Amy Ross - Space Suit Project Engineer

Amy Ross
Born Mar. 30, 1971 in Lafayette, IN

Education: B.S. & M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University

Favorite School Subjects: English, calculus

Favorite TV Show: The West Wing

Hobbies: reading, walking my dog, flying

Favorite Sport: volleyball

What do you do? I test space suits, space suit pieces, and space suit technology. I have to understand how we want the space suit to work. I make a test matrix that will help us decide how well the suit or suit piece is meeting those requirements. I test the suit hardware. I analyze the results and record what was good and bad about the design, then I make recommendations on how to design the part better next time.

What advice would you give someone interested in entering your field or profession? Become a cooperative education student (co-op). Co-ops are college students who work every other semester at NASA. Look for a college with a strong co-op program and then make sure that you meet their requirements.