Thanks to NASA’s MOSAICS program, which provides mentoring opportunities to Hispanic-serving institutions, historically Black colleges and universities and other institutions not historically part of the agency’s research, three students have been hard at work constructing and monitoring air quality sensors.
Isabel Barriento ’25, Juan Alvarez ’27, and Dylan Zeledon ’27 completed an eight-week fellowship at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View last summer. In the fall, the sensors were deployed in various locations such as the Graham Athletic Center, Science & Learning Center, student residence halls, and the Campus Inn.
Assistant Chemistry Professor Peter Peterson — who has collaborated with NASA before — said the project analyzes the chemical components in the atmosphere and studies sources of pollution, how pollution moves around in the atmosphere, and how to help improve the air quality. (Measurements from the recent wildfires aren't available at the moment as that data will be analyzed this semester.)
Alvarez, a computer science major from Paramount, fell in love with coding in high school and knew he couldn’t pass up the chance for hands-on experience with NASA. The eye-opening fellowship was his first time away from home and exposed him to a different side of computer science.
“I was able to learn a lot of new things that I never knew could be a part of the work, such as soldering, and other aspects that played a part in creating these sensor pods,” Alvarez said.
Zeledon also enjoyed soldering and drilling components to construct the pods. The computer science major from Apopka, Florida, came to Whittier for water polo. He recommends the fellowship to other students as it allowed him to grow academically and personally.
“Learning the different processes and steps of everything that we did opened a new horizon that I wouldn't really have seen before,” Zeledon said.
The students will present their work at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego in March.
Three more students will be selected this year to do similar work over the summer. Visit Whittier.edu/fellowships to apply.
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