NASA Glenn Academy 2006

NASA Academy 2006
Glenn Research Center
2006 GRC Academy Home

Jessica S. Culler

University of Oklahoma

Aerospace Engineering
Bachelor of Science, May 2005

NASA Academy at Glenn Research center 2006
Student Operations and Logistics Manager

Education

Like most NASA Academy students, I loved math and science from the time I was in elementary school. In high school I found out what engineering really was, and I loved the idea of a career using math and science to solve problems. On top of that, there was a discipline that involved space! That convinced me to study aerospace engineering at the University of Oklahoma. After I graduated in May 2005, I attended the first module of classes at International Space University in Strasbourg, France.

Experience

My practical experience primarily comes from four incredible co-op tours at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. There was able to work semesters or summers in Mission Control Flight Planning, Advanced Exploration Engineering, Aircraft Ops Engineering, and Biotechnology. While working in Aircraft Ops at Ellington Field, I assisted and flew with the KC-135 Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program, and experienced simulated microgravity through the aircraft’s parabolic flight patterns. It’s indescribably awesome. After that, I was a Research Associate in the 2004 NASA Academy at Ames Research Center, and was the 2005 Ops/Logistics Manager at Marshall Space Flight Center's NASA Academy.

At OU, I was president of our branch of AIAA and organized several activities each year for the group. During that time we started a zero-g experiment team, refurbished an Me262 engine (one of the actual first jet engines ever flown) for display, and took a group of students to visit NASA-JSC. I’ve taken leadership classes from former Pathfinder and Mars Exploration Program Manager Donna Shirley and retired Air Force General Jerry Holmes, both OU alums. I believe it’s important to be well-rounded and to study things besides engineering, so among other things, I’ve taken some Russian and Japanese classes.

Extra-Curricular Activities

I’ve volunteered for several years at the WildCare Foundation wildlife rehabilitation center in Noble, OK. There’s nothing like handling a cantankerous adult red tail hawk one moment and a tiny baby cottontail the next. I love being outside and working in nature, which probably has roots in my childhood experiences of going out to a lake just about every weekend with my mom, dad, and little sister. Memories of my younger years are full of swimming, exploring coves, rock hopping, and looking at the clear night sky. Along with support and encouragement from my family, these things helped develop my passion for the outdoors, exploration, and space.

While in college, I trained in some martial arts… kung fu, aikido, and iaido, (a Japanese sword drawing and cutting martial art), testing for my iaido shodan (first black belt) last year. I also love keeping up with pop culture.