Contact: Allison Matthews

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State engineering students learned about NASA’s new Space Launch System, known as SLS, from four NASA engineers, all MSU alumni, during a panel discussion Wednesday [April 6] held as part of the university’s E-Week.

Featuring special informational sessions, a trivia night and multiple hands-on activities for students in the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering, E-Week is hosted by MSU’s Engineering Student Council.

David K. Hall, assistant manager of SLS Program’s Stages Element Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, said he had watched the Apollo 11 mission as a child, and it had been his dream to work for NASA ever since. A 1984 MSU electrical engineering graduate, he said he is fortunate and proud to have spent his whole career with NASA.

Megan Martinez, systems and integration engineer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, said SLS is comprised of a massive number of different “parts and pieces” representing an enormous collective team effort and countless technologies. Martinez is a 2005 MSU industrial engineering graduate who in 2014 completed an MBA with an emphasis in project management.

She said more than 800 contractors and 25,000 jobs in 43 states have had a part in developing SLS, with a $4.8 billion economic impact.

With so many people working together on one project, Martinez said it’s an example of how many different skill sets and contributions are needed.

“This mission is huge. We are going to Mars,” she said.

“Your career can take any path that you want, and engineering really opens doors to anything you can imagine,” Martinez added.

Arthur E. “Gene” Goldman, executive director of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Southeast Space Operations Division at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and a 1977 MSU civil engineering graduate, said continued space exploration has many benefits instore for all mankind. He said technology developments during the Apollo program led to innovations such as the cell phone, and many others.

“There are so many things which came out of the Apollo program that the payback has been many, many times over. But, no one could have predicted when Kennedy said, ‘We’re going to the moon,’ that there was going to be a payback. As a matter of fact, they weren’t looking for a payback,” Goldman explained.

Each panelist agreed that the “sustained momentum” of today’s space program has achieved scientific innovations that are paving the way in the journey to Mars. However, the program faces challenges, such as budget fluctuations. But the quest for exploration will continue to drive individuals, NASA, and our country, they said.

Goldman added that as a student he didn’t give much thought to career planning, but he doesn’t believe today’s college students have that luxury. He encouraged them to be open to opportunities that arise.

“Always be open to new ideas. Always be curious about what someone else does,” he said, adding that unexpected career opportunities will open. “Stay curious, ask questions,” he advised.

Matthew N. Ramsey, systems analysis lead for SLS at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and a 1992 MSU aerospace engineering graduate who also earned a master’s degree in aerospace from MSU in 1993, said Mississippi State graduates are among the most well-rounded and best prepared engineers.

Hall agreed, but he reminded the student audience, “There’s no job that’s going to be beneath you. Every piece matters.”

E-Week continues at MSU with a bottle rocket competition today [April 7] at 5 p.m. in McCain Hall and a cardboard boat race at 7 p.m. at the Sanderson Center pool.

For more about the Bagley College of Engineering, visit www.bagley.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.