NASA Glenn Academy 2005

NASA Academy 2005
Glenn Research Center
2005 GRC Academy Home

Jordan Wirfs-Brock

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Boston, Massachusetts

Aeronautics and Astronautics
Minor: Literature
Bachelor of Science, 2006

NASA Academy Research Project

Mitigation of Dust and Electrostatic Accumulation for Human and Robotic Systems for Lunar and Martian Missions
NASA Principal Investigator: Juan H. Agui

Education

I am days away from finishing my junior year in the Aerospace Engineering department at MIT. Within my major I have a focus on communications and controls; I have also taken classes in thermal energy, dynamics, materials and structures, signals and systems, fluids, and computer programming. During college I have studied Linguistics and Geology, and completed several semesters of Russian, but ultimately decided to minor in Literature.

Experience

During the past year I joined the Man Vehicle Lab at MIT and have been working on the BioSuit project, an initiative to create an innovative extra-vehicular spacesuit. We have been working on the problem of using mechanical counter-pressure to provide the skin with the surface pressure it needs to function. I have helped to create prototype spacesuit components and test them in our lab's low pressure vacuum chamber. Last summer I worked in MIT's Geochronology lab studying eclogite facies rocks from Greenland. Eclogites are rare metamorphic rocks whose origins could possibly reveal how crustal plates first formed on the Earth. I processed rock samples in order to extract zircon grains for dating and observation. During high school I spent three years remotely studying Venusian geology using Magellan Satellite radar data with a classmate. We completed projects on shield volcanoes, pancake domes, and tessera.

Extra-curricular Activities

I am a member of MIT's varsity women's basketball, cross country, and outdoor track teams. Last October I flew to my hometown, Portland, Oregon, to run my first marathon. I also ran the Boston Marathon in April. I am a member of MIT's campus radio station (not only because I get lots of free tickets to local concerts), where I dj for the country's oldest daily punk show, the Late Risers Club. I love hiking and backpacking, and would gladly choose a week in the wilderness over just about any other activity. I love to read and almost never leave home without a book. My record for consuming a half-gallon of ice cream is 15 minutes 29 seconds.