Joshua Mann

Favorite Quote: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars” by Les Brown

                Greetings LPSA members! It has been a pleasure getting to know you all through your blogs, and I am cannot wait to meet you all in person. I have a feeling this is going to be a great summer not just because of the research, but also because of the bonds we will make with one another.

                My story begins with my birth in Detroit, Michigan. While it is my birthplace, and most of my family currently lives in Detroit, I consider myself from Northern Virginia. I moved to Northern Virginia when I was only three years old with my parents and was raised there. Growing up my parents always told me that I could do anything that I set my mind to, and I believe that it was because of their encouragement that I grew into a person that focuses not on the challenge, rather on why I am interested in taking on the challenge in the first place. I could definitely relate to Mindy in deciding to follow her heart because I believe that passion is what fuels success. When I was in the fourth grade I attended a musical assembly in my elementary school where different types of instruments were played before me. I listened to the violin, viola, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, and alto saxophone during the course of the assembly. As soon as heard the saxophone I knew that it was the instrument for me. If may have been the hardest to learn and master, but I still play it from time to time today. Oh and Jake, try to pick up the guitar or the piano, we might be able to play a little this summer.

                In the eleventh grade I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in physics because it was the one science that really resonated with me and whose application I could see taking place all around me. It was not my easiest subject, but it was without a doubt the one I was most passionate about, and to this day I am proud to be an Applied Physics and Aerospace Engineering Major attending Morehouse College. As I am sure many of you have experienced, if you go to a public event and tell someone you are studying astrophysics, aerospace engineering, or space science they will look at you as though you are a genius or as though you are crazy. However, at the end of the day it all boils down to the truth that there is something about these fields that keeps us up at night that is what makes them our reality and our destiny.

                This summer I will be working with Neil Taylor and Mr. Fred Minetto on the SPARCLE project. In the past I have conducted research on the structure and composition of star systems. In this project investigated the properties of the different planets in the Solar System. At the conclusion of the research I presented, along with my group members, a model of a solar system we made up to demonstrate how different planetary characteristics, such as albedo, play a role in determining the average temperatures of each planet. Also, during my first semester of college I conducted research with a professor at Clark Atlanta University named Dr. Ronald Mickens. The research was math based and it focused on a preliminary investigation of the Leah sine and Leah cosine functions. Basically these functions are solutions to a second order differential equation and to find their properties, one being periodicity, the functions were graphed on the x-y phase plane. Although the research did not directly pertain to my career interest I enjoyed the experience.

I truly can’t wait to meet all of you and to hear more about each of your stories. Cheers to a spectacular summer that awaits us!