News
Lindholm named as an aerospace scholar
Scott Wagar
11/26/2013
A student from Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) has been accepted as a member of a NASA program and will be spending time at NASA sites to enhance his knowledge about our nation’s space program.
Lucas Lindholm, a sophomore from Pierre, S.D., has been named as a National Community Aerospace Scholar (NCAS) at NASA’s National Community College Aerospace Scholars program.
“The NCAS program is a very highly recognized achievement primarily to further two-year students applied experience in the aerospace field,” Lindholm said. “This summer, I found it while I was searching for scholarships to apply for the fall term. Shortly after that I received emails from at least three educators I knew in North Dakota suggesting I apply for it. So I did.
“I can already tell this program is going to teach me an incredible amount. The first segment, it ends up being a sort of rover design competition between all the students in the program. In addition you have to develop a budgeted mission plan, just as if it were to be launched,” he continued.
“So, throughout the lessons and research I have myself sorting through the things I already know I can solve and the things I really don’t have any knowledge of. By the end of the program, I’ll have gained priceless experience from the best source in the world on the topic, not only in my field but every discipline needed to create a successful mission.”
Angie Bartholomy, chemistry instructor at Dakota College at Bottineau, stated that the NCAS program at NASA is a great opportunity for students in a junior college who wish to study science and math programs.
“The NCAS is an interactive online learning opportunity highlighted by a three-day experience at NASA,” Bartholomay said. “Selected students are encouraged to study mathematics, science, engineering and computer science by interacting with engineers at different NASA centers.
“The project includes preliminary interactive web-based activities and an onsite experience during the fall or spring at NASA. Students from across the nation are chosen to participate through a competitive process,” Bartholomay added.
“Selected students are U.S. citizens currently pursuing their initial undergraduate degree at a community college who have an interest and aptitude for mathematics, science, engineering or computer science,” she continued.
Students who are selected have the opportunity to study at the Johnson Space Center at Houston, Texas, Marshall Space Flight Center at Huntsville, Ala., or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Pasadena, Calif.
This year, Marshall Space Flight Center and the Jet Propulsion Laborty will host the students accepted to the NCAS program from Feb. 26-28, 2014.
Lindholm is working toward a degree in mechanical engineering specializing in astrophysics. Once he earns his undergraduate degree, his goal is to conduct his graduate work at the University of North Dakota’s Space Studies Department.
At DCB, Linholm is a member of the men’s hockey team and is the team’s captain. He is also a member of the STEM outreach program where he assists students in grades K-12 throughout the region in learning about science, technology, engineering and mathematics.