Moffett Field, CA —23 MAY 10
University of Washington Student Works with NASA Ames to Improve Communication Systems for Next Generation Spacecraft
By: Jackie Juergens
Jonathan Hogins, of Gig Harbor, WA, is a spring 2010 intern for NASA’s Undergraduate Student Research Program (USRP). For 15 weeks Hogins will be working at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffitt Field, Calif.
In the Intelligent Systems Division, Hogins with the help from his mentor, Michael Dalal, is working on a programming language that is currently being developed at NASA called PLEXIL. PLEXIL is used to create plans to automate complex actions for manned and unmanned space mission operations. With PLEXIL NASA will be able to better ensure safety and success on missions by providing more efficient and reliable plan execution.
Hogins is working to create an extension of PLEXIL that will allow different sub-systems to communicate and give instructions to each other within a single machine or over a network.
"Reliable network communication is vital to space systems, and the extension will be of immediate benefit to next-generation aircraft research and future benefit to many other applications both inside and outside NASA," comments Hogins about his project.
"The results of his project look very promising already. Jonathan has demonstrated strong analytical and programming skills, which he has enhanced by learning new programming languages and technologies needed for the project. He has a technical aptitude and maturity that is rare for someone his age, and I already consider him more a colleague than an intern," Dalal says about his time working with Hogins.
As well as his experience with USRP, Hogins spent the summer of 2009 as a part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates program that is hosted at the University of Houston. At the Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh Hogins presented a follow-up study to the one he did for NSF. Hogins is still involved in the research and they are expecting to publish a paper shortly.
“It has been a pleasure working with Jonathan, and he is certainly well on his way to a successful graduate and professional career,” states Dalal.
"After graduating from the University of Washing in Tacoma, I plan to pursue advanced degrees in computer science with and emphasis in programming systems and computer graphics," Hogins says about his future plans.
Hogins is a senior at the University of Washington in Tacoma and is majoring in computer software and systems. He is expecting to graduate in June 2010.
