CSC geology student to intern with NASA
A Chadron State College senior geology student, Ryan Morgan of Ogallala, is one of 12 students who have been selected for an internship with NASA’s Lunar and Planetary Institute at Houston, Texas.
Morgan has been paired with Dr. Allan Treiman, staff scientist at the institute, to study the geology of gullies on Mars for 10 weeks beginning June 6. Treiman studies the gullies to determine whether or not water was once present on the planet.
In addition to the research, Morgan will attend seminars and lectures with staff and visiting scientists, and be given special tours of the nearby Johnson Space Center.
Morgan said the internship relates closely to the research of his senior thesis, “Relation of Sedimentary Structures of Mars to Those on Earth.”
Dr. Mike Leite, Chadron State associate professor of geoscience, said Morgan’s selection is a “big deal,” because students apply for the internships from colleges and universities throughout the United States. According to the Princeton Review, about 100 students apply for the institute’s internships each year.
Morgan is scheduled to present his thesis at the Nebraska Academy of Sciences in April. He is the president of CSC’s Student Senate and plans to graduate with a geology degree in December 2005 with minors in mathematics and physics.
Category: Campus News