Barbara Janoiko

Howdy!

My name is Barbara Janoiko, and I’m really excited to be on the White Team!  I’m from San Antonio, TX, and I’m a senior mechanical engineering major at Texas A&M University.  Why mechanical engineering and why Texas A&M?  Well, I’ve always known I would be an engineer because I loved math and science, but would have never thought I would be a mechanical engineer.  Physics was never my strong subject, and here I am using it in all my classes, but I love it!  Mechanical engineering is such a versatile field… I can work anywhere and do anything when I graduate.  And why Texas A&M?  Besides being given a lot of money to attend there and the fact that it is a world-class university in a cozy town fairly close to major cities in Texas, it is close enough to home to where I can go there whenever I want to, yet it is far enough away from home to where I can be independent.

This is my second co-op tour at NASA, but my third co-op tour at Johnson Space Center.  Last summer I worked for United Space Alliance in Shuttle Robotics Training (training astronauts to fly the arm on the shuttle).  My main project was to write and edit a training manual for astronauts, instructors, and flight controllers that followed their training courses.  Then I switched to NASA and have been here since January.  This spring semester, I worked in EA5, the Biomedical Hardware Development and Engineering Office.  I designed and fabricated items to support biomedical experiments on the International Space Station (ISS).  My main project was to design and fabricate a stowage kit for a blood pressure device that will be used for experiments on the ISS.  This summer, I’m working in the Manufacturing Integration and Technology Branch on the X-38 project.  The X-38 is the prototype for the Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) for the ISS.  I’m designing Ground Support Equipment (GSE) for V201, which is the X-38 vehicle that will be taken to orbit aboard the space shuttle for a test flight back to Earth.  So far this summer, I have designed and fabricated a drill guide to open up holes on V201 and a temporary lighting fixture to go inside V201’s cabin.

Besides working, I love doing other sorts of activities.  I play ultimate frisbee, tennis, volleyball, and run.  I also love watching movies and having barbeques and just hanging out.  I have participated in the co-op High School Outreach Program and have given presentations to about 250 sixth graders for Engineer’s Week.

If you have any questions about anything, feel free to e-mail me at bjanoiko@ems.jsc.nasa.gov.   I’m looking forward to meeting you!

Last Updated: 06/20/01