line. You don't have the freedom to do what you want, but you make more money doing it.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 31 - 13:31:56 ]
RE: [Elizabeth-MsCope/homeschool] I am going to go now, it was nice chating with you.
Thank you for joining us today, Elizabeth

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 32 - 13:33:03 ]
As a reminder, at the conclusion of today's chat, please use our online feedback forms at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys to let us know what you thought about it.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 33 - 13:33:54 ]
RE: [Yaitza-Yaitza] Karen, you do a lot of coding and problem solving- What do you do when you get stuck? There are times when I work with formulas and half way through I realize I've forgotten the whole reason behind solving the problem in the first place.
I generally keep 4 or 5 different research tasks going at once. If I get stuck on one, I switch to another. I find that if I let my mind "rest" a bit, I usually come up with the solution. If that doesn't work, I have some wonderful people that I work with that I bounce ideas off of.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 35 - 13:37:26 ]
RE: [KarenGundyBurlet] I generally keep 4 or 5 different research tasks going at once. If I get stuck on one, I switch to another. I find that if I let my mind "rest" a bit, I usually come up with the solution. If that doesn't work, I have some wonderful people that I work with that I bounce ideas off of.
Yaitza, I realize that I didn't answer all of your question. If you do loose track of what the problem was, then you should probably take a minute at the begginning of your coding to write down the problem statement. It may be tedious, but it does keep one on track!

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 37 - 13:39:31 ]
I do hope you all have a chance to check out the portion of my web page where I have pictures of my Great-Uncle, Floyd Kelso, and his wing-walker, Augie Peddlar, doing stunts somewhere over California. It was stories of the things that my Great Uncle did that gave me my initial interest in airplanes.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 42 - 13:42:07 ]
RE: [Ann/AERO-Ann/AERO] Could you give us an example of coding please.
I usually use Fortran 90 for my computer codes. A short program to write HI THERE might look like: program hello write (*,*) "HI THERE" stop end program hello

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 46 - 13:45:43 ]
RE: [JFKHigh-JFKHigh] What subjects do people who go into this career mostly go for? How many degrees or further education is recommended for a good career?
One thing about airplanes...to put one together, you require knowledge of aerodynamics, structures, electronics, materials and control systems. So you use many different backgrounds to work in the field of aeronautics. As for the degrees required....it depends on what you want to do with your life. If you intend to do research, you will almost certainly require a Ph. D. If you want to make use of existing research to help design airplane systems, then perhaps a BS or a MS is enough.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 47 - 13:48:33 ]
RE: [MrsGomez-Mrs.Gomez] Hi, I'm from Mexico and I'm a Civil Engineer, I would like to know if there are any programs at NASA for civil engineers even if they are not from USA?
Civil engineering at NASA...well, I bet it requires some serious effort to build structures sufficient to stand the take-off blast of the space shuttle. I also bet that Civil engineers will be required to design space structures. On a personal note, I have noticed that some of the most successful people at NASA who are able to use information from one field to impact another.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 48 - 13:50:17 ]
RE: [JFKHigh-JFKHigh] Is it really hard to get into NASA?
Civil Servant positions are quite hard to come by (hiring freeze :^( ). We do have a large contracting staff and there are lots of college students who do parts of their research (or post-doctoral work) at NASA.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 49 - 13:51:03 ]
RE: [Ann/AERO-Ann/AERO] What is the address for your web site?
http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/~kgundy

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 51 - 13:53:04 ]
For those of you leaving us, be sure to provide feedback to us about today's chat at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys.

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 52 - 13:56:25 ]
RE: [Yaitza-Yaitza] When you are coming up with new equations, how do you test them and make sure there right? Especially with new products that turn out new theries? ps. how soon do your equations make it into my textbook anyway?:)
To test new equations, I look for simple cases that I know the answer to. If the equations are consistent with that answer, then I have a clue that I am going in the right direction. You generally have to keep looking for analytic solution and experimental data that can verify the conclusions that you come up with. We recently came up with a particular theory on how engine temperatures might be controlled. We didn't have much data to tell us that we were right, but after we presented the ideas at a conference, people from the engine companies came to us and told us that the theory explained quite a bit of what they had been puzzled out. NASA actively tries to find ways to make our research go into the classroom setting. We try to get it there pretty quick because people are always interested in something brand new!

[ KarenGundyBurlet - 55 - 14:01:45 ]
RE: [JFKHigh-JFKHigh] What is a Civil Servant position?
A Civil servant is one who is employed directly by the Federal Government.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 56 - 14:02:13 ]
We will now be ending our chat with Karen Gundy-Burlet from NASA Ames Research Center. Be sure to let us know what you thought about today's chat at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 59 - 14:04:27 ]
Be sure to check the Women of NASA chat schedule page at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/won-chat.html to learn about upcoming chats with Womenof NASA.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 60 - 14:05:20 ]
To learn about chats with other NASA experts, visit the Quest schedule of event page at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/common/events.

[ MrsGomez - 62 - 14:08:47 ]
Thank you, Karen.

[ Yaitza - 63 - 15:12:02 ]
Thank you, karen and Oran.