A postdoctoral researcher who is inspiring future aerospace engineers has been recognized for his efforts by the Central Florida section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
Research Assistant Professor Justin Urso ’22PhD was commended by the organization with the Outstanding Engagement with Students on STEM/K-12 Projects. He says he was surprised and honored with both being nominated and receiving the award, and grateful to the AIAA for elevating the importance of engaging K-12 students.
Urso was in high school when he realized a passion for space, the same age as the students he mentors in his outreach efforts.
”I fell in love with physics in high school and was always fascinated with space,” he says. “Aerospace engineering just always made sense to me. As an undergraduate, I started working with Professor [Subith] Vasu after taking his high-speed aerodynamics class and have worked in combustion and optical diagnostics since.”
Urso says he knew early on that he wanted a career in academia, and he chose to stay at UCF earning his doctoral degree. The opportunities he had as a graduate student, which included commissioning the high-pressure shock tube facility in Vasu’s lab and the opportunity to test other new facilities, were a major factor in his decision to continue his research as a Knight.
“I knew I wanted to go into aerospace engineering, and where better in Florida than SpaceU?” he says. “The opportunity to lead these efforts and continue mentoring our graduate students was too great.”
His high school fascination for all things space has now come full circle with his outreach work. As the program manager for the NASA Space Academy, he’s part of a team of undergraduate and graduate mentors who works with 100 high school students at two locations, one at UCF and at second program site in Marion County.
The outreach program gives students the opportunity to work on capstone projects sponsored by NASA over a period of eight months, putting in up to 80 hours of work during that time. Urso and his fellow team members create supplemental activities to help students understand the research behind the project.
“Last year, the capstone project was investigating sound mitigation techniques for use in jet engines,” he says. “Supplemental activities included learning how noise pollution can affect public health and how sound propagates through materials.”
As part of the program, students also share what they’ve learned in a presentation to a panel of judges, NASA representatives and the public. Teams that perform exceptionally well receive scholarships from the Florida Space Grant Consortium and the opportunity to present their work at the AIAA SciTech conference.
The outreach effort goes beyond inspiring a new generation to pursue careers in aerospace. Students also create resumes, hone their research and presentation skills, share best practices for applying to colleges, and discuss the momentous transition from high school to college.
“Engaging with students in high school, when the students are considering colleges and majors, provides them with information of which they might not otherwise have been aware,” Urso says. “For example, in our Marion County session, there was a large group of students in the first year that had no clue about UCF, and many of those that did know about UCF had no clue we had a mechanical and aerospace engineering department.”
Urso and the team have positively impacted the students’ academic journeys. He says students have shared that they gained valuable technical skills, benefitted from the hands-on experience of using tools and equipment in their research, and have more confidence in their presentation skills.
“The most rewarding aspect of the program is hearing from the students about how much the opportunity meant to them, how much they learned, and how taking part in the program helped when they were applying to colleges and catapulting their academic career.”
- Written by Bel Huston