Local student selected for physics internship
Benjamin Walker, a senior in electrical and computer engineering at NMSU, will be spending his summer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. He has been selected to participate in the laboratory’s summer internship program.
“This program is highly competitive and it is a huge accomplishment to be selected,” said Professor Steve Stochaj.
Walker, who anticipates graduating from NMSU in spring 2010, is a Las Cruces native who graduated from Mayfield High School in 2004. He took a two-year break from his studies to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Tampico, Mexico and surrounding areas. He is active with his church and coordinates activities for young single adults in Las Cruces. Additionally, he has worked for NMSU’s Office of Compliance Institutional Review Board for the past year and a half, creating and maintaining databases.
APL is a university-affiliated research center that serves as a liaison between government and industry. APL’s breadth of capabilities spans the mission areas and disciplines of all branches of the military. APL’s staff of 4,200 averages three inventions a week and files a patent application every other day. Each summer, approximately 120-150 students have the opportunity to work with APL scientists and engineers as paid interns.
“It appealed to me because I think it’s a place where I can get exposure to different areas in engineering. Even after I graduate and I’m working, I want to move around within engineering. There are so many different things to do and I want to do all of them. I don’t want to get stuck in a rut,” said Walker who is also considering graduate school.
Linda Fresques
May 5, 2009