Citrus College Students Selected to Participate in NASA Rocketry Competition

By Paula Green

-Courtesy Photo

Six Citrus College students will travel to Huntsville, Alabama in April 2013 to compete against students from 35 colleges and universities across the U.S. in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Student Launch Projects (SLP) Program.
Citrus College’s team, the “Rocket Owls,” have the distinction of being the only California community college selected for the competition. It is also one of three California institutions of higher learning participating in the SLP Program, sharing the honor with California Polytechnic University, Pomona and the University of California, Davis. Seven of the participating colleges, including Citrus College, are two-year or community colleges. Other colleges and universities that were selected include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Northwestern University, and Purdue University.
The program requires the Rocket Owls to design, build and successfully launch a rocket one mile into the atmosphere. The rocket is required to carry at least one scientific or engineering payload. To prepare for the competition, NASA requires that the students build and maintain a website where all project documentation will be housed; take three exams administered by NASA engineers via teleconference, and reach out to local school districts and communities to raise awareness of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education and career opportunities.
“The Citrus College community is thrilled to learn of our students’ latest achievement,” said Geraldine M. Perri, Ph.D., superintendent/president. “The fact that the college was one of only seven community colleges in the nation selected for this prestigious program reflects the quality of both the college’s STEM Program and the students it serves.”
The Rocket Owls are Citrus College students who are enrolled in upper-level science and mathematics courses and are on track to transfer to four-year colleges and universities in 2013. They are Yu-Han Chiang of West Covina, Andrew Ferguson of Azusa, Carey Gunter of Duarte, Jo Jamison of Glendora, Benjamin Rhodes-Wickett of Claremont and Phoebe Sulzen of San Gabriel. Citrus College physics instructor Lucia Riderer is the team’s faculty advisor.
Riderer is no stranger to NASA’s student programs. She was the advisor for the college’s first NASA experience in 2010 when a Citrus College student attended NASA’s National Community College Aerospace Scholars program. The following summer, nine students participated in NASA’s Microgravity University at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In addition, Riderer travelled to Huntsville last summer with three members of the Rocket Owls team for a workshop that prepared the students to develop the proposal that was accepted for the SLP Program.
Exhilarated over her students’ latest achievement, Riderer stated that the competition was “more fierce,” given the caliber of the colleges and universities that applied to the SLP Program. Last year, there was only a 33 percent acceptance rate to the program.
“The fact that the SLP Program was open to all colleges and universities widened the playing field and allowed for more competition,” she stated.
Citrus College’s latest achievement builds on the excitement and pride their STEM Program has generated. “I teach 150 physics students each semester, and their interest in our projects is great,” said Riderer. “Students often ask how they can become involved in one of the teams.”
Mrs. Joanne Montgomery, president of the Citrus Community College District Board of Trustees, expressed the college’s pride in the students being selected into the NASA program.
“The opportunities that Citrus College offers in the STEM fields have enabled many students to participate in the best science and technology programs in the country,” she said. “We look forward to cheering on the Rocket Owls when they compete in April.”

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