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>> Okay, close two-one, two-two, and two-three valves on the box.
Okay, let's perform a walk-around of the test setup.
I work in the Structural Dynamics Group.
We're a little bit catawampus again.
Yeah, can we verify this?
This should be about three-eighths.
And, what I do is a variety of things, such as ground testing
and analyses to support aircraft that want to fly, and really,
it's in terms of evaluating the structure of the airplane
for how it wants to vibrate in flight.
And, we look at all of that in the ground before we go
into flight, so we kind of have an idea what to expect,
and make sure that everybody's safe,
that we can execute the project safely.
Okay, gap size on this side, Ted?
I'm Claudia Herrera.
I'm an aerospace engineer in the Aerostructures Branch
at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center.
Okay, you ready?
Extending to quarter inch.
Education was taught to me to be very important,
from a very young age.
My mother was from Mexico, and she only went
to elementary level of schooling,
but she always taught me to want more, and to pursue more,
and to keep chasing after something better.
Bottom valve is closed.
I grew up in a lot of poverty, and I learned
that education was pretty much the ticket out of it.
I was blessed to be born in this country, where I had access.
Okay, I'm ready when you are.
Part of what I love about my job
in the Flight Loads Lab is the variety of vehicles
that I get to work with.
As an example, being
on the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge project, ACTE.
>> That was one of my favorite projects in the sense
that I've gotten to see the most of it,
from its formulation stages to all the way
through flight testing.
And, what excites me about that particular project is the
technology of creating
and designing compliant lifting surfaces and wing surfaces
that will then be used in future designs of aircraft,
to make airplanes more efficient,
which directly impacts any of us that ever get on an airplane.
Stop! Another part to what I do is a lot of ground testing.
That's a big part of what I do in the Flight Loads Lab.
We do ground vibration tests.
We do mass properties tests, and some examples
of that are the Orion crew module,
where we did a pretty extensive series of ground testing.
And, in that particular project,
my role was to oversee the execution of those tests,
beginning with the planning, the coordination
of all the different people, and all the different teams
that are involved, and all of that, which I also enjoy.
It's a very fun thing when you sit at your desk,
and you plan what a test should look like,
and then you see all the pieces of it come together,
because of all the people that come together.
And, in my free time, I'm a big fan of just running and,
in particular, distance running.
It's a good way to stay healthy,
which I've learned it's important to be,
to have a good balance, and to take care of our bodies.
About six years ago, I ran a 5K, and then I got the bug
for a half-marathon, which I never thought I could do,
and I did that, and then I got the bug for the full marathon.
To be able to set that goal, to be able to set a plan,
to be able to execute it and accomplish that goal,
was pretty rewarding for me.
And, just on a daily basis, just to have that place where, just,
whatever I need to just rehash, visit, or get rid of in my head,
just to have that moment, to be able to do
that has been a source of balance.
I do get the sense that my work is a part of a bigger picture.
It's very rewarding, and it's very much the reason why I went
into engineering is, how can we make this world better?
How can we contribute to the life that we live here?
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