Co-op Evan Thomas

Name:
Evan Thomas


Where are you from?
I was born in Montreal, Canada, I grew up in Mill Valley, Calif., and I became a U.S. citizen in November 2003 so that I could work at NASA.


What school do you attend, and what is your major?
I go to school at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I just finished my undergraduate work in aerospace engineering and broadcast journalism, and I am currently a graduate student in aerospace engineering bioastronautics.


How many co-op tours have you done at Johnson Space Center and when?
Two: fall 2004 and summer 2005


Where have you worked and what have you worked on?
I worked in the Education Office working in the Digital Learning Network presenting videoconference lessons to classrooms.


I currently work in the Life Support and Habitability Branch of Crew and Thermal Systems division working on developing microgravity fire detection systems. This work is closely related to my master’s thesis, and I hope to continue the work as a doctoral student at NASA.


Why did you want to work at NASA?
NASA is the place where we can take our imaginations and explore the universe!


What do you like about JSC?
The people that work here are supportive and driven. Everyone is working toward the same goal, and everyone is willing to help you out.


What was your most memorable experience while working at JSC?
Getting to travel to KSC on an education office trip and touch the Space Shuttle Discovery.


Who is your role model or who inspires you?
Everyone that works here inspires me, including the other co-ops, my mentors in the Education Office -- Doug Goforth and Phil West -- and my mentors in the Life Support and Habitability Branch, Fred Smith and Carolyn Krumrey.


What have you gotten from being in the co-op program and how has it differed from other places you have worked?
The co-op program is real work. You get to work on real hardware or with active programs and feel like you're really making a difference. This is true around NASA -- a place where your work directly feeds your dreams.


What is the biggest difference you have found in living in Houston versus your hometown?
I miss the mountains and skiing in Colorado, and the humidity here is tough sometimes, but the people and the work at JSC are impossible to beat.


What activities have you enjoyed while working here in Houston?
I’ve been involved with Engineers Without Borders for four years in Colorado. I developed a project to Nepal that was implemented June, 2003, and I am the team lead for the active Muramba, Rwanda project. I traveled to Rwanda in March 2004 for an assessment trip, and lead a rainwater catchment project in May, 2005.


While at NASA, I realized that there is tremendous potential for a local chapter of Engineers Without Borders with the NASA employees and contractors. The EWB-JSC Chapter cooperated with my project in May 2005, and we will now have independent on-going projects in Rwanda, at the Mugonero Hospital.