By Mary O’KEEFE

Recently the media was invited to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (the Lab) to interview the Lab’s new director Laurie Leshin, Ph.D. and to get an idea of the Lab’s intern program.

The summer internship program is a 10-week full-time internship offered to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The Lab also offers other internships including part-time and year-round opportunities. Those in the program get to work side-by-side with scientists and engineers on the Lab who are exploring the Earth and the universe.

Dr. Leshin, director of JPL, has been lead at the Lab for over a month. She spoke to the audience of interns about how excited she was to be at JPL.

“I have been the director of JPL one month [as of June 16]. I am kind of like you; I am figuring it out. This place is humongous and confusing, and there is a lot going on,” she said. “Every single day I want to get out my cellphone, taking pictures of pretty much everything.”

Her enthusiasm was contagious as the interns laughed and shared in the excitement of being on the Lab and working in areas they are interested in. Leshin shared that many at JPL have told her how excited they were about the interns being back on the Lab, bringing in new energy.

“I too was a summer intern,” she said. “I got my start in the space business with a summer internship Lunar and Planetary Institute [in Houston].”

That internship shaped her future.

“It was like I got hit by a bolt of lightning in the best possible way. It was my first experience with research, it was my first experience getting to be the first person ever to look at space data,” she said. “It changed my life, it changed the trajectory of my life. I had always loved space but it actually never occurred to me you could have a job working in the space business.”

She told the interns that they are now having that same experience this summer, realizing they can make a career in space business. Leshin said she changed what she was studying and focused her future toward a career in space.

“We are hoping to give you that same kind of lightning bolt experience this summer because there is nothing like learning by doing,” she added.

Prior to coming to JPL as director she was president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She is the first female to lead the Lab. She always takes that role into consideration, knowing she is inspiring those who work for her, regardless of gender.

She said the timing to come to lead JPL was perfect for many reasons; however, close to her heart is the Mars Sample Return mission that she has been excited about for years.

“I have been pushing for the Mars Sample Return where we go get rocks and return them to Earth to analyze in the best labs on our planet for 25 years. It is finally coming to fruition, which is one of the reasons I decided to come to JPL at this moment,” she said.

Leshin added that JPL and what is done there and with their partners is not just about the science; it goes beyond that.

“It is a connection of awe and human thriving. What we do is not just about great science,” she said. “We landed a giant rover and a tiny helicopter on Mars in the middle of a global pandemic. People outside looked up at the night sky and said, ‘Wow.’ This is why we are who we are, this is what makes us great human beings, this is what binds us together – the ability to look beyond and be inspired and feel that sense of awe, of what’s possible. What we do here directly contributes to human beings on this planet – thriving not only because we do great Earth science and we are helping to mitigate climate change [but] everything we do inspires people.”