Tabitha Patrick Email & Phone Number

Hi! My name is Tabitha Patrick, and I am a senior undergraduate student studying aerospace engineering at the University of Florida. Throughout college, I have been involved in a number of activities, which have helped me grow as a student, employee, leader, and friend. Some of these activities include my involvement with my research, DebriSat, my internship at Tepa Companies, AISES (American Indian Science & Engineering Society), and Gator Band, where I played saxophone for most of my time in college, I am heavily involved with AISES, which is an organization that strives to increase the representation of indigenous people in STEM fields. AISES is a large organization that consists of 7 regions across Turtle Island (North America). I am a tribal member of Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and am glad to have found a Native American community-- not only at the University of Florida, but also with others all throughout North America. I am grateful to be the Co-President of the Gator Chapter of AISES and the Region 7 Student Representative of AISES.I also participate in research at the University of Florida. The project I work on is called DebriSat, and it is a collaboration with NASA Orbital Debris Program Office. The research involves collecting and categorizing fragments from a 56-kg mock-up satellite called "DebriSat", and then shipping the fragments back to NASA Johnson Space Center. I work on the project as a level-3 (student research lead). I participate in duties such as holding shifts, training, making promotion recommendations, diagnosing hardware and software issues, and making final verifications before shipment. In addition to my level 3 specific duties, I also utilize X-ray imaging, material extraction, massing, assessment, and 2D/3D imaging techniques to study the satellite fragments. I was also able to represent the University of Florida at the Program Management Review at NASA Johnson Space center to participate in the discussion of the project's progress and goals.Summer of 2024, I started my internship at Tepa Companies, which is tribally owned by the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians. At Tepa, I work in Mechanical Engineering, where I assist with the mechanical design of HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems. Because I was offered an extension on my internship, I am able to continue working there remotely, while I am working on my undergraduate degree.

• 

  University Of Florida

  Senior