Awed by the sky

I first became interested in space science when I was in elementary or junior high school, but it wasn’t school so much that influenced my decision. My father had a telescope that he would take out to our Wisconsin backyard so we could gaze at the moon and other celestial beauties. Because I grew up in an area that has less light pollution, I had the benefit of being awed and inspired by the night sky my entire childhood. Our old IBM had a program that allowed you to input the date and it would chart all of the constellations, planets, the moon and sun; I thought it was the neatest thing ever and I would take my printed charts outside and teach myself the stars.

I was so intrigued by what I read about outer space, and I’m sure my family’s enjoyment in sci-fi played a role. My father also took me to attend a Rockets for Schools program in the area, so even though my school wasn’t involved, I benefited by watching students launch high-altitude rockets, listening to astronaut speakers, and partaking in the hands-on activities provided at the event. These types of interactive activities were also present at the air shows my dad would take us to, so I’m thankful to the efforts NASA and other space-related institutions put into Education and Public Outreach.

It wasn’t until high school that I decided to study space science further; I had a lot of interests and enjoyments, but I wasn’t satisfied with the idea of my life-mission only impacting a small community. I felt that furthering mankind’s presence in and knowledge of our “final frontier” would give me an outlet to help improve and build our society as a whole—to explore uncharted territories and make discoveries that had never been dreamed of before—so I took steps in that direction by majoring in Space Sciences.

When I went to college in Florida, there were research opportunities for undergraduate students and plenty of ways to learn about NASA, since Kennedy Space Center was only an hour away. I did a few summer internships, one of which was the NASA Academy which gave me great insight into how the organization of NASA works, what it means to be a leader, and particularly, what some of the preliminary steps are in building a mission. It was my senior year, though, that I switched gears from a planetary-focused research topic to space physics under my undergraduate adviser, Dr. Ramon Lopez.  In his research group, I started learning how to collect satellite data, write computer code, work in a group (under a graduate student mentor), and did my own little project on sub-storms (a type of space weather).

The very broad scientific area I am working in is that of space weather; particularly, I study the region of space that is encompassed by our Earth’s magnetic field, called the magnetosphere. Our magnetosphere forms a sort of “protective force shield” around Earth which protects it from harmful radiation from the sun.  The sun’s energetic particles can still sneak into our magnetosphere, though, and can be further energized and transported towards the Earth. This can be dangerous for our satellites, since a sudden, strong increase in energetic particles hitting them can make them go offline.

With our society relying heavily on satellites for cell phones, defense, GPS, TV, etc., this is something we need to care about. For example, a group of farmers who use GPS to allow their tractors to do precision work finds that during strong space weather conditions, their tractors were not working right and they had to delay, a problem which costs a lot. There are a multitude of other examples, only one of which is that space weather can affect not only satellites, but power grids on Earth’s surface as well. (Once, a very large area in the U.S. and Canada was out of power for hours!) So, even more specifically, I study how these energetic particles are transported close to Earth and how they are further energized in the process. This knowledge can help us build models of what is going on, just like meteorologists build models to understand weather patterns on Earth.

Being part of something big

I have the most satisfaction as a PhD student when I get the chance to present my research. I love teaching and communicating, and I actually find that the process of writing a paper or putting together presentation slides helps me to understand my own research even more than I did before! In contrast, a downside to this type of work is that it is all mostly computer-based, so a lot of time is spent on your own inside an office. However, finding a work-location with windows is helpful!

What I really enjoy about my research field can be summed up on two works: global impact. I enjoy that what I learn and discover has a direct application to how we live and work. Don’t misunderstand me—studying other planets and star systems are also important practically as they provide a wider point of view of the physics involved, which in turn helps us to understand our own system much better than if we couldn’t compare with other systems. But personally I just enjoy being a little “closer to home” by studying the near-Earth outer space region. I also enjoy the international collaboration—I have colleagues and friends from all around the world, and my favorite part is when we all gather together at a conference and share what we are working on and how each of our studies fit together to help us put together the big puzzles in our universe. It’s wonderful to feel that you are a part of something big that is helping everyone on the planet to some degree.

A Career in Science

I would suggest to a student interested in pursuing a future career in science to get involved in research activities as early as possible. There are plenty of summer internships, REUs, etc., for undergrads to gain experience in, plus your own university may have good opportunities for you including working in a lab during the school year. If you are in high school and are looking at colleges, try to find out what opportunities they offer undergrads. Try to apply to colleges that have a strong undergraduate research program. But at the same time, don’t neglect your studies, as a good math and physics foundation will help you conceptualize things and think about the research problems and questions better. Computer programming is essential to research nowadays, so I also suggest taking courses in computer programming if you can.
I have realized as I have gotten a little older that building a family-oriented lifestyle will be a bit of a challenge in such a fast-paced work environment. This is just a comment for those young people who may not have considered all the different factors in life when they are making a career choice, and for me it will be something I will need to learn how to balance as I continue on. A career in science can be very exciting and fulfilling, though as with most things it requires hard work and motivation to get through the challenging times, so I recommend the student find an area he or she is passionate about so that even the challenges can be more of a delight to overcome

Reaching for my Dreams

My parents stand out in my mind as encouraging me in pursuing my studies. Earlier I mentioned the big influence my father had on me in going into the sciences—while he himself didn’t go to college for a science degree, he has always had a strong fascination for outer space and the sciences in general. That passion I believe was passed on to me. But also my mother has and continues to play a large role in encouraging my studies. Even as little kids, she had us (my sisters and I) excited to do “workbooks” about Math, English, Science, whatever! She was constantly filling our lives with learning, and we didn’t even realize “learning” was what we were doing at the time because to us it was just fun activities! My parents never laid a heavy burden on me to get good grades, but they always showed their pride in me when I excelled. I think their confidence in me and their positive words of affirmation (telling me I was smart, that I could do anything), gave me the foundation I needed to have the confidence that I could go out and reach for my dreams.

Eleni Chatzichristou

MAARBLE Outreach Team