Kamara Brown, 2005 DC Space Grant Fellowship Awardee to NASA Academy.

2006 - 2007 Vice President, NASA Academy Alumni Association

As a participant in the 2005 NASA Academy at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the District of Columbia Space Grant Consortium for providing the grant which allowed me to take advantage of such a unique research and leadership opportunity.

I was selected as 1 of 12 Research Associates (RAs) for this competitive and unique NASA summer fellowship. The NASA Academy (NA) emphasizes both research and broad-based interactions with the leadership of all NASA Centers and space-related organizations. As an RA in the Spacecraft and Vehicle Systems Division, I worked on a proposal entitled “An Assessment of Artificial Intelligence Technologies.”

Under the guidance of Dr. Mike Watson and Dr. Luis Trevino, I was charged to spearhead a study on how Artificial Intelligent Techniques can create intelligent (decision-making) space vehicle systems. I analyzed and determined the most prominent AI technologies (such a fuzzy logic, Bayesian belief networks, and neural networks) for the benefit of tracking and docking space vehicles.

Within 2 and half months, I was not only able to learn the necessary AI theories for my ongoing proposal; I also contributed a conceptual Bayesian Network Design for Autonomous, Rendezvous, and Docking (AR&D) Systems. An overwhelming number of people in the Spacecraft and Vehicle Systems Division were very supportive and helped me in anyway they could – ranging from Bayesian Belief and Fuzzy Logic tutorials to career path mentoring. In addition to my individual research project, the Academy also had a team project with the United States Space and Rocket Center where we developed a crash course for Space Camp Counselors in advanced engineering and science topics with special emphasis on Space Flight principles and revised existing lesson plans for Space Camp participants to meet NASA’s current Vision for Space Exploration objective.

The “Academy” experience is similar to the reality show “The Apprentice” with various A-Type personalities that share a passion for space. There are many “boardroom” moments, but nothing like you find on the TV show. You visit the board rooms of NASA Center Directors, and Associate Directors and receive useful and “down-to-earth” advice during one-on-one fireside chats on leadership and mentoring with Administrators, Chief Scientists, and Engineers while balancing your time during the summer among the different NASA Centers and other space-related labs visits, a direct research project with your Principal Investigators, and team research project.

This past summer was especially significant as my fellow research associates and I were the only Academy group personally extended an invitation by KSC Center Director James Kennedy himself to sit in his VIP section to witness the wonderful Return to Flight mission (STS-114). This was one of the many special advantages of being in the NASA Academy.

From inspecting NASA Kennedy’s Launch Pad B just days before the successful Return to Flight Mission…to camping out at NASA JSC to watch “Apollo 13” in the original Apollo Control Center on a Theater-size Flat screen.

There is nothing typical about the Academy experience. Over the summer, the Academy also had the opportunity to meet and attend talks of over 100 very important people within the space science and aerospace industry. As leadership development is central to the Academy experience, RAs are given a wonderful opportunity to pick the top minds at NASA on their leadership styles in an in-depth manner. From current Astronauts to Apollo era-mission Flight Directors, you are going to be challenged and in awe at the same time. You come to realize during all of your close-knit interactions, that many of the leaders in the space industry are just like you.

While visiting with NASA Chief Scientist Dr. Jim Garvin, he gave an impassioned talk on the current Vision of NASA and magic of Mars exploration. I found him to be the most inspiring person of the summer and consider myself very fortunate to have had to chance to talk with him. Dr. Garvin has had an amazing career that has allowed him to implement NASA scientific strategies for Mars and most recently that for the Moon as well. Listening to Dr. Garvin shares his enthusiastic stories about the future Robotic Lunar Exploration and how he takes an active role in his projects was tremendously motivational. His sincerity and passion energized me as I plan to enter graduate school to obtain a doctorate in Communication Engineering shortly after completing my degrees.

Ultimately, I see myself working at NASA as a researching scientist while inspiring the next generation of problem solvers.Be prepared to receive lots of emails from the NASA Academy Alumni Association (NAAA) afterwards. The NAAA is specifically set up so that we can network on a professional level and keep in touch on a personal level. There are many wonderful people in this organization, including the CEO of Space Adventures and a Director of the X-Prize Foundation, just to name two people who emailed the group recently. NAAA member and newest International Space Station (ISS) Flight Director Holly Ridings included the association on her selection of her Flight Team color: “Viking”- a tribute to the Late Academy founder Dr. Soffen.

This summer was beyond amazing and it was possible due to the support of the District of Columbia Space Grant Consortium, to which I am very grateful. I would like to continue my relationship with the District of Columbia Space Grant in the future by volunteering whenever possible to assist with outreach or other educational programs.

View Kamara's PowerPoint Presentation

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