February 21, 2009, 11 a.m.

Jackie Jaron, Aerospace Systems Engineer at Northrop Grumman, joined us for an exciting talk on her adventures in engineering!  

Photo Credit: NASA. Jackie Jaron flies on NASA's "Weightless Wonder" in 2003. Read more about her experience here. (pdf file)

In Discovery Science Center’s Theater on the Saturday of Engineers Week,  Aerospace Engineer Jackie Jaron talked about her adventures in engineering. Jackie has worked at NASA and JPL, and now works for Northrop Grumman on an environmental satellite. She shared the story of her career path and her work in the space program! Also on hand were members of the Orange County chapter of the Society of Women Engineers: Kathleen Curley - Process Engineer, Fluor Corporation Courtney Cleary - Process Engineer, Fluor Corporation Dalia Guizar - Aerospace Engineer, The Boeing Company Michelle Tuchscher - Engineering Specialist, Siemens Building Technologies Paola Chavira - Piping Materials Engineer, Fluor Corporation Shannon Pollock - Systems Engineer, The Boeing Company

	Jackie Jaron shared her story with the girls, including how she got started in engineering, her adventures with NASA's "Weightless Wonder" and "Neutral Bouyancy Lab," and her work on an environmental satellite that will provide global coverage.
	After the lecture, girls age 10 - 13 worked in teams to design and build their own model space craft! The space craft were made from office supplies and items that can be found in most homes.
	Society of Women Engineers members helped each team generate ideas.
	The girls showed creativity and initiative as they glued, taped and stapled their creations together.
	They learned how engineers work together in teams to build something from a limited amount of materials, in a specific amount of time.

The resulting model spacecraft included:

SANAML, an Earth-observing satellite, whose name is an acronym of the first initials of the girls who designed and built it.

STARGAZER, a space telescope, which has a pinhole at the top to line up with stars as it moves across the solar system.

CRL STAR STATION, a space telescope, which is named for the first initials of the girls who designed and built it.

THE WEATHER GAZER, a weather-tracking satellite, designed to give better information for weather forecasters.

For more information on engineering and Engineers Week, visit these sites:

Engineer Your Life 

National Engineers Week

Lunch was provided by the new Santa Ana location of Chipotle.