UCF’s Florida Space Institute Hosts Harlem Children Society Students for Summer

By Chad Binette July 28, 2006

Photo: Jacque Brund

Students participating in the Harlem Children Society program toured the Media Convergence Lab and other facilities at the Institute for Simulation and Training during a daylong visit to UCF on July 21.

Full Photo

Story Images

• 

Click thumbnails for full-size images.

Two college students and four high school students from the Bronx and Harlem areas of New York and the Camden area of New Jersey are researching hybrid rocket fuels with a University of Central Florida physicist this summer at Kennedy Space Center.

The students are part of a Harlem Children Society summer internship program designed to give underprivileged high school students hands-on experience with top science researchers from around the country. The nonprofit organization aims to encourage students to pursue careers in science, health and engineering.

More than 180 students are participating this year, working with scientists from around the country. The six students in Central Florida are working with Associate Professor John Brandenburg at the Florida Space Institute on building a small rocket engine that is fueled by a gelatin propellant. The students are developing a scale model of a rocket that they will test during a launch from a parking lot later this month.

The students also have studied many other aspects of space science and robotics and with Brandenburg.

“When I joined this program, I was hoping to find an answer to what field of science I’m interested in,” said Chris Garcia, an incoming senior at a Brooklyn high school. “I’m interested in a lot of engineering courses – civil and mechanical. Now I’m interested in rocket science, and I’m interested in robotics. It opened up more fields to me.”

The students will be in Central Florida through early August. The college students arrived in early June, and the high school students began their internships in early July. Each student receives a $1,500 stipend and is housed for free at Cocoa Beach.

All of the Harlem Children Society participants were selected by Dr. Sat Bhattacharya, who is president and chief executive officer of the society and a research scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Center. He visited high schools in New York and New Jersey to talk to top students and encourage them to apply.

The students have stayed in touch through podcasts and enjoyed field trips to places such as Epcot at Walt Disney World and SeaWorld. They also watched the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery from Cocoa Beach on July 4 and toured UCF’s Institute for Simulation and Training and biomedical laboratories last week.

Leslie Lieberman, a UCF faculty member who directs the Women’s Research Center, said the experience has allowed the students to grow personally in addition to academically. She said the trip was the first away from home for some of the students.

While in Brandenburg’s lab, the students are learning about projected flight trajectories and other aspects of space science while building their rocket. Brandenburg’s primary research specialties relate to electric propulsion of rockets, and the Department of Defense has funded some of his research.

“I’m hoping this will inspire them to go into space careers,” he said. “We’re trying to show them that space is a career option and that science can be fun and rewarding.”

Sigma Xi, a national scientific research society; and the Office of Undergraduate Studies; Women’s Research Center and Burnett Honors College at UCF are helping to sponsor the students’ internship experience, including travel and living expenses.

For more information, visit www.harlemchildrensociety.org .

< Back to the Newsroom

• About UCF
• Contact UCF
• Internet Privacy Policy
• Policies
• Regulations

© 1997-2008 University of Central Florida © 1997-2008 University of Central Florida

• 4000 Central Florida Blvd. Orlando, Florida, 32816
• 407.823.2000

UCF Stands For Opportunity