"Go to class and study hard, but don't forget to have some fun too."--Michael
Proud Member of AASU Class of 2011
Major: Computer/Electrical Engineering
In the summer of 2008, Michael was one of only 21 students nationwide to be selected for a NASA internship in robotics. While based at the Goddard Spaceflight Center in Maryland, he flew to Marshall Spaceflight Center in Texas where, he said, "We got to see some really impressive robots." Another trip, this time by train, took him to Boston and MIT. Other trips took him to Carnegie Mellon, the University of Maryland and several specialized robotic companies. In Maryland, he visited the zero buoyancy (underwater) research lab.
In a lab at AASU, he and three other students are working on a fluid dynamics project that they have proposed to the NASA Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program. The project's goal is to optimize water filtration in a zero gravity aquatic environment. In the long term, their research could be a piece of the puzzle of farming fish for food in the weightlessness of space and on other planets. If NASA accepts their proposal, they would be invited to fly on one of the agency's parabolic flight aircrafts—more infamously known as the Vomit Comet—to conduct their experiment.
In fall 2009, Michael will transfer to the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta campus under the Regents Engineering Transfer Program, which is a collaborative program between Georgia Tech and AASU for Georgia students interested in engineering studies.
Michael Cato
Hometown: Savannah, GeorgiaProud Member of AASU Class of 2011
Major: Computer/Electrical Engineering
A Mind for Space
When Michael Cato tells you he wants to go to Mars, you believe he'll do it. Time is on his side and his prep work has already garnered attention at NASA.In the summer of 2008, Michael was one of only 21 students nationwide to be selected for a NASA internship in robotics. While based at the Goddard Spaceflight Center in Maryland, he flew to Marshall Spaceflight Center in Texas where, he said, "We got to see some really impressive robots." Another trip, this time by train, took him to Boston and MIT. Other trips took him to Carnegie Mellon, the University of Maryland and several specialized robotic companies. In Maryland, he visited the zero buoyancy (underwater) research lab.
In a lab at AASU, he and three other students are working on a fluid dynamics project that they have proposed to the NASA Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program. The project's goal is to optimize water filtration in a zero gravity aquatic environment. In the long term, their research could be a piece of the puzzle of farming fish for food in the weightlessness of space and on other planets. If NASA accepts their proposal, they would be invited to fly on one of the agency's parabolic flight aircrafts—more infamously known as the Vomit Comet—to conduct their experiment.
In fall 2009, Michael will transfer to the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta campus under the Regents Engineering Transfer Program, which is a collaborative program between Georgia Tech and AASU for Georgia students interested in engineering studies.
