Lipscomb Engineering Student Soars with NASA Internship
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When NASA launched the space shuttle Discovery on July 4, one Lipscomb University student knew what it was like to be a part of the team that worked behind the scenes at the agency that has captivated audiences for decades. Amy Gilfilen, a senior engineering mechanics and Spanish double major from Marietta, Georgia, landed a summer internship through Kennedy Space Center in Cocoa Beach, Florida, that will boost her engineering studies and launch her hopes of eventually getting an advanced degree in aerospace engineering. She will work at the space center for seven weeks this summer, using the internship combined with one additional project to count towards a three-hour technical elective credit.
Gilfilen received the internship through the Spaceflight and Lunar Sciences and Technology Program (SLSTP). Designed to promote space-related learning opportunities, this program draws together a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students for a seven-week course. In its 22nd year, the program reflects the nation’s ongoing vision for space exploration. Gilfilen discovered the program while surfing the internet. “One thing about NASA,” Gilfilen comments, “is that it is hard to find out about all of their internships. You have to dig for them. Each NASA center calls their intern program something different, and some NASA centers contract out through other companies for their interns.” But her determination paid off as she filled out the application on the web site and mailed the necessary materials to the program directors, then waited for an answer.
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Over the summer, Gilfilen will work on two projects. “I am working with the Lean Team at Boeing,” she explains. “Lean is a process that focuses on reducing waste and better utilizing the assets that you have. This method is widely used in manufacturing, but Boeing is applying the ideas in the workplace and with its engineers.”
Her other project involves creating a Moonshine Shop where new design ideas can be tested. “Pretty much instead of brainstorming, the Moonshine Shop is used to ‘try storm,’” Gilfilen adds. “It is equipped with the materials so that a person can walk in there and create something out of scraps. The main idea behind the Moonshine Shop is to allow room for innovation while being efficient, and if possible, reusable.”
Gilfilen credits part of her ability to be awarded this internship to the excellent teaching she received at Lipscomb. She adds, “Also, the teachers where a huge support for me while I was in the application process, and they are still a support for me when I need advice during my internship.”
“Our professors have worked to maintain their connection to industry,” states Fort Gwinn, chair of the department of engineering mechanics at Lipscomb University, “and we are able to use this to help find internships at a number of places. But occasionally students like Amy are self-motivated enough to find wonderful summer opportunities on their own.”
Gwinn adds that other engineering students from Lipscomb have summer placements with many different companies such as General Electric/Aerospace, Harley-Davidson and Jacobs/Sverdrup Corporation. The Lipscomb engineering faculty encourage all of their students to seek out internship opportunities. Gwinn notes that an internship “not only gives the students an opportunity to learn more about the practice of his or her profession, but it also gives them valuable experience that can be advantageous when looking for a job after graduation.”
Gilfilen’s studies at Lipscomb combined with her work outside of a traditional classroom will be advantageous to her as she completes her bachelor’s degree next year and begins work towards a master’s degree in aerospace engineering. But she also hopes to apply what she has learned to the mission field. She has participated in all four of the engineering department’s mission trips to Central America. Gilfilen comments, “I would love to spend a couple of years in the mission field using my engineering and Spanish talents to help those in need.” Gilfilen’s talents and her determination, combined with the excellent resources available to her at Lipscomb, help make her wishes come true.
--Chris Pepple