全球最大的赌博首页 物理 student TJ Carson ’22 says he always knew that he wanted to be a scientist. 为了实现这一目标, he attended his first meeting of the rocket propulsion club during his second semester.
Carson was drawn to the club because he sees space exploration as one of the more exciting parts of the field. “我立刻就被迷住了，”他说. “The club was founded as a way for students to get involved with aerospace pursuits and for 工程 students to have access to hands-on projects and career resources.”
He quickly befriended the club’s president at the time, 安东尼·拉佐，21岁. 在几个月内, Carson was the group’s vice president and helped navigate its transition from a rocket propulsion club to an established chapter of 学生探索和发展空间 (SEDS).
项目及专业发展
SEDS is an international student organization that promotes space exploration and development through educational and 工程 projects. SEDS雷德兰兹集团, which has 13 members who represent a variety of programs, meets twice a month to discuss and develop projects and outreach opportunities. After Razo graduated, Carson became the club’s president.
“After becoming SEDS 雷德兰兹, the club became a lot more than just launching rockets,卡森说。. “每个NASA控制中心都有自己的世界, and they need people with all different kinds of skillsets to run them—from finance and man年龄ment to 工程, 甚至还有设计师和通讯专业人士. 在雷德兰兹, we have an interdisciplinary advant年龄 because of the diversity of majors, whereas most SEDS chapters are at 工程 schools.”
目前，该俱乐部正在进行两个项目. 第一个是技术工程项目, in which members are designing a small instrument that can be implemented on a satellite. 第二个是项目拓展, a program that involves visiting different high schools and talking about the possibilities of space exploration and subsequent career opportunities.
“我们做关于太空和阀杆(科学)的演讲, 技术, 工程, and math) in order to break down common false perceptions about what it means to be involved in space exploration in order to make the industry more accessible,卡森说。. “It can often seem superhuman, but that’s not really the case. 它只需要激情和奉献.”
One of the club’s overarching goals is to encour年龄 members to envision and prepare for a future career in space exploration. 2021年11月，五名成员出席 SpaceVision, a three-day annual conference facilitated by SEDS USA for students to eng年龄 with each other and industry professionals. This year’s event was hosted at the NASA Space Center in Houston, 德州, and Carson was elected to the SEDS USA national board of directors during the conference.
“太棒了，”他谈到这段经历时说. “The keynote speakers were industry leaders who spoke about important topics, and there was a career fair where companies recruit students for internships. Getting a chance to talk to those already in the industry was a cool opportunity to hear from people who are doing what you dream of doing.”
提出问题，创造性地思考
While Carson views his involvement in SEDS as a fun extracurricular activity, 这也直接体现在他的学术生活中. “SEDS has helped me realize my work in the context of the field,” he says. 作为一名物理学家, I got exposed to what it means to do science in the real world, 它让我找到了自己的归属. Exploring the opportunities available to me allows me to make informed decisions about my future.”
除了通过SEDS获得经验之外, Carson has embarked on his own research projects with faculty members as part of the 学生科学研究计划. 和Eric Hill教授一起工作, he proposed a project to develop a temperature model that would ultimately reveal the impact of increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. 与Martín Hoecker-Martinez教授合作, Redlands的指导老师, Carson created a method for determining the source location of microplastics that have been distributed in the atmosphere.
Both Hill and Hoecker-Martinez have had a tremendous impact on Carson. “他们在学生身上投入了很多，”他说. “They’re really willing to listen and embrace whatever their students are trying to do and to help them pursue their interests.”
Carson sees his time at Redlands as the first step on a path to a career as a scientific researcher. 通过SEDS雷德兰兹, he was given the rare opportunity work with student engineers on projects that have a purpose. 作为一名物理系学生, he became a better scientist by asking questions that fueled his independent research.
展望未来, Carson plans to build on the foundation he laid at 雷德兰兹, knowing that he’s leaving an important legacy behind with SEDS Redlands. “I want to keep learning, growing, and mastering my craft,” he says. “I really value the people I met and the opportunity I had to make a difference at Redlands. Starting something new that was created for a specific purpose has been really rewarding.”
