LFCC student will spend summer interning for NASA

After Peter Harrison graduates with his associate of science degree from LFCC this spring he’ll be spending the summer studying rocket science. The Clarke County resident has recently learned he’ll spend 10 weeks interning with NASA at the Langley Research Center.

Harrison, who dual-enrolled at LFCC in 2014 while being homeschooled, was selected for the STEM Takes Flight at Virginia’s Community Colleges program. He will be working with a NASA researcher on solar sail hardware materials.

“A solar sail is something you put on a rocket to use the energy from photons from the sun to propel it into deep space,” Harrison said. “You might use it if you’re trying to get to a planet that’s really far away, or doing mining missions on an asteroid.”

Peter Harrison, a Clarke County resident, will be working on solar sails project.

Harrison will receive a $5,000 stipend during the internship.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I always kind of thought it would be awesome to work for NASA, but I never thought I would get the opportunity to do that.”

Following his internship, Harrison will transfer to Liberty University where he will get a degree in science. He’s not yet sure what career path he will take.

“I would like to do something with chemistry, but I’m not sure what that is yet,” he said.

Growing up, Harrison enjoyed watching science-related programs, and said his LFCC professors have really had an impact on him. Ray Rogers, an assistant professor of physics, was actually a NASA research scientist before coming to LFCC.

“All the professors and classes were just a lot of fun,” Harrison said. “[Chemistry Professor] Dr.   [Sam] Dillender has really kind of been an inspiration to me in my decision to pursue chemistry. The first time I came into class for chemistry 111, he told us that after his faith and his family, that we were most important to him. He just came in with this big smile and was so excited to teach us.”