The Scientist of tomorrow
Galileo, Newton and Einstein…they are all geniuses who established theories that the entire world applies today. Now, it is time for the new generation to rise; join us as we interview Aly Nada, an astrophysics student at the University of Maryland.
Talk briefly about the major that you are studying at the University of Maryland
My major is aerospace engineering. It deals mainly with the concept of flight and all aspects of it: Design, controls, testing and much more. It's split into two main branches; aeronautical (inside the atmosphere) and astronautical (outside of it). I'm about to specialize and I'm going to chose the astronautical path, as it seems to be more fascinating.
What makes you interested to study the field of aerospace engineering?
I was always interested in flight, but what really fascinated me as space flight. To be honest, watching astronauts in movies as a child really influenced me.
What is your biggest dream that you wish to pursue?
My dream is being part of a team that will design a space vehicle or plan a space mission.
How would you like to help your country through your education?
At the moment, Egypt unfortunately has neither space programs nor plane building facilities. For the space programs, they are kind of far fetched in my lifetime. However, I would like to help establishing plane-building facilities in my country.
For some humor, share a stereotype that people studying aerospace engineering usually get
A lot of people at my university have the idea that everyone studying aerospace engineering is a genius, because it actually is rocket science! Honestly, most of us are just really struggling but it is not as hard as everyone thinks. I am happy to say that scientists are capable of being successful in both academics and maintaining a social life.
By Hana El-Badrawy