Charlotte Teen Lands ‘STEM Enhancement In Earth Science’ Internship With NASA

Ahead of his junior year at Palisades High School in Charlotte, George Taylor has been accepted as a NASA summer intern as part of the 2024 STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) program.

The teen scholar was selected among the top 10% of 500 students who applied for the nationally competitive program at The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Space Research (UT/CSR), 11 Alive reported.

According to UT/CSR, the summer internship, which is part of NASA’s Science Activation program, commenced for Taylor and other 10th graders on July 27. The teen is hard at work conducting research alongside science and engineering experts . By the time Taylor returns home, he will have learned how to interpret NASA satellite data and contributed to the development of experiments centered around the ZQube satellite, which includes an experimental flight on the Zero G aircraft in microgravity.

“The SEES summer intern program will allow interns to view and investigate NASA remote sensing data, mission design, analysis of ice sheets, Earth’s gravity field, and other observations while being mentored by project scientists,” UT/CSR’s website states. “The interns will work beside NASA subject matter experts analyzing and visualizing data. This content knowledge, coupled with hands-on experiences, allows the intern to gain experience in authentic NASA research through field investigation and data analysis.”

In an overview of the internship experience, published on the program’s YouTube channel in 2017, Program Manager Margaret Baguio said the program provides a spark and gets students excited about exploring STEM degrees in college. Former interns described the internship as transformational, fun, enlightening, and inspiring.

After applications closed in February, Taylor was among the students who stood out based on his academic records, essay responses, introduction video, recommendation form, and STEM interest. Now, the teen is just a handful of days away from presenting his research with his ZQube team during the Virtual SEES Science Symposium on Aug. 5. He hopes to be an inspiration for other young students who want to explore the field of science.

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