{"id":79721,"date":"2022-11-18T23:40:38","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T23:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loopbeatzz.info\/wp\/to-nasa-and-beyond-a-ucla-engineering-online-master-alumnas-journey-ucla-samueli-school-of-engineering-ucla-samueli-school-of-engineering-newsroom\/"},"modified":"2022-11-18T23:40:38","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T23:40:38","slug":"to-nasa-and-beyond-a-ucla-engineering-online-master-alumnas-journey-ucla-samueli-school-of-engineering-ucla-samueli-school-of-engineering-newsroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loopbeatzz.info\/wp\/to-nasa-and-beyond-a-ucla-engineering-online-master-alumnas-journey-ucla-samueli-school-of-engineering-ucla-samueli-school-of-engineering-newsroom\/","title":{"rendered":"To NASA and Beyond: A UCLA Engineering Online Master Alumna's Journey | UCLA Samueli School Of Engineering – UCLA Samueli School of Engineering Newsroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Courtesy of NASA<\/i><\/span>
Nov 14, 2022<\/span>
Growing up, Shideh Naderi M.S. \u201919 dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Now as a NASA engineer who has led the development of a device to improve future NASA exploration missions, Naderi has made major strides in achieving that goal.<\/span>
Born and raised in Iran, Naderi showed an early interest in math and engineering, pursuing both while in high school.
\u201cBefore entering sophomore year of high school in Iran, you get to decide what career path you\u2019d like to pursue after graduation,\u201d Naderi said. \u201cEngineering was something I was very interested in, in terms of problem-solving, being decent at math, designing and building things and working as an engineer guaranteed a comfortable life, financially.\u201d
Following her high school graduation, Naderi set out on her own and moved to the United States to pursue her college degree. The many renowned universities and exciting job opportunities present in the U.S. were a significant draw for Naderi and her parents, who joined her in California a few years after her move.
Naderi started her college education at MiraCosta Community College, in Oceanside, California and transferred to San Diego State University. In 2016, she graduated with a bachelor\u2019s degree in electrical engineering with a minor in computer science.
Determined to work toward her dream of traveling to space, Naderi started her career at NASA through its Pathways Internship, a program that prepares college students for a career at the organization. Stationed at the space agency\u2019s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California, Naderi worked at its research and development division \u2014 first in software engineering and later in augmented reality.
“Obtaining a master\u2019s in engineering while working full time as an engineer is very exhausting but having a good support team can help immensely,\u201d Shideh Naderi said.
After completing her internship and spending two years as a full-time NASA electronics and software engineer, Naderi decided she wanted to further her education by pursuing a master\u2019s degree in electrical engineering. She chose UCLA\u2019s Master of Science in Engineering Online<\/a><\/strong> (MSOL) program for its flexibility around her work schedule and its top-notch curriculum.
For the past seven years, the UCLA program has consistently been ranked in the top two online graduate engineering programs by the U.S. News and World Report.
\u201cThe support that I received from the faculty, and especially student advisor Alisa Janesajawan, made my experience a lot more enjoyable,\u201d Naderi said. \u201cObtaining a master\u2019s in engineering while working full time as an engineer is very exhausting but having a good support team can help immensely.\u201d
Having worked at NASA for more than six years, Naderi has been a part of numerous projects. In 2020, Naderi became the principal investigator and project manager for the development of a new type of cryogenic coupler, which is a device that enables transferring of cryogenic fluid or gasses between two tanks and is used for space applications.
Up until recently, dust and particles would get stuck in the intricate mechanics of a coupler, compromising its ability to function properly. Over the past two years, Naderi and her team have worked to develop a coupler that avoids this problem altogether. Naderi said that, as opposed to traditional mechanical couplers, this new design uses dust-tolerant passive magnets to connect and disconnect the coupler halves.
She is also part of the team that built X-57 Maxwell, a small experimental aircraft using technology to reduce fuel use, emissions and noise.
\u201cI never thought I\u2019d actually be able to work for NASA so it\u2019s definitely a dream come true. I\u2019ve been loving it so far,\u201d Naderi said. \u201cI\u2019m able to wear a lot of hats and do a bunch of different projects that require different skill sets.\u201d
The relationships and support Naderi gained while working on her master\u2019s through the MSOL program were invaluable to her and pushed her to achieve her goals while juggling the responsibilities of her full-time job. Naderi said she believes that success comes from hard work and setting high professional goals for oneself.
Naderi continues to strive for advancement within the government agency, but her ultimate goal remains the same: to follow her childhood dream of becoming an astronaut.
The NASA astronaut selection process is highly competitive; the agency is looking for people who have excelled in their careers and demonstrated passion for the space program. But Naderi said she believes that she\u2019s up to the challenge.
\u201cI wanted to explore beyond what was available to me,\u201d she said. \u201cExploring often leads to finding, but you won\u2019t be able to explore if you stay in one place. Being an astronaut means you\u2019re ready to serve humanity at the frontier of exploration.\u201d
Riley de Jong contributed to this story.<\/em><\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Courtesy of NASANov 14, 2022Growing up, Shideh Naderi M.S. \u201919 dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Now as a NASA engineer who has led the development of a device to improve future NASA exploration missions, Naderi has made major strides in achieving that goal.Born and raised in Iran, Naderi showed an early interest in math and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":79722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loopbeatzz.info\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loopbeatzz.info\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loopbeatzz.info\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loopbeatzz.info\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loopbeatzz.info\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loopbeatzz.info\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loopbeatzz.info\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loopbeatzz.info\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loopbeatzz.info\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loopbeatzz.info\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}