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Release: 01-292

Clemson student and Greenwood native Quy Nam Quan reaches for stars in NASA education program

Clemson student and Greenwood native Quy Nam Quan reaches for stars in NASA education program

Quy Nam Quan, an undergraduate student in electrical engineering at Clemson University, is working in the U.S. space program as part of a NASA cooperative education program.

Quan recently completed an assignment involving hands-on work with space avionics at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

For three months, he helped develop new computer software for use in laboratory testing equipment, and tested a receiver and simulator for the Global Positioning System – a navigation system relying on a series of orbiting satellites. He will continue his studies this fall as a senior at Clemson.

During his first job, Quan worked with Marshall Center engineer Kurt Jackson, deputy group leader in the center’s Avionics Instrumentation and Control Group. This group is involved with applications of components for flight instrumentation systems, guidance and navigation systems, imaging systems and also for performing research, design and new technology development.

The Marshall Center is NASA’s lead facility for development of space transportation and propulsion systems and manages all of the propulsion elements that carry the Space Shuttle from launch to orbit. In addition to exploring new rocket technology, Marshall manages the science experiments onboard the International Space Station.

“This has been a wonderful experience working at the Marshall Center,” Quan said. “I have learned so much from the engineers here. I also was able to see a lot of advanced technology that I probably wouldn’t see elsewhere. I feel very fortunate to have been selected for the cooperative education program.”

The NASA cooperative education program combines a student’s academic study with a paid career-related work experience. Students must be enrolled in the cooperative education program at their school and be referred to a NASA center by the school’s cooperative education administrator.

The co-op program places students in full-time positions directly related to their field of study. Participants alternate periods of study at their schools with periods of work at NASA centers.

Quan is a 1998 graduate of Emerald High School in Greenwood, S.C., and is the son of Chau and Hue Kim Quan, who reside in Greenwood.

For more information on the Marshall Center’s cooperative education programs, visit the Web sites at:

http://eodd.msfc.nasa.gov/coop/index.html

http://education.msfc.nasa.gov/