[ Tish/NASAChatHost - 0 - 10:42:48 ]
Glad you could join us for the chat with Linda Bangert. If you are unable to join us live during the scheduled time, you may post a question here and Linda will try to answer it during the chat. You will not see your question posted now as we are in a moderated mode and all dialogue waits in our queue until the scheduled chat time. Your question will be posted during the chat with the others and you can review your question and answer after the chat when it is archived and linked from Linda's profile.

[ Tish/NASAChatHost - 1 - 10:48:59 ]
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[ Whitney - 2 - 11:49:38 ]
Hello Ms. Bangert.

[ LindaBangert - 6 - 12:04:37 ]
RE: [UGAScienceEducation] We are a teacher education group at the University of Georgia. We have joined this chat to gain insight about how to incorporate women's role in science and technology into our middle school classrooms.
Best of luck! From what I read, middle school is where bright, motivated girls seem to be lost. Hopefully aviation/space can be used to show how cool science and technology can be so that the work itself can be a motivation.

[ Tish/NASAChatHost - 7 - 12:05:36 ]
RE: [UGAScienceEducation] We are a teacher education group at the University of Georgia. We have joined this chat to gain insight about how to incorporate women's role in science and technology into our middle school classrooms.
Hello U of G. Thank you for joining us. I hope you can get some ideas from today's chat. Please feel free to ask questions of Linda as well. Have you looked over the teaching tips section at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/teachingtips.html

[ LindaBangert - 9 - 12:07:21 ]
RE: [Ann/AERO] Aloha, Ms Bangert
Hello everyone!

[ UGAScienceEducation - 10 - 12:08:14 ]
Hello Ms. Bangert.

[ LindaBangert - 12 - 12:11:44 ]
RE: [Ann/AERO] There's a new book out: Amelia Earhart's Daughters by Leslie Haynsworth and David Toomey about the Women's Airforce Service Pilots. Do you know anything about women's early struggles to join the aerospace program?
Some, I'm a member of the 99s, an International Society of Women Pilots. The 99s were chartered in the late 1920s, and the first president was Amelia Earhart. There are many former WASPs in the 99s, and I always enjoy talking to them. There is another great book, I think put out on the Smithsonian Press, called "Night Witches" about the Russian women pilots in WWII. They got the name because their job was to harass the German army so that they wouldn't get any sleep at night. Many 99s were also Powder Puff Derby racers back when women weren't allowed to enter the mens' air races. Those were interesting and sometimes frustrating times for women aviators/engineers.

[ Ann/AERO - 15 - 12:16:41 ]
Would you comment on the end of month space trip planned for the famous astronaut, John Glenn

[ UGAScienceEducation - 16 - 12:16:41 ]
What educational experiences did you have in middle school that caused you to pursue a career in science?

[ LindaBangert - 17 - 12:20:15 ]
RE: [Linda] How do you like working at NASA?
At the risk of not answering a specific question.... Right now, it is honestly a little frustrating, especially in aeronautics. All of government has been downsizing, and there are just not enough people to continue some of the programs we had. Also, the aeronautics budget is constantly being cut to fund the space station. Not that I think the space station is a bad thing, mind you, its just hard to see innovative aeronautics work be terminated for lack of budget. On the positive side, NASA is still THE place to work innovations that are many years ahead of what private industry is ready to fly on an airplane. Budget cuts have forced us to justify what we're doing so that only "the best of the best" gets worked. Is that the flavor you were interested in, or is there some specific aspect of working for NASA you were interested in?

[ LindaBangert - 18 - 12:22:37 ]
RE: [Dale] Do you get to have your own office??
I have had a cubicle (see Dilbert) in an office of 6-8, and now share an office with one other person. Honestly I liked the cubicle better, because there was more interaction with my peers. If someone had a problem, everyone would come out of their cubicle and hash it out.

[ LindaBangert - 20 - 12:24:59 ]
RE: [Sary] Have you been on the Space Shuttle??
No, I'm not an astronaut. I've been able to go see several launches, though. (A highly recommended experience!) This spring, I took my 2-year old daughter to see a launch. As the shuttle disappeared in the distance, she turned to me and said, "Do it again!"

[ LindaBangert - 25 - 12:34:41 ]
RE: [AlexatLICHS] Did you feel like quiting High School or College? A. If so, who-what helped you through the times you felt like quiting? B. If not,what do you attribute having your constant progression without "major failure"? 44
About the time I decided to switch majors from physics to engineering, my mom died, and I also switched colleges. When I transfered to the engineering school, I had finished two years worth of technical classes, and my GPA was 3.8. That first semester in engineering school, I was failing two classes at midterm. I dropped one and scraped out a D in the other. I think what turned me around was the opportunity to "co-op" with NASA (alternate semesters working and attending school) so that I actually had an application for the classes I was taking. The alternatives to quitting (for instance working at a discount store my whole life) were unappealing enough that I could MAKE myself do the work. It took an amazingly long time to recover from the effects of that one D on my transcript, but I finally did graduate with honors.

[ LindaBangert - 26 - 12:36:13 ]
RE: [Tish/NASAChatHost] Via email from Gayle/Woodside Elementary - Are you working on the Wright Flyer?
No, but it would be a neat project! That airplane was so unstable that bringing current technology to it to make it more flyable would be really interesting.

[ LindaBangert - 27 - 12:37:24 ]
RE: [Tish/NASAChatHost] Via email from Willow School students - Did you ever fly any of the military attack planes or supersonic planes you worked on?
No, but I'd jump at the offer!

[ LindaBangert - 28 - 12:39:52 ]
RE: [Tish/NASAChatHost] Via email from Dennis in Germany - Can you give us an idea of what it would fee like going 180 miles per hour in an airplane and when we might get to use these planes?
Current airlines already fly much faster than this, so maybe you already have! We are progressing in the design of light planes (general aviation) so that the very high performance ones are approaching this speed for cruise.

[ AlexatLICHS - 30 - 12:44:31 ]
What colleges did you attend? Did you ever fail any courses? If you were to be born again would you want to work at the same job? You said you like a bunch of variety in your previous chat. What kind of variety specifically? Why did you switch from your interest in english to engineering? How do you feel when you fly your own plane? Do you anticipate getting additional advanced degrees? Have you ever used "drugs"?

[ LindaBangert - 33 - 12:48:58 ]
RE: [AlexatLICHS] Thank you very much for this opportunnity to find out more about Aerospace technology. Several of Ms.Bissell's classes have been invited to enjoy this learning experience. We have submitted one question and here's another. Ms.Bangert referred to math as a "tool" in her autobiographical sketch; What equations off hand are their for students modeling airplane design?
All airplanes follow the same laws of physics. (Anything in a fluid follows the same laws, for that matter - boats, blood cells, etc.) For engineers or students, either one, the type of design involved would govern the subset of tools needed. If you're asking about pre-college students, I would recommend reading about the ideas involved in generating lift and minimizing drag, and experiment! A quick look an the airplanes that flew (granted, some better than others!) in the 19-teens to 1930s give you an idea of how intuitive airplane design can be. There are several good books on simple aeronautical design that givee the basics of lift/drag and stability & control.

[ LindaBangert - 34 - 12:51:08 ]
RE: [AlexatLICHS] Where are you Ms.Bangert right now physically as we are chatting?
In my office at NASA-Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA.

[ LindaBangert - 35 - 12:52:19 ]
RE: [Linda] I want to know how big it is at NASA??
I'm not sure how many people work for NASA as a whole, but there are about 2000 civil servants here at Langley (VA) and I'm not sure how many contractors.

[ LindaBangert - 36 - 12:57:30 ]
RE: [UGAScienceEducation] In your opinion, what do you think the benefits will be of John Glenn returning to space and do you know him personally?
No, I've never met John Glenn. Scientifically, we'll get some good data on how the aging process affects people's abilities to cope with the rigors of space and perhaps other more earth-bound tasks. Is the flight politically motivated? - my opinion is, "absolutely". My fear is that we will have to face the situation that occurred on Challenger, when the nation realized that the the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliff (not sure I spelled her name correctly), had just been killed. The space shuttle program took three years to recover from that one. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't happen again.

[ Ann/AERO - 37 - 12:58:17 ]
Appreciate your great enthusiasm and willingness to cite personal doubts and problems. Very inspiring.

[ Tish/NASAChatHost - 41 - 13:00:31 ]
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[ LindaBangert - 42 - 13:09:05 ]
RE: [AlexatLICHS] What colleges did you attend? Did you ever fail any courses? If you were to be born again would you want to work at the same job? You said you like a bunch of variety in your previous chat. What kind of variety specifically? Why did you switch from your interest in english to engineering? How do you feel when you fly your own plane? Do you anticipate getting additional advanced degrees? Have you ever used "drugs"?
WOW, what a question! I was a physics major at Southwest Missouri State University; got my BS in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla; and got my MS in Aeronautics at George Washington University (here in VA). I never failed a course, but see my previous answer about my close call. If I was born again, it would depend on when, where, etc. as to what I would want to do with my life. Variety - I like doing different sorts of work - planning, testing in a team of people, working alone on data, reporting my findings. I kept telling myself I could always fall back on being a writer if I ever failed out of engineering, but at some point I realized that it wouldn't be all that easy. The training to present something something as precisely and suscinctly as possible (engineering) conflicts with the training to describe something with enough detail that the reader can smell the flowers in the background of the story (English). I grew up in a family were income wasn't a constant, and I wanted the security of having a steady job, which writing doesn't generally provide. Flying is a constant balance of "WOW, isn't this beautiful!" and "gee, am I positive I know where I am?/Where are the other airplanes that I have to avoid?/Am I about to fly into someone's airspace?" Part of that uncertainty is a function of me still being a low-time pilot. As flying becomes more second-nature, there's more time to enjoy it. I'm quitting with a Master's Degree. I never used drugs, unless you count Diet Coke to keep me awake doing homework.

[ LindaBangert - 43 - 13:11:04 ]
RE: [AlexatLICHS] Do you feel it is necessary to be able to speak more than one language in an advanced position such as yours?
Not necessary, but helpful. I took some Spanish in high school, but I wouldn't try to write a technical paper in Spanish. For aerospace, the secondary languages that would be most useful would be French, German, and Japanese (in no particular order).

[ LindaBangert - 44 - 13:14:32 ]
RE: [UGAScienceEducation] Why did you choose to design planes rather than flying professionally?
I was a junior in high school when the first women were admitted to the Air Force Academy. There are, even now, very few places to get training in large jet airplanes besides the military, and the airlines want to hire experience. The field of engineering was more open to me than that of pilot. I felt I could satisfy my flying urges as a private pilot.

[ Tish/NASAChatHost - 45 - 13:15:03 ]
I know Linda is frantically trying to answer her last questions here. Thank you for joining us today and thank you Linda for your honest insight into your work.

[ LindaBangert - 46 - 13:31:46 ]
RE: [UGAScienceEducation] What educational experiences did you have in middle school that caused you to pursue a career in science?
I think my enjoyment of science started before middle school. I particularly remember studying the solar system in 4th or 5th grade and being fascinated. Middle school was spent on "Earth Science" which was a smattering of a little of everything. The variety was interesting, but I remember finding the lack of depth on any one topic a little frustrating. But then, most things were pretty frustrating when I was 14! I do remember my science teacher providing extra credit projects we could do to get a little more depth, which I loved. Teachers that encouraged questions were also great. I know that sounds easy to do, but 14-year olds can ask questions that really challenge authority (I know I did!) whether it be the teacher's or the established theories of the time. The really great teachers aren't offended, but treat the student with a respect for their intelligence and willingness to even ask/challenge/debate. I'm not an educator, but going by my memory of my experience. I had some good teachers, and some that weren't so good.

[ UGAScienceEducation - 47 - 13:44:24 ]
Thank you very much, Linda. My classes have dispersed except for a few people staying after hours, but they said to thank you too. We appreciate you letting us in on an activity that I know is intended primarily for K-12 classes. -David Jackson, Science Education, U. of Georgia