September 2024 – Interstellar Experiences of NASA Interns

Summer of AI: Intern Uses AI to help NASA Employees

You’ve probably interacted with a pop-up virtual agent while shopping online, making reservations, or navigating customer service. These virtual assistants are also a key resource for the over 18,000 civil servants, contractors, and interns at NASA who have human resource questions every day.

That’s where Johnpaul Lopez comes in. Lopez, a computer science and IT student, is interning for NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., as a virtual agent content management intern for the Office of the Chief Human Capitol Officer (OCHCO). His work is integral in embracing and safely integrating AI (Artificial Intelligence) as a platform to serve employees’ needs.

Lopez’s team created a chatbot named NOVA (NASA OCHCO Virtual Agent) designed to help NASA employees get answers to their HR-related questions. It can answer over 60 HR topics, with more to come soon. Every day, Lopez is developing new conversational pathways, revising dialogue flows, conducting AI research, and testing NOVA to make sure its responses are accurate and helpful. Lopez contributes daily to NASA’s goal of incorporating advanced AI-responsive features in the chatbot’s next iteration.

“Joining NASA allows me to be part of the ARTEMIS generation, fostering healthy and exciting relations with fellow interns and mentors I always dreamt to be a part of. Our contributions and mentors pave the path for us to lead the next generation of learners and dreamers,” Lopez shared.

Alt text: In this photo taken in 2014, Lopez poses with two awards. Lopez is in the center of the image wearing a red button-up shirt with a blue lanyard, red tie, and black pants. Credit: Johnpaul Lopez

Lopez was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico, a small town on the eastern coast of the island. As a child, he competed in school science competitions, built with Legos, and watched documentaries. When he was a baby, his parents made the decision to move their family to Florida, leaving everyone and everything they knew behind to provide Lopez with more opportunities. Throughout his life, Lopez has held a passion for technology and public service. Now, as a first-generation college student, he aims to be part of something bigger than himself and help others.

“My family came from Puerto Rico to give me the best educational opportunities and life I can have here in Central Florida. Everything that I am and do is because of them! I’m a culmination of their hopes, dreams, sacrifices, and perseverance through it all, and I strive to bring my dreams to life by delivering the best work I can,” said Lopez.

Alt text: Lopez poses with four of his family members celebrating his acceptance as a Summer 2024 NASA intern. The whole family is wearing black NASA t-shirts. In the foreground of the image is a cake with planets on it, a gift bag, and blue balloons. Credit: Johnpaul Lopez

After his internship, Lopez hopes to continue working in a software role and continue advancing in his career while working on his personal side projects. He aims to stay in the STEM community and help others like him know they can intern for NASA too. Lopez wants future interns to know that the work is hard, but it’s worth it, and while everyone’s journeys are different, if you have the right balance of hope, faith, and trust in the process, you can make it, too.

“NASA is more than just rocket science; it’s a collective of individuals from all fields coming together to tell a story reminding society of our spirit of hope and unity,” said Lopez.

Tara Roanhorse/NASA Headquarters

Making Her Own Place in Space: Caitlyn McClanahan’s HBCU Journey

“My mom always told me she believed that whatever you wanted to do when you were a child is your destiny—what you’re destined to do in life. And when I was a kid, I had every STEM interest.”

Alt Text: NASA intern Caitlyn McClanahan as a young student posing with her younger sister Erin in front of a science fair project, a recreation of the solar system. The two smile holding paper cutouts of stars. Credit: Caitlyn McClanahan

Meet Caitlyn McClanahan, a Weather Data Processing intern at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Growing up, McClanahan always loved studying the sciences. “I had a robotics phase. I had an astronaut phase. I had a weather phase. I had a paleontology phase. I had a chemistry phase,” she said.

Alt Text: NASA intern Caitlyn McClanahan as a young student sitting on a table in a book store smiling with a large history book open upon her lap. Credit: Caitlyn McClanahan — Alt Text: NASA intern Caitlyn McClanahan as a young student sitting on a table in a book store smiling with a large history book on her lap. Credit: Caitlyn McClanahan

However, as a young Black woman living in a Midwestern small town, she often found herself being the only Black woman in predominantly white spaces. “It causes a lot of people to have anxiety, coming into a space and noticing that this is a very white space, a very male space. I’ve found myself throughout life kind of minimizing myself to try to fit into this space that I believe is too big for me.”

After graduating from high school, McClanahan continued her education at Hampton University. Founded in 1868, it is the oldest Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Virginia. Recounting her first days at Hampton, she was surprised to find that her science courses were predominantly attended by women.

“In fact, our teacher told us there were four men majoring in chemistry that year, which was considered a lot more than usual,” McClanahan said. “It was such a stark difference to see so many women, especially so many Black women, who looked like me and had the same interest as me. And it was just such an awesome environment to regain that confidence in myself.”

Alt Text: NASA interns including Caitlyn McClanahan meet with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson at NASA's Langley Research Center. Bill Nelson smiles as he shakes an intern hand the other looking on smiling at him. Credit: NASA — Alt Text: NASA interns including Caitlyn McClanahan meet with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson at NASA’s Langley Research Center. Bill Nelson smiles as he shakes an intern hand the other looking on smiling at him. Credit: NASA

Located just 15 minutes away from NASA’s Langley Research Center, Hampton University has long had a rich history supporting the space agency. McClanahan quickly noticed how NASA celebrates Black experts, including Black scientists, such as “Hidden Figures” Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary W. Jackson.

Alt Text: NASA intern Caitlyn McClanahan poses with NASA's LOFTID (Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator) within a large hangar at NASA's Langley Research Center. She smiles and wears business casual attire. Credit: Caitlyn McClanahan — Alt Text: NASA intern Caitlyn McClanahan poses with NASA’s LOFTID (Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator) within a large hangar at NASA’s Langley Research Center. She smiles and wears business casual attire. Credit: Caitlyn McClanahan

“I feel welcome here,” McClanahan said. “I remember on my first day on-site I was nervous and walking along and a woman came up to me, stopped me, and chatted with me. Her being a Black woman, and one of the first people I talked to here, really made my anxiety crumble away. Since then, I’ve truly felt that NASA is working to reflect the diversity of America, and I am really excited to get to be a part of that.”

Asked to share advice for others who may follow in her footsteps, she said, “It’s easy to feel self-conscious, but remember that a lot of people have doubts and anxiety. They still fight through it and figure it out. Everyone doesn’t do great their first time. In fact, it took me about six applications to land my internship!”

Celebrate HBCU Students With NASA: Social Media Toolkit

This HBCU Week, Sept. 16-20, NASA is celebrating the contributions of its workforce who attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). We’ve put together this social media toolkit to help celebrate our past, present, and future #HBCU interns!

HBCUs have played a crucial role throughout NASA’s history, educating and empowering many talented members of our workforce. Historic figures such as Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary W. Jackson, and Charles “Charlie” Bolden earned their degrees from HBCUs. Show your HBCU pride with the below graphics and hashtags.

Use #NASAInterns or #ArtemisGeneration for a chance to be amplified from the @NASAInternsaccounts.

The provided alt text (alternative text) in posts makes the graphics more accessible to persons with disabilities.

HBCU Week Social Media Graphics

Earth’s Auroras – Download Here

Alt Text: Earth’s colorful auroras dominate the night sky as seen from orbit. Bright shades of green, yellow, and blue illuminate the image. The background of the image is the darkness of space sprinkled with gleaming stars. It transitions to an empty background with text stating “There’s space for me at NASA. Happy #HBCU Week” with an animated red, white, and blue NASA meatball logo below the text. Credit: NASA/Greg Lee

Cityscapes at Night – Download Here

Alt Text: The bright cityscape of North America is seen from orbit with flickers of an aurora in the far distance. It transitions to an empty background with text stating “There’s space for me at NASA. Happy #HBCU Week” with an animated red, white, and blue NASA meatball logo below the text. Credit: NASA/Greg Lee

Earth Zoom Out – Download Here

Alt Text: A bright close-up view of South America illuminated by its city lights zooms out to reveal all of the Earth. It transitions to an empty background with text stating “There’s space for me at NASA. Happy #HBCU Week” with an animated red, white, and blue NASA meatball logo below the text. Credit: NASA/Greg Lee

More Ways to Celebrate HBCU Week With NASA

Check out some of these NASA resources and opportunities this HBCU Week:

The Color of Space: This ongoing NASA+ original series highlights and celebrates the incredible lives and accomplishments of Black NASA astronauts, including astronaut Charles Bolden, who was also the 12^th NASA Administrator and an HBCU alumnus.

NASA Internships HBCU Blog: Read the stories of current HBCU interns at NASA. Learn about their contributions to the agency and how their alma maters have supported them to get to where they are today.

HBCU Week Q&A: Join the live Q&A session on the @NASAInternships Instagram account on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m. ET. Have your questions answered live by the NASA Internships team!

MITTIC Opportunities: Apply for MITTIC, NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Innovation and Tech Transfer Idea Competition. This Shark Tank-style competition offers students an opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills and a chance to win money while developing technology to benefit all of humanity.

Evan T. Flatt/NASA Headquarters