A draft of my fellowship research proposal is done! I've sent that around to the wonderful people I call my advisers, and I hope to finalize it by Tuesday. The hardest part for me was writing up a three-year schedule, which is surprising because I'm a planner by nature. Before I even started graduate school, I had a goal as to when I wanted to finish, and I'm slowly planning all the steps and milestones in between as I learn the process.

I've learned a lot these past few days about university red tape. Getting a university-written budget proposal for two of the fellowship applications was challenging, but getting the budget university-approved is even worse. Right now, two of my application packets (including budget, proposal, and all other items needed for application submission) are being passed around university administration for signatures. Hopefully it can be approved and mailed off at least a day before the February 1 deadline (as well as electronically submitted by me).

Earlier this week, I wrote up abstracts for the SPS Zone Meeting and the Amsterdam GRB conference and registered for both. Both trips are certain and nearly settled (I need to determine transportation details for Florida and renew my passport for Amsterdam). Hopefully next week I can continue with research so I can obtain the results I need to create these posters.

Since I was a kid, I've wanted to be part of the NASA family. Working at a NASA-UAH joint facility with NASA employees and contractors on NASA research has put me closer to that dream than ever before. Since this past summer's NASA Academy program, I've wanted to read through NASA's mission and goals to determine where I fit into the larger picture. Why does NASA care about my research? Why should the U.S. people fund me? I finally did so while I was writing these fellowship proposals.

NASA's mission is “to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research.” Within the Astrophysics Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, the scientific objectives are “to explore the Universe beyond, from the search for planets and life in other solar systems to the origin, evolution, structure, and destiny of the Universe itself.” The Astrophysics Research Program supports a “broad range of data analysis efforts relating to past, current, or future NASA missions; and theoretical investigations or modeling of the entire range of astrophysical phenomena examined by past, current, or future NASA space missions.”

My current research fits into that scientific objective within NASA's mission. By understanding where my research fits in and how I'm helping NASA achieve it's goals, I actually feel like my work is worthwhile not just to myself and a small scientific sub-community, but also to the agency and the nation. I am proud to be doing my small part for the greater whole.