NASA engineer Dr.William Van Dalsem visited SCHS and gave lectures to students during first and third periods last Friday.

Van Dalsem, Division Chief of the Intelligent Systems Division in the local Ames Research Center, posed an age-old question to the students ‒ what is all this math, physics and computer science good for anyway?

Attended mostly by calculus and trigonometry honors students from all periods, the lecture in the theatre, which was arranged by math teacher Christopher Gallick, focused on how NASA uses math in its projects, how it hires people, and what skills its employees should have.

“The point of the rally was to encourage people to take high level math classes like calculus,”  junior Abel Semma said.  “I didn’t learn anything but I enjoyed the presentation.”  

Van Dalsem has worked for NASA for 37 years.  He started as a research scientist, working on developing and applying computational fluid dynamics to NASA aeronautics and space applications.  Since then, he has done a lot of work with advanced computing systems and software and their use in aircraft and spacecraft systems.  He has also been a line and program manager throughout most of his career.

Van Dalsem met Gallick while gathering information during SCHS’s AP Parent Night earlier this year for his son, freshman Daniel Van Dalsem, and offered to give a presentation to SCHS students.

“We began emailing towards the end of January, so it took us about 3 months to arrange the presentations on May 13,” Van Dalsem said. “Mr. Gallick and I exchanged quite a few emails discussing timing and content. Mr. Gallick and I also went over the presentation in advance.”

Van Dalsem added that the idea for this lecture was Gallick’s. “I believe the thought was that NASA does some cool stuff that relies on advanced math, physics, and computer science, and a presentation that explored the connection between what SCHS students are learning and what we do at NASA might be of interest to them,” Van Dalsem said.

Van Dalsem was aided by his wife and son during the presentation. They managed the slideshow from the projection room.

During the lecture, Van Dalsem explained that he and the division he’s in charge of work specially on artificial intelligence and autopilot systems, such as for Google self-driving cars.

 At the end of the lecture, Van Dalsem took questions from students. When asked about what a career as an astronaut would be like and if he regretted not pursuing this path, Van Dalsem exposed how difficult it is to become an astronaut and the dangers of the job, recalling how one of his friends died on the tragic Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.

When questioned by a student on how much math a mid-level engineer uses, Van Dalsen bluntly replied, “A lot.”  

Van Dalsem ended his day at SCHS touring the new STEM lab with the Engineering Club before returning to work.

Students also ended their day on a high note, with many shooting for the stars, thinking about working for NASA.  Junior Megan Bettencourt said that “it’s more likely now” that she would want to work for NASA.

As for his favorite field of science, Van Dalsem is torn. “I cannot pick one. I really like computer science. I also like all the different things one needs to know to design and build an aircraft or spacecraft, such as mechanical and electrical engineering, and I have a special fondness for fluid dynamics, as I worked in that area for a long time.”