NASA

Aarti Patel in a red shirt with a river behind her
Mechanical engineering student Aarti Patel found inspiration in outer space during an artistic internship at NASA this spring.
Emily Klonicki in a black jacket and white top against a brown background
In 2018, Pitt student Emily Klonicki was an intern at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory trying to make sure “freeloader” bacteria didn’t make it to Mars. Today, she’s a full-time NASA planetary protection engineer pushing the boundaries of science and tech.
A photograph of Mars
Sanford Asher has spent his career studying UV Raman spectroscopy, which uses ultraviolet light to excite molecules and determine the basic components of matter. Now, he’s using it to look for life on Mars.
Nindl and a woman handing him a flag, both in military garb
In addition to directing Pitt’s Neuromuscular Research Laboratory and working on a NASA-funded project, Professor Bradley Nindl recently took command of the Southeast Medical Area Readiness Support Group in Nashville, Tennessee.
smiling Emily in front of a gray background
Emily Klonicki spent the summer in a NASA lab helping to develop filters to keep microbes from contaminating Mars.