3 min read<\/p>\n
Meet NASA Interns Shaping Future of Open Science<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"NASA](\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/lena-young.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nIntern Lena Young, whose work revolves around DEIA and open science, stands next to a NASA sign at NASA\u2019s Earth Information Center in Washington, D.C.<\/div>\nPhoto courtesy of Lena Young<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nStudents at NASA\u2019s Office of the Chief Science Data Officer (OCSDO) are working to promote open science during the summer 2024 internship session. Their projects fall across a variety of areas, including user experience, policy, and DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lena Young: Increasing DEIA Engagement<\/h2>\n
Lena Young, a doctoral candidate in the Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change program at the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas, envisions equitable space societies 100 \u2013 300 years in the future as part of her dissertation. Her NASA internship project involves researching ways to make science more accessible for different groups and interacting with NASA leadership to assess how well they are engaging historically underserved or excluded communities.<\/p>\n
Young also worked with her mentors to find overlap between her internship project and her PhD work as a futurist. \u201cIn 30 years, once NASA has achieved their goals, what would open science look like?\u201d Young said. \u201cI want to see what different futures I can create for open science and DEIA engagement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Becca Michelson: Advancing Policy<\/h2>\n
Becca Michelson has a passion for increasing the availability of scientific information. A soon-to-be-graduate in physics and astronomy from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, she was drawn to an internship role in researching the current state of open science policy for the OCSDO. By understanding the challenges and opportunities in this area, she\u2019s helping NASA better support researchers in making their science accessible to all.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen science makes this a more inclusive field, where if I\u2019m an early career scientist, I can build on the science that other people who are experts in the field have done,\u201d Michelson said. In the future, she hopes to implement open science principles into her own research in astronomy, drawing from the best practices she has learned at NASA.<\/p>\n
Salma Elsayed-Ali: Bridging Science, User Experience<\/h2>\n
Salma Elsayed-Ali is on a mission to bridge the gap between science and usability. She recently completed her PhD in Information Science with a focus on Human-Computer Interaction from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her NASA internship project involves conducting UI\/UX (User Interface\/User Experience) research on some of the OCSDO\u2019s scientific products, most notably the Open Science 101 online course<\/a>.<\/p>\nElsayed-Ali became interested in open science during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when she conducted UI\/UX research on open data sites that provided the public with real-time information about the spread of the virus. This experience sparked her interest in helping users reap the benefits of open science as part of an internship with NASA.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In improving the OCSDO\u2019s open science interfaces, Elsayed-Ali has acted as the product lead on a UI\/UX research project for the first time. \u201cI was drawn to this project as it was an opportunity to advocate for both end users and the advancement of open science,\u201d Elsayed-Ali said. \u201cI have really enjoyed brainstorming creative, practical solutions that enhance the user experience and simultaneously save the product team time and resources.\u201d<\/p>\n
By helping open science at NASA to thrive, these interns are ushering in a future of greater access to data and scientific research. Learn more about NASA internships at the NASA Internship Programs page<\/a>.<\/p>\nLearn to navigate the principles and practices of open science with the Open Science 101 online course<\/a>.<\/p>\n
![\"NASA](\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/lena-young.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>Students at NASA\u2019s Office of the Chief Science Data Officer (OCSDO) are working to promote open science during the summer 2024 internship session. Their projects fall across a variety of areas, including user experience, policy, and DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lena Young: Increasing DEIA Engagement<\/h2>\n
Lena Young, a doctoral candidate in the Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change program at the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas, envisions equitable space societies 100 \u2013 300 years in the future as part of her dissertation. Her NASA internship project involves researching ways to make science more accessible for different groups and interacting with NASA leadership to assess how well they are engaging historically underserved or excluded communities.<\/p>\n
Young also worked with her mentors to find overlap between her internship project and her PhD work as a futurist. \u201cIn 30 years, once NASA has achieved their goals, what would open science look like?\u201d Young said. \u201cI want to see what different futures I can create for open science and DEIA engagement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Becca Michelson: Advancing Policy<\/h2>\n
Becca Michelson has a passion for increasing the availability of scientific information. A soon-to-be-graduate in physics and astronomy from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, she was drawn to an internship role in researching the current state of open science policy for the OCSDO. By understanding the challenges and opportunities in this area, she\u2019s helping NASA better support researchers in making their science accessible to all.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen science makes this a more inclusive field, where if I\u2019m an early career scientist, I can build on the science that other people who are experts in the field have done,\u201d Michelson said. In the future, she hopes to implement open science principles into her own research in astronomy, drawing from the best practices she has learned at NASA.<\/p>\n
Salma Elsayed-Ali: Bridging Science, User Experience<\/h2>\n
Salma Elsayed-Ali is on a mission to bridge the gap between science and usability. She recently completed her PhD in Information Science with a focus on Human-Computer Interaction from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her NASA internship project involves conducting UI\/UX (User Interface\/User Experience) research on some of the OCSDO\u2019s scientific products, most notably the Open Science 101 online course<\/a>.<\/p>\n Elsayed-Ali became interested in open science during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when she conducted UI\/UX research on open data sites that provided the public with real-time information about the spread of the virus. This experience sparked her interest in helping users reap the benefits of open science as part of an internship with NASA.\u00a0<\/p>\n In improving the OCSDO\u2019s open science interfaces, Elsayed-Ali has acted as the product lead on a UI\/UX research project for the first time. \u201cI was drawn to this project as it was an opportunity to advocate for both end users and the advancement of open science,\u201d Elsayed-Ali said. \u201cI have really enjoyed brainstorming creative, practical solutions that enhance the user experience and simultaneously save the product team time and resources.\u201d<\/p>\n By helping open science at NASA to thrive, these interns are ushering in a future of greater access to data and scientific research. Learn more about NASA internships at the NASA Internship Programs page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Learn to navigate the principles and practices of open science with the Open Science 101 online course<\/a>.<\/p>\n