2022 GA Participants in GASSSS Program
These participants have submitted a final GASSSS application.
If your name is not on this list and you have participated in the GASSSS program, please contact Larry Woolf at Lawrence.Woolf@ga-asi.com
| GA GASSSS Participant | Company | School | Materials Purchased | Activity |
| John Adams | GA-ASI | Davis Discovery STEM Club, Roy UT | Purchased drone; https://www.ftw-robotics.com/rec-bundles | We created a document describing the yaw, pitch and roll behavior of the drone; set up 4 stations to program the drones and demonstrated how to upload software to the drones; described how to yaw, pitch and roll the drones to perform various actions; held a coding workshop and mentored the students as they coded the above tasks. |
| Rick Lunsford | GA-ASI | Davis Discovery STEM Club, Roy UT | Purchased drone; https://www.ftw-robotics.com/rec-bundles | We created a document describing the yaw, pitch and roll behavior of the drone; set up 4 stations to program the drones and demonstrated how to upload software to the drones; described how to yaw, pitch and roll the drones to perform various actions; held a coding workshop and mentored the students as they coded the above tasks. |
| Paul Auger | GA-ASI | Davis Discovery STEM Club, Roy UT | Purchased drone; https://www.ftw-robotics.com/rec-bundles | We created a document describing the yaw, pitch and roll behavior of the drone; set up 4 stations to program the drones and demonstrated how to upload software to the drones; described how to yaw, pitch and roll the drones to perform various actions; held a coding workshop and mentored the students as they coded the above tasks. |
| Owen Lovell | GA-ASI | Davis Discovery STEM Club, Roy UT | Purchased drone; https://www.ftw-robotics.com/rec-bundles | We created a document describing the yaw, pitch and roll behavior of the drone; set up 4 stations to program the drones and demonstrated how to upload software to the drones; described how to yaw, pitch and roll the drones to perform various actions; held a coding workshop and mentored the students as they coded the above tasks. |
| Megan Ameng | GA-ASI | Black Mountain Middle School, San Diego, CA | None | I participated in a middle school career fair. Another colleague and I brought show and tell items and interacted with the middle schoolers about what our company does and what we do specifically for work. Then intent of this event was to encourage students to pursue a career in STEM. |
| Ian Holmes | GA | Kearny High School, FIRST Robotics Team 1572 HammerHeads, San Diego CA | Purchase robot materials and tools to assemble the robot | Guidance and oversight during the assembly of the robot |
| Kyle Teixeira | GA | Kearny High School, FIRST Robotics Team 1572 HammerHeads, San Diego CA | Drivetrain for robot | Supported manufacturing mentorship to students. Explained the function of lathe and taught students how to operate a lathe. Explained manufacturing using computer aided manufacturing. |
| Tyler Elsey | GA | Kearny High School, FIRST Robotics Team 1572 HammerHeads, San Diego CA | Materials for robot drivetrain and turret | Mentoring robotics program and machining parts for robot at school machine shop. |
| Travis Evans | GA-EMS | Rolling Hills Elementary School, San Diego CA | None | Worked as a volunteer science fair judge at Rolling Hills Elementary school. Provided feedback on their projects and encouraged the children to learn more about Science and Engineering |
| Brandon Blom | GA-ASI | Palmer Way Elementary School, San Diego CA | None | I will be talking with a 6th grader who is interested in Engineering. I will be answering questions related to schooling and work experience. I will give a brief overview of what my role is at GA-ASI and some examples of other engineers at GA-ASI. |
| Douglas Seybert | GA-ASI | Garden Road Elementary, Poway CA | Multiple Lego sets; Construction paper; Rulers; 2 Tables | We began by talking about the book that the teacher had read before the lesson, The 3 Billy Goats Gruff. We talked for a while about the bridge in the book that the billy goats had to cross, what bridges are used for, and what materials they can be made from. We then talked about what rulers are and how to use them. The kids practiced using the rulers on the troll that would be used to test the height of the bridges, as well as other items in the classroom. Next, the kids were split up into groups of 5 and provided a bucket of Legos to use for building their bridge. The students spent about a half hour working to build a bridge that would span a piece of paper the short way, be high enough for the troll to pass under, and wide enough for the 3 goats to fit on. When all of the bridges were built, we talked about the different ways they chose to build their bridges, what they might have done differently, what the challenges were, and what they enjoyed about it. I then gave a brief description of my job as an Aerospace Engineer, and we talked about how Engineers face many of the same challenges they faced in building their bridges. I also shared that a bridge that didn’t work out the way they expected it to be was not a failure if they learned something about it that they could apply to the next bridge they build. |
| Daren Wade | GA-ASI | CSUSM SuperSTEM Saturday, San Marcos CA | Electromagnetics and Electricity Posters | Participated in GA demonstration booth at SuperSTEM Saturday. |
| Thane Douglass | GA-EMS | Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair | None | Science Fair project evaluation and grading; Familiarization with standard judging criteria, expectations and responsibilities; Indoctrination with Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair staff; Independent review of each science fair project entry in the assigned category; Interview of each student participant ; Caucus with other judges from the same category to score and rank each applicant |
| Andrew Escalante | GA-ASI | Excelsior Charter Schools, Apple Valley CA | None | Interacted with student by providing information about different career fields that General Atomics offers. Most of the students acquired the General Atomics informational cards that provided information about the different departments and projects that we GA have. Multiple students showed interest in careers in engineering and flight operations, we were able to provide information about those careers and how to achieve them. |
| Nathanael Visser, Tomee Roe, Antone Andrews, Michael Gavin, David Gillespie, Cody Meyer | GA-ASI | Condit Elementary School, Claremont CA | Purchased eleven (11) KiwiCo Drawbot Classroom Packs. | GA employees taught the students how to assemble their drawbots step by step while learning engineering design. Then students worked through numerous challenges with the drawbot. By changing different variables (eg. motor position, clay shape, robot height, etc.) the drawbot exhibited different behaviors and created different drawings. We discussed different science topics through project-based learning including forces and interactions, while aligning with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). |
| Colin Chrystal | GA | X-STEM San Diego | Parking | Helped test/pack/organize equipment for spectroscope workshops, setup workshops, help students at all three workshops, cleanup equipment after workshops were complete |
| Miyuki Humer | GA | X-STEM San Diego | Parking fees | Volunteered to help students making an electromagnet powered by a D-cell battery and using aluminum rod and iron rod material and #18AWG wire. The magnets was used to to pick up paperclips and turn a compass needle. |
| Kevin Fitzpatrick | GA-ASI | SHPE SDSU | None | Led a tour of building 21, and after, answered any questions the students had during a Q&A regarding General Atomics and engineering career advice in general. |
| Travis Sowell | GA-ASI | Feaster Charter School, Chula Vista CA | 10 kits that do 100 projects; 10 ea. Snap Circuits Battery Eliminator (A/C wall plug in adaptor); 2 each Interactive Robots |
Chris and I talked about our Education, Career at GA, Pred B & C planes, GSC station, and Electronics (voltage, current, resistors & circuits in very simple terms using the “water flow” example). Before the students came to the presentation, we assembled several “snap together circuit” kits to show how the students can use electronics for several different projects in life. The students were very engaging with their questions and hands on circuitry building. |
| Chris Gilliom | GA-ASI | Feaster Charter School, Chula Vista CA | 11 kits that do 100 projects; 10 ea. Snap Circuits Battery Eliminator (A/C wall plug in adaptor); 2 each Interactive Robots |
Chris and I talked about our Education, Career at GA, Pred B & C planes, GSC station, and Electronics (voltage, current, resistors & circuits in very simple terms using the “water flow” example). Before the students came to the presentation, we assembled several “snap together circuit” kits to show how the students can use electronics for several different projects in life. The students were very engaging with their questions and hands on circuitry building. |
| Barton McDowell | GA-ASI | FRC Team NOMAD Inc., Escondido CA | Various materials for use in a robot design to complete the challenges for the 2022 FIRST Robotics Challenge. | Mentored students in design process and strategic development. Including CAD design and manufacturing processes. |
| Kathreen Thome | GA | X-STEM San Diego | None | Conducted 3 spectroscope workshops. Introduced approximately 200 students, chaperones and teachers to plasma and light. Assisted them in building spectroscopes that they then took home and also had them look at various spectroscope tubes to identify what gas was in each tube. |
| Max Warren | GA-EMS | University of Mississippi | None | GA EMS is a University of Mississippi industry affiliate. As such, we are cultivating a relationship with the school of engineering. GA employees attended the school of mechanical engineering senior capstone design presentations. During the event, students presented their designs, and we were able to ask questions and meet with students. We also met with deans and professors from the school of engineering to learn more about upcoming plans for the school and how GA can be of assistance in the future possibly. |
| Cody Berrey | GA-EMS | U. of Mississippi, Oxford Miss. | None | GA EMS is a University of Mississippi industry partner. As such, we are cultivating a relationship with the school of engineering. GA employees attended the school of mechanical engineering senior capstone design presentations During the event, students presented their designs, and we were able to ask questions and interact with the students. We also met with the dean and with professors from the school of engineering to learn more about upcoming events and plans for the school and how GA can help more in the future. |
| Kevin McLaughlin | GA | X-STEM San Diego | Parking | I helped run a workshop about spectroscopy and plasmas at the X-STEM conference at the San Diego Convention center. We helped the students build homemade spectroscopes and identify different plasmas. |
| Michael Allwein | GA-ASI | Pacheco Elementary, San Luis Obispo CA | Several STEM kits, appropriate for 1st grade students, were purchased. | I visited the classroom and provided hands-on support while the students built, tested and modified their nests. Nests could be built from a variety of materials provided by the teacher. Nests were tested by pouring water to simulate rain and drop tested. |
| Don Czechowicz | GA | Grant School, Santa Monica CA | None | Demonstrations of What Scientists do in Scientific Method, Carrying out of Simple “Science is Cool Experiments” Phase transitions for liquid to solid using Safe Cryogenic Methods. |
| Daniel Layton | GA-ASI | First Gen Scholars, San Diego CA | None | Attended first-gen scholars networking event. Met with numerous high school juniors and seniors to discuss careers at GA, future internship opportunities, and shared what it was like working in technical fields like the A&D industry. |
| Jerome Guterl | GA | X-STEM San Diego | None | Support 2 X-STEM workshops |
| Miyuki Humer | GA | X-STEM San Diego | None | Support 2 X-STEM workshops |
| Wilkie Choi | GA | X-STEM San Diego | None | Support 2 X-STEM workshops |
| Zichuan (Anthony) Xing | GA | X-STEM San Diego | None | Support 2 X-STEM workshops |
| Casey Kong | GA | Grant School, Santa Monica CA | None | Demonstrations of What Scientists do in Scientific Method, Carrying out of Simple “Science is Cool Experiments” Phase transitions for liquid to solid using Safe Cryogenic Methods. |
| Isaac Ruiz | GA | Grant School, Santa Monica CA | None | Demonstrations of What Scientists do in Scientific Method, Carrying out of Simple “Science is Cool Experiments” Phase transitions for liquid to solid using Safe Cryogenic Methods (Liquid nitrogen Ice Cream demonstration). |
| Howard Kwon | GA-ASI | Ellen Browning Scripps Elementary School, San Diego CA | Funding was used to buy foam model airplanes for the class and a book on flight. | Spoke to the class about what an Engineer is and what they do and about different types of aircraft; Read to the class, “Let's Fly a Plane!” by Chris Ferrie; Built foam model airplanes and flew them in a field as a class; Completed a spelling worksheet on different parts of an airplane. |
| Shahin | GA | Grant School, Santa Monica CA | Ingredients for making Cryogenic Ice-cream. Transportation costs from San Diego to Santa Monica for the volunteers. Event costs as required by the organizers. Parking. | Demonstrations of What Scientists do in Scientific Method, Carrying out of Simple “Science is Cool Experiments” Phase transitions for liquid to solid using Safe Cryogenic Methods. |
| Jessica Yin | GA-ASI | TutorMate | None | Participate in TutorMate program to provide one-on-one tutoring session to an at-risk first grade student to help them learn to read or improve their reading skills. |
| Brian Cluggish | GA-EMS | Magnolia Science Academy, San Diego CA | None | I had a booth at the STEAM Expo where I had a hands-on activity involving homopolar motors. I supplied the equipment myself. |
| Paul Ferrell | GA-EMS | Canyon Hills High School, San Diego CA | Robot Parts | Mentored the FIRST Robotics Team, meeting up with them on the weekend and attending the Robotics Event |
| Satish Krishnan | Proxima Rocketry Team | Funding was entirely used for the purchase of parts and supplies needed by the team (rocket motors, machined parts and igniters) to build and launch model rockets. The rockets built were also used compete in The American Rocketry Challenge (TARC) competition The American Rocketry Challenge | World's Largest Student Rocket Contest. | I was actively involved in supporting team activities ranging from logistics, safety and coaching/guiding the team on learnings from the build/launch session. | |
| Kyle Wirth | GA-ASI | LR GREEN ELEMENTARY, Escondido CA | 2 newer spheros, some cases, and a wall charger | Since I was unable to attend in person, I told the teacher to have the students watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfpPvnEsbto I then zoomed into the classroom asking for questions/support/troubleshooting. |
| Cherish Rodrigues | GA-EMS | Richland Elementary School, San Marcos, CA | Ping pong balls (Zipline); Washers (Zipline and Towers); Hole Punch (Zipline); String(Zipline); Cups(Zipline); Straws(Zipline); Cardstock(Zipline); Clips(Zipline); Index Cards(Towers); Marble Run Games(Building/Gravity); Playstix(Building); Engineer-A-Coaster(Building/Gravity; Legos(Building) | I volunteered in a kindergarten class and developed various stations teaching the children about Engineering. I gave the kids an overview of what an engineer is and the various types of engineers. The kids then participated in various stations using engineering skills and learning about the design process. The kids drew their plans on paper, then created them, then revised their designs and built again. This was done on 2 different days. The stations I set up were Engineer a Zipline, Engineer Card Towers, Engineer a Coaster, Build Marble Runs, Free Design Engineering with Playstix and Legos. The kids absolutely loved everything and were so excited they got to be engineers. |
| Omar Hernandez | GA-ASI | Logan Heights Community Development Corporation, San Diego, CA | None | We introduced kids to engineering by describing what GA does and how UAV’s work. We shared our personal stories on how we came to be engineers. We displayed physical aircraft parts in small groups. With the use of handheld microscopes, we worked with the kids to show them component details, ply layups, welds, threads and other part specifics. |
| Erich McCoy | GA-ASI | Lincoln HS & Morse HS, SD, CA | Food for interns. | Our goal is to provide exposure to STEM/Aero careers and assure them it is achievable. Interns are rotating through departments for overall product/career exposure. Advanced Airframe Engineering scheduled for first rotation on 7/12/2022. |
| Brian Berg | GA-ASI | Lincoln HS & Morse HS, SD, CA | Personal protective equipment for high school students to wear during Mechanical Engineering Development Laboratory (MEDL) Tour | Planning and coordination of MEDL tour. |
| Michelle Colatutto, Craig Schopp, Thuan Trieu, Lisa Meegan, Orlando Lopez, Ignatius Widjaja, Brian Berg, James Hampton, Michael Valacich, Jordan Blimbaum, Kenneth Turbin, Danica Moeller, Thomas Hernandez, Jimmy Cannon, Richard Bienias, Camillo Scaduto, Dan Clements, Nicola Baldwin, Kevin Cardinal, Mark Williams, John DeReimer | GA-ASI | Lincoln HS & Morse HS, SD, CA | PPE-face shields, toe guards, gloves | Overview of work in our department, talking about our careers, hand on hardware, CAD demo, demonstrations in the fab and test lab. On site at GA facilities. |