My name is Sam Yee, and I'm the APL Project Scientist for the TIMED mission. I coordinate the scientific investigations for the mission and organize science team meetings.

I grew up in Taiwan and watched the Apollo missions on TV in high school. I became interested in space exploration and how it can benefit people on Earth. Watching the news about space programs in other countries Ð and seeing how they excited people Ð inspired me to explore space science myself. In fact, in my own version of "October Sky," I built a rocket without any directions, using soda cans. As you might imagine, it blew up!

In college, I pursued my interest in upper atmosphere and space sciences. I studied physics, math, engineering math, quantum mechanics, and remote sensing and space instrumentation. Today, I attend conferences and seminars around the world, presenting ideas and research to other scientists and listening to their ideas, as well. I believe you must always continue to learn.

I've been a space scientist for 30 years, including my experience in college. As part of my college curriculum, I conducted both hands-on and theoretical research as well as small project work. After I graduated, I worked for several universities, including Harvard and the University of Michigan, conducting research and teaching. I even got to work on a satellite mission at the University of Michigan!

Envisioning a scientific project is exciting, but having to convince people that it's worth funding can take some of the initiative out of the project. As lead scientist for TIMED, I am required to do a lot of administrative work, leaving much of the research for other scientists to conduct. My career is not exactly how I originally thought it would be, but that's because my interests changed as new opportunities arose. As things changed, however, I continued to stay on course to pursue my goal.

The space field is exciting. You can see the return of your ideas, and every day is different. The field is competitive, but the challenge of exploration is inspiring. Having an idea, getting it approved and funded, and then recognized by your peers is the best part of my job. It shows that the scientific approach is reasonable and that they trust you can deliver what you claim. If you are interested, you should set a goal to pursue this path and always keep your goal in sight. If you like the job, you'll find it rewarding.

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