UA Engineering Students to Participate in NASA Summer Intern Programs

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Five University of Alabama College of Engineering students have been selected to participate in prestigious NASA internship programs located at the various space flight centers.

The students are Mary Boyd from Alabaster, Molly Denman from New Market, James Towner from Madison, Garrett Waycaster from Birmingham (35242), and Kevin Webb from Gadsden. Each is participating in a 10-week program.

Boyd, a junior majoring in aerospace engineering, has been selected as a NASA Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholar. She will focus on research while at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Approximately 125 students are selected each year and are awarded a $4,500 scholarship for their research experience.

Denman, a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering, and Towner, a sophomore majoring in chemical and biological engineering, have each been selected to attend the Marshall Space Grant Research Internship Project. Located at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, this program supports the space flight center’s research needs. Approximately 15 students are selected each year out of more than 50 applications.

Waycaster, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering, has been selected for the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Internship Program. This program is located at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Waycaster was one of 50 interns selected out of more than 400 nationally, and he was awarded a $5,500 scholarship.

Webb, a senior majoring in computer science, has been selected for the Goddard Space Flight Center/Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Internship Program. Located in Laurel, Md., this program supports the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and other government agencies through innovative applied research and technical development.

All NASA summer internship programs offer college students an opportunity to work with a NASA scientist or engineer mentor on research projects that relate to, and directly extend, a student’s classroom experience.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has about 1,900 students and nearly 100 faculty. In the last seven years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.