Travis Santo will graduate in May with an Associate in Science (AS) degree. This fall, he will enter the aeronautics program at the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University. It won’t be his first brush with a university, however. Several years ago, at University Medical Center in Tucson, adjacent to the University of Arizona campus, Santo, then a teenager, underwent a heart transplant.
Since then, life has accelerated. Following his heart transplant, Santo started at Estrella Mountain Community College in the fall of 2008. At that time, he had every intention of pursuing a business degree. But that idea faded as he completed the required math and science classes and realized how much he loved it. “I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to continue,” said Santo. Engineering became what he wanted to do, and he wasted no time.
Speed is part of the equation for Santo, whether it’s launching hardware into space, or launching his own career, which is already on a fast trajectory. This spring, a month before graduation, Santo and a team of three other EMCC math students learned that their scientific work had been selected for publication in the April edition of Journal for Double Star Observation. ( http://www.jdso.org/ )
Santo and his team mates took measurements and analyzed the resulting data as a class project. They focused on binary stars: two stars that have a central gravitational point around which they rotate. The team’s calculations involved the distance of separation between the stars and the angle at which they rotate. Following accepted scientific protocols, they collected information from existing data and added their own incremental advancements to the base knowledge of the science.
It’s unusual for students to get published this early in their scientific careers; scholars usually contribute this type of research work later in their university careers, in advanced years of their bachelor’s program. But adjunct faculty Doug Walker, who heads the EMCC astronomy program, and Rebecca Baranowski, division chair for Mathematics, Physics and Engineering, encouraged the group to go for it. The students enthusiastically embraced the challenge. “We were very excited from the get-go, because that’s what you eventually try and do: get published,” said Santo. “Having an opportunity like this so early in my career is just awesome.”
At the end of May, the original team of EMCC students, plus a new set of students, who are building on the research and analysis of their peers – will be traveling to Big Bear, California. And no, it’s not a beach vacation to celebrate graduation. The students will be attending a professional conference of the Society for Astronomical Sciences ( http://socastrosci.org/ ), where they will be giving a presentation on their double-star research.
The months leading up to graduation have been especially busy for Santo. He recently joined a group of 80 students selected from across the country to participate in a three-day workshop run by NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC). The workshop was held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California at NASA’s facility on the Cal-Tech campus, home of the billion dollar Rover “Curiosity,” which is now being tested there. Santo worked all semester on the assignment that won him the privilege: the Robotics Mission to Mars, which entailed planning an entire mission – from timeline, budget and funding, to developing technical specifications, and finally, launch, landing and return dates.
“Teachers and faculty here are amazing, so as long as you apply yourself, you can use a community college as a stepping stone to go anywhere,” said Santo. “It’s been wonderful; since the classes are small, you get a lot of close contact with the faculty, which means more individual attention and specific, one-on-on advice about how to apply theoretical knowledge to the real world. They really focus on critical thinking – not just ‘here’s the definition, memorize it,’ but thinking about how to looking at things from different angles.”
Santo is looking forward to continuing in math and science in a university setting. After finishing at Arizona State University, he hopes to pursue higher education at Cal Tech, Stanford, or at Emory Riddle in Florida, one of the best aeronautical schools. Eventually, he would like to be at NASA, designing satellites or rockets and sending them up into space.
This past March, Santo celebrated the fifth anniversary of the heart transplant he received in Tucson. Like his Mars rover, he’s a man with an important mission, and nothing is stopping him.