A key part of Aerospace’s culture is to nurture the brightest minds of tomorrow to shape the future of space. Throughout the year, Aerospace employees support the next generation of scientists and engineers to actively engage in STEM activities.
In May, hundreds of kids from across the nation participated in the annual Robert H. Herndon Memorial Science Competition (RHHMSC), giving students the opportunity to explore their passions for space. This year’s event, which included both an essay competition and student science projects, took place in-person in Chantilly, Va. and El Segundo, Ca., with virtual essay competitions available to students in Alabama and Florida.
“By hosting this event, we are contributing during an impressionable period of their lives,” said Dr. Clyde Moseberry, Lead Coordinator of RHHMSC-East in Chantilly. “We are giving them an experience as real-world STEM practitioners that will help sustain, encourage, and for many, accelerate their lifelong interest and pursuit of STEM.”
The competition, which is supported by the Aerospace Black Caucus, an Aerospace Employee Resource Group, is named after the late Robert H. Herndon. Herndon was an Aerospace engineer and manager who served as a mentor for many years during his career and who found his passion for STEM at a young age. This year marked 47 years for the event, which is designed to stimulate interest in STEM amongst underprivileged and minority students and increase diversity across the aerospace industry.
“Robert H. Herndon supported colleagues as a manager and mentor across many programs and helped bridge divides in Aerospace's earliest days of diversity management,” said Moseberry. “He was a passionate supporter of early STEM training for kids, having seen the value that STEM served as the center of his professional life.”
In Chantilly, middle and high school students spent the day engaging with Aerospace engineers and scientists and explaining their research and projects. The students’ curiosity and enthusiasm stood out across a variety of their experiments, including a submersible aerial vehicle, an integrated device for early detection of pronation problems, a versatile portable water purification system and a robot trained to capture garden pests using AI vision recognition. Essays spanned an even broader spectrum, including intelligent traffic control, microbiological agents to remove microplastics, and the evolution of telescopes.
“By supporting the RHHMSC we have a wonderful opportunity to make it clear to STEM students that we value and support what they are doing,” said Moseberry. “It’s important that they get to stand and present their research where we practice some of the world's leading STEM here at Aerospace.”
In El Segundo, students gathered to participate in the essay and experiment competitions. In addition to showing off their projects, students also had the opportunity to interact with Aerospace employees getting feedback on their research. They also toured various Aerospace facilities, learning more about some of the exciting opportunities in space.
“The goal is to encourage them to try new things and pursue their passions,” said Oliver Ambrosia, Lead Coordinator of RHHMSC-West in El Segundo. “The students light up when the staff interacts with them, and they get to ask their questions. They are motivated by the fact we care about what they are doing.”
In recent years, the RHHMSC has expanded to include two new locations in Florida and Alabama, led respectively by Terita Norton and Dr. Jay Northern. This year, students at those locations were able to participate via the essay competition and shine a light on the subjects that spark their passion.
“We want to encourage them at an early age to pursue their interests,” said Ambrosia. “Many folks at Aerospace, myself included, became interested in science well before college. In many cases, they were interested from a very young age. Such interest should be encouraged as that passion leads to success.”