Arianna Haven

Mechanical engineering student Arianna Haven has had the sort of internships that many students would only dream of. Starting the summer after her sophomore year, she began interning at NASA's Langley Research Center, and she has remained with the center since then, completing four internships. Langley Research Center is the original lunar landing facility, where astronauts trained in preparation for landing on the moon.

According to Arianna, she didn’t see the internship as a sure thing when she originally applied to Langley. “I applied to a NASA internship on a whim with little confidence of getting hired,” she recalls. “To my surprise, a few months later I was offered an internship at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA.”

Since that initial summer, Arianna has been working with the Aerothermodynamics Branch and SCIFLI team to update the infrared (IR) thermography capabilities in the hypersonic wind tunnel facilities at Langley. IR imaging in wind tunnels can give scientists and engineers a better idea of how full-scale models of aircraft will heat up as they enter or exit Earth's atmosphere. 

Arianna explains her role in the team’s projects. “As part of these efforts, I’ve designed a mid-wave IR sapphire window and 5-axis IR camera motion system for use in the Mach 6 and Mach 10 wind tunnels,” she says. “These projects will allow the test engineers to get better data from mid-wave infrared imaging of wind tunnel models, which can lead to better designed full-scale models.”

Beyond the thrill of having an internship with NASA, Arianna has really appreciated the chance to use her engineering skills and contribute to NASA’s efforts. “Since the first internship, it has been exciting to see my designs go from CAD models to fully manufactured parts that are installed in the wind tunnels. What I've enjoyed most about my two years at Langley is knowing that what I am designing has a meaningful impact on the future of the aerospace industry,” she notes. 

Now a senior, Arianna has also taken advantage of her time at GW to get involved in many other activities, too. She is the captain of the GW Baja Team and an active member of the professional engineering fraternity Theta Tau, and she also took the opportunity to study abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. 

As she looks back at her experiences, she has advice for students just beginning college and considering applying for internships or other opportunities. Arianna suggests that students take the chance and apply. “My biggest takeaway from the whole experience is that you should absolutely apply . . . because you never know if you'll get it,” she says