Giulio Cesare Rottaro
Summer Apprenticeship Program (SAP) Student
University of Michigan Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory

In the eyes of the public, a scientist is often a man with a beard and a lab coat who spends most of his time in a crisp lab performing tests that are too complicated for a common person to understand. The truth is, though, that most experiments are not carried out in a clean white lab; they can also be performed in the field, in a vacuum chamber, or even in space. The image of a research scientist has changed from the geeky man with glasses and a lab coats, to the dynamic problem solvers and hands-on man or woman.

Programs like the Summer Apprenticeship Program at the University of Michigan expose high school students to a better understanding of what being a researcher is really like. The students are assigned mentors who instruct them in their fields of study, and then they set up an experiment under their mentor's tutelage. At the end of the eight-week program the apprentices give a five minute presentation and write a paper on what they have done.

Firing of the P5 Hall Thruster with the Langmuir probe inserted in the plasma

I attended this program during the summer of 2005, where I performed research on Hall Thrusters, an innovative way to power space missions. A Hall Thruster ionizes Xenon to Xenon+ in order for a positively charged anode to repel the Xenon+ and create the push necessary for a satellite to move in space. Hall Thrusters may one day replace chemical engines that use too much propellant and require oxygen. I felt privileged to work with Dr. Gallimore and his graduate students, who explained to me the concepts of electric propulsion. They also allowed me to use their testing facility, a large size vacuum chamber. From this program, I learned about many concepts that I had not been exposed to before, and it opened my eyes to a whole new career that I had not considered before--research.

This program was not all about research; it was also about meeting other students from around the country and learning valuable personal lessons. All students underwent the college life experience, from trying to get along with your roommate, to even having to beg your parents for money, but it was all worth it. I will never forget about the wonderful moments that I spent there, from the disappointing mishaps in the lab, to the joyful moments when we played Duck Duck Goose. It was well worth the time and effort, and I will never forget the experience.

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