<< Back to previous page

Physics student attends national conference

March 19, 2010

Isa Fritz, '10, works on the Carthage Microgravity Team's 2009 experiment. Her research earned her a trip to Washington, D.C., to attend a national meeting of Space Grant directors.


Isa Fritz meets members of Congress after taking first place in a state research competition

Carthage physics major Isa Fritz, '10, attended the annual meeting of the National Council of Space Grant Directors in Washington, D.C., March 4-6. She was invited to the meeting after taking first place in the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium's annual undergraduate research competition in August.

Space Grant — the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program — is a joint effort between NASA and states nationwide to fund research, education and public service projects that aid aerospace understanding and scholarship. Every state has its own Space Grant program.

Isa Fritz, '10, met Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl while at the national meeting of the National Council of Space Grant Directors in Washington, D.C.

"The research that I did was partially funded by the Wisconsin Space Grant, so I had the opportunity to present my research at the Wisconsin state competition," said Isa, a senior from Kenosha.

She presented research that she had conducted as a member of Carthage's Microgravity Team, which was recently selected for NASA's Systems Engineering Educational Discovery program for the third consecutive year. In April 2009, Isa and her teammates traveled to the Johnson Space Center in Houston to study lunar dust aboard NASA's Weightless Wonder reduced-gravity aircraft. Isa then spent the summer working with physics professor Kevin Crosby to analyze the data as part of Carthage's Summer Undergraduate Research Experience. She produced a paper and a poster about the research; the poster won the competition.

"I was invited to D.C. to help them lobby for continued Space Grant money," she said. "I was there as a student representative who has seen the benefits of the different funding opportunities the Space Grants give out."

Isa will soon have her third experience flying aboard NASA's Weightless Wonder — in part thanks to Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium. "If we didn't have Space Grant funding, it would be very, very difficult to build and purchase parts for our experiment," said Samantha Kreppel, '10, this year's Microgravity Team leader. "For us to fund that on our own, along with travel costs, would be impossible."

In Washington, D.C., Isa met Dr. Vera Rubin, known for her pioneering work in dark matter.

While in D.C., Isa met with Wisconsin representatives and their aides in support of continued funding of student research. "I had breakfast with Senator Herb Kohl, and got to meet the aides of the other representatives for Wisconsin, which was pretty cool," she said. "I learned a lot about how the political system works. I sat in on the National Space Grant Directors meeting and heard some of the behind-the-scenes activities of their directors and their plans. ... I met the owners and some of the leaders in the private space industry."

"Isa is very hardworking," said Prof. Crosby, who was her mentor in the SURE program and serves as the faculty advisor for the Microgravity Team. "The people on the Microgravity Team tend to be people who don't say 'no' to things, which is the way to be successful. They take on every interesting opportunity and challenge, and they take it as far as they can."