HAMPTON, Va – 30 Mar 11
An Intern's Dream: From Weather Girl to CAPABLE Scientist
By: Heather L. Ogletree
What did you want to be when you grew up? A doctor, an astronaut, a baseball player? While these answers could belong to our parents or even our grandparents, they still ring true today; these answers have withstood the test of time.
“I think every child dreams of being an astronaut,” said Rebecca Kollmeyer, a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. “Even after finding my love for atmospheric sciences, I dreamed and still dream of working for big NASA projects like the shuttle, hurricane missions and even Mars!”
Kollmeyer was selected this fall by the Undergraduate Student Research Project (USRP) to take part in a 15 week internship at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., where she connected with Margaret Pippin to utilize and enhance her skills as an earth and atmospheric sciences major through a project entitled, “CAPABLE (Chemistry and Physics Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiment).”
Pippin explains, “In support of NASA’s GEO-CAPE mission and Air Quality Applied Sciences, the CAPABLE site at NASA Langley Research Center was established in coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to assess the relationship between space-based observations and surface observations of air quality.”
During her time at Langley, Kollmeyer helped with data analysis and researched different methods for determining boundary layer height, which is a key measurement for understanding the relationship between surface and space-based data. She said, “I really enjoy[ed] applying the weather to a new and different concept, like air pollution as I did at NASA.”
Originally, Kollmeyer began college with the dream of being “the weather girl.” After her USRP internship, she said, “Now I have learned that I can do so many things with my atmospheric science degree. I believe now I want to do something more in depth when I graduate — something more like what I did at NASA. This will require more schooling than...planned, but now I have the motivation to continue my education.”
Furthermore, Kollmeyer not only developed a better idea of what she wants to be when she “grows up,” she also developed academically. “I love my internship because it has given me an opportunity to experience science outside of the classroom,” noted Kollmeyer. “I have learned more about meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, dynamics, and data analysis this semester than I have ever learned in all my years of study.”
Pippin added, “Rebecca was an ideal match for the project. She was an equal member of the team and made significant contributions to the project. In fact she will continue to work with us next semester for course research credit, and hopefully will come back through USRP next summer.”