Georgia Southern University: His True Blue spirit is out of this world

Statesboro native James Shaw (‘16) is living the life his 5-year-old self dreamed of — working for NASA. The mechanical engineering major just finished his fourth rotation in a cooperative education program (co-op) with NASA and is thanking his True Blue experiences for leading him there.

After graduating from Southeast Bulloch High School in 2003, Shaw joined the U.S. Army and served in South Korea, Kuwait and Iraq. He came to Georgia Southern in the spring of 2010 to pursue his engineering degree at the University he had always wanted to attend.

Shaw happened upon an expired NASA co-op poster in the engineering building, and  decided to go online to browse available openings. He found an application for a co-op, an educational program in which students participate in planned work experiences related to their academic major or career interest, that was only open that particular week. He seized the opportunity to apply, and soon after, was interviewed and hired.

“I always wanted to be an astronaut, but as I got older I began to understand what it takes to build something as complicated as a spacecraft, and I realized that astronauts are just the tip of the spear when it comes to exploring space,” Shaw explained. “I still have intentions of submitting an astronaut candidate packet. I just don’t qualify — yet.”

During his co-op as an undergraduate, Shaw helped test and model batteries for Robonaut and lunar landers, studied the ablation heat shield on spacecrafts, repaired 3D printers and worked on training simulators for the flight controllers.

“My favorite experience so far was when I got to sit on console in Mission Control during Scott Kelly’s first spacewalk,” said Shaw.

He noticed the difficulty Kelly was having trying to grease the Space Station’s robotic arm and offered a suggestion to ease the process. His idea was passed on to the flight director who then modified the procedure using  Shaw’s recommendations and complimented him on his idea.

“Nothing like having NASA engineers and a flight director call you brilliant,” said Shaw.

Shaw’s coursework at Georgia Southern has given him the skills he needs to excel in this program. His knowledge of solid modeling, heat transfer, statics and dynamics was exactly what he needed to prepare for this co-op.

“Georgia Southern offers so much hands-on experience in their engineering curriculum,” said Shaw.

Not only did Shaw’s hands-on experiences in class help him to succeed, but his relationships with his professors including Associate Professor Mosfequr Rahman, Ph.D., Professor Aniruddha Mitra, Ph.D., and Department Chair and Professor Brian L. Vlcek, Ph.D., also helped him grow.

“My academic success has largely been because of the overwhelming support from professors in the department,” said Shaw. “I’ve had the privilege of taking multiple classes with Dr. Rahman, Dr. Mitra and Dr. Vlcek. Even before being selected for this co-op, I had a paper published by Dr. Rahman from my project on finite element analysis. This really helped me in the long-run because I was able to talk about it in my interview with NASA.”

Shaw has accepted a full-time position in NASA’S Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and will start in January after graduating in December.

“I would love to have other Georgia Southern students working for NASA, so I love encouraging people by sharing my story,” said Shaw.

To learn more about co-ops at Georgia Southern, visit http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/career/students/internships-co-ops/. 

Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers more than 125 degree programs serving 20,673 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered and hands-on approach to education. Visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu.

From: http://news.georgiasouthern.edu/2016/12/13/his-true-blue-spirit-is-out-of-this-world/