We are ready to begin our WON chat with Maria Bualat, a computer
engineer at NASA. Maria, why don't you introduce yourself and those who
have questions can ask away.

Hi!  My name is Maria Bualat.
I work at NASA Ames Research Center with the Intelligent Mechanisms Group.
We work with rovers that will be used for planetary exploration.  I've been working
at Ames for over nine years.  I graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor's 
degree in Electrical Engineering and from Santa Clara University with a Master's degree, 
also in Electrical.

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Maria - Are you doing anything for the mars exploration? 

I'm working on a rover called "Marsokhod" that was built by the Russians for exploring 
Mars. My group works on putting "smarts" on rovers

Why do you do experiments in Arizona - is it similar to Mars?

One reason for going to Arizona is that it is dry (like Mars).  The rover isn't equiped to
handle wet weather. Also, some of the rock formations in the area of Arizona that we are 
going to are similar to what we might find on Mars.

Was marsohod built in Russia and did you go there? Do you work with the russions alot? 
How come they can't put thier own smarts on rover? 

Will the Russians come here to work with you? 

Yes, Marsokhod was built in Russia, but unfortunately I didn't get to go there.  We work 
with the Russians on  long distance control of the rover.  We control it from here and they
control it from there.  The Russians are really good at mechanical designs.  They created a
really robust rover chassis.  However, when it comes to high-tech computing, we're still
ahead of them here in the U.S.

Is Arizona where most of the tests for the Mars rovers take place? 

We've tested the Marsokhod in places like Death Valley, CA, and the Kilauea volcano in
Hawaii.  In general, we want to go to places that are dry and have interesting geological 
features to explore.  The main reason for sending a rover to Mars is to perform remote
field geology. So we test to see if a geologist can figure out what a rock is made of just
by the pictures sent back by a rover.

Do you know if you can find out about the rock just from pictures or do you have to get 
samples? Why do you want to know about the Mars land?

You can find out quite a bit rocks just from pictures.  The pictures are taken in special 
ways. Some are taken really close up to see the grains in the rocks.  Some are taken with
special filters so you can see what colors are in the rocks.  Of course, getting a sample is 
the best possible way to find out about a rock, but that isn't always possible.  Geologists 
want to know about what Mars is made of and how it developed over time. 

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Could a geoligist work at NASA?

I know of several geologists who work at NASA.  They're interested in the geology of 
other planets and in of studying geology remotely

Why are you interested in creating user interfaces that allow you to use a human being as 
part of a control system. I thought you would try to make it remote.

Yes, we are attempting to create a remote system, but even with the incredible advances
in technology today, it'll be a long, long time before we can put enough intelligence
on-board a rover so that we can simply tell it, "Go to Mars.  Tell me what it's made of."
We're looking at different levels of autonomy in rovers ranging from telling it, "Drive
forward for 1 meter", to telling it, "Drive to that rock over there.

Do you work with the other women who was chatting yesterday who makes the lasers for 
the mars rover? 

We're not currently planning on putting lasers on Marsokhod. 

When is the work you do on Mars going to be used?

Right now we aren't working on a specific mission.  Our work is targeted for missions
about 5 years from now. 

Do you think a astronaut will ever go to Mars? 

I think that some day astronauts will go to mars.  I think it will be a long time from now,
though.  Sending humans to other planets is very expensive and requires a lot of new
technology. 

Won't the technology change in 5 years?

I should clarify a bit.  Some of our work can be applied more near-term, but we're
not on any current missions.  You are right that technology will change in 5 years,
but there comes a point in a project when you have to freeze the technology in order to 
build the flight.  The technology you choose has to be space qualified (a process
that can take a very long time) and then you have to built the machine that will actually
fly.  All our current tests are on a rover that's only really meant to be used on earth

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How come the russians dont' build cars then!?

The Russians do build cars.  We just don't get them here. 

Do you ever work with the Japanese on the high-tech computering part?

We haven't worked with the Japanese in my group. 

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Do you work with mostly men? 

Yes, most of my co-workers are men, but we've got a few women in our group, too.

What is your office like? Does only Ames work on your kind of work? Does each NASA
base specialize in different things?

I share my office with another woman.  she's a computer scientists.  Between the two
of us, we've got four computers in the room.  Other NASA centers are working on
robotics, in particular the JPL and JSC.  Here at Ames our emphisis is on the user
interface and performing demonstrations of remote field geology.  Each NASA center
specializes in a different things so that there will be as little duplication of effort as
possible.

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Can you elaborate on why how you feel better study habits could
have helped you and why you didn't have better habits - was it home or school?

I used to be, and sometimes still am, a terrible procrastinator.  I would always put off
studying and doing my homework until the last minute.  I think that led to more stress than 
if I'd started early and took my time.  Part of the problem may have been that I grew up 
with 5 brothers and sisters, so there was always someone around to play with.  I have to 
admit that it's sometimes more fun to play than to do homework. 

Did you really know in 8th grade what you wanted to be? 

I pretty much knew that I wanted to do something that involved math and science, because 
I liked them a lot.  That article on engineers at NASA really got my attention.  I'm lucky
that I got to work where I'd always dreamed of working. 

What could have helped you in school to create better study habits?

I'm not sure what my teachers could have done to create better study habits.
Perhaps if there'd been a pleasant place for me to go to study that didn't have as many
distractions as home. Also, having fun assignments wouldn't hurt. :-) 

Do you thing finding out about careers like with this project would have helped guide you? 

Projects like this would probably have given me a better idea of what an engineer can do.  I 
picked engineering as a major in college without really knowing what an engineer was or 
did.  I was just lucky that I liked it.  My career has changed somewhat over the past
nine years and I might have taken a slightly different track if I'd had a better idea of the
types of careers that are available. 

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Are any of your brothers and sister working like you?

Yes, all my brothers and sisters are grown up and working.  They are all in very different
fields.  My sister is a paralegal and one of my brothers appraises real estate in Los Angeles.
Another brother is an officer in the Army stationed in Germany and another works for a 
pool company.  My youngest brother is working part-time while he goes to San Francisco 
State part-time. He's really into History and Political Science.

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Can you speak any other languages?

I speak German (though I'm really rusty at it) and I have a few French words left in my 
brain from when I took French in High School.  I'm not Indian.  My father is Filipino and 
my mother is German/Polish/Irish.  As you can tell, I've got a pretty multi-cultural 
background

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So you think you will stay at NASA for a long time? Are you married and do you
have any kids? Will you work if you have kids? I think your mom didn't work with 6
kids. 

Good guess about my Mom.  Taking care of 6 kids is definately a full-time (and over-time) 
job. I really enjoy what I do here at NASA so I don't have any plans to leave soon.  I'm 
not married (yet) but my boyfriend and I are planning to tie the knot one of these days.  I'm
considering having kids, and I'd like to continue working if I do

Can we email you?

(from the moderator) The WON project doesn't incorporate email right now becuase we 
know our women of NASA already get so many messages a day just work related. Come 
back for another chat.

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