COLLINSVILLE While it doesnt take a rocket scientist to talk to the kids at Fieldale-Collinsville Middle School, they had the unique opportunity to flashchat with one on Thursday.

Several weeks ago, representatives at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, contacted the local middle school and two other schools Tazewell Middle and Grenada High in California and asked teachers if theyd like to be part of a webcast.

I jumped on it, eighth grade physical science teacher Crystal Jackson said.

While part of a program called Introduce a Girl to Engineering, Jill Marlowe, deputy director of Langleys Engineering Directorate, spoke to boys and girls about her background and skill set at NASA.

For many kids at FCMS, it was the first interaction with a rocket scientist theyd ever had.

Many of them had never talked to an engineer, period, Jackson said. This allows them to see there are careers out there in science.

While many people think of engineering as a historically male career, people like Marlowe prove daily that girls can do the job, too.

As a young child, Marlowes father encouraged her to blaze her own trail.

You can do anything to want, be anything you want, Marlowe recalled her fathers words. And you have to figure out what that is.

When she started college at Virginia Tech, she knew she wanted to pursue engineering, but wasnt sure which avenue she wanted to explore.

She looked at several different options and quickly weeded out the ones that didnt align with her personal interests.

Marlowe decided to earn her aerospace and ocean engineering degree, which took her from jobs in underwater submarine design to positions in outer space rocket design.

While in college, the space shuttle, Challenger, exploded. The mishap that affected the nation also impacted the students in Marlowes aerospace classes.

If we dont do our job right, people could die, Marlowe said, referencing the way she felt after the tragedy. It became very serious for us at that point.

Hard at work at NASA 17 years later, Marlowe and associates couldve never predicted the Columbia space shuttle disaster. She did, however, later explore the possibilities that led to the fiery reentry.

I was part of the team that figured out what happened, Marlowe said.

She first looked at the materials that couldve caused issues in the space shuttle. Then, using geometry, she created models to better understand what couldve gone wrong.

In 2008, Marlowe started building rockets. She worked with hundreds of people across the county to create dimension-specific parts for the space exploration vehicle.

All of these things had to come together, Marlowe said.

However, the people she worked with made the mission possible.

One of the best things about working at NASA is theres all kinds of really smart and dedicated people, Marlowe said.

Now, as research director, Marlowe asks questions engineers dont know.

Some projects aim to improve aircraft design while others tackle deep space systems. Whatever the need, Marlowe connects scientists with whatever resources they require to get the job done.

What groups of people need to come together to solve the problems? What do they need? Marlowe ponders on the job. We solve hard problems that make the world a better place when theyre solved.

The engineers camaraderie with her coworkers impressed eighth grader and future culinary artist Autumn Wingfield.

I like how she appreciated the people she worked with, Wingfield said. Sometimes, people appreciate their jobs more than people.

An exemplary model of a successful engineer, Jackson enjoyed meeting with Marlowe via flashchat.

Before, engineering was just a word to them, Jackson said about her students. Now, theyve got a face they can put to it.

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NASA helps Fieldale students learn about rockets - Martinsville Bulletin