From SUNY Potsdam to NASA: Jamie Szafran '08 Speaks at Alma Mater Tomorrow

NASA Spacecraft Command Lead Developer Jamie Szafran '08 to Accept SUNY Potsdam Rising Star Award

POTSDAM, NY (04/20/2016)(readMedia)-- SUNY Potsdam is welcoming an accomplished alumna for an inspiring campus visit this week. Jamie Szafran '08 works for the National Aeronautical and Space Administration at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

She will speak to several classes and offer a public talk at her alma mater tomorrow, on Thursday, April 21 at 4:30 p.m., in the Fireside Lounge in the Barrington Student Union. During her presentation, Szafran will share her journey to becoming employed at NASA, including her education at SUNY Potsdam and her experiences at internships and work along the way.

This free event is sponsored by the offices of career planning, alumni relations and experiential education, as well as the computer science department.

The following day, Szafran will be recognized at the regular meeting of the SUNY Potsdam Computer and Informational Science Alumni Board. College President Dr. Kristin G. Esterberg will present Szafran with the Rising Star Award from the SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association at 5 p.m. in a closed reception.

The Rising Star Award is presented to an alum who has demonstrated outstanding professional achievement in the first decade following graduation. Szafran will be recognized for her outstanding accomplishments in the field of computer science, with NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Szafran established herself as a rising star long before teaming up with the NASA Space Station as a full-time employee in 2009. As a student, she was involved in a multitude of areas on campus. With a love for music and science, she majored in both musical studies and computer science, and minored in mathematics at SUNY Potsdam, graduating magna cum laude with two bachelor's degrees in 2008.

Academically gifted, Szafran was a four-year recipient of the Newell Scholarship and was registered in the College's Honors Program. She also directed the Crane Hand Bell Choir and acted as a teaching assistant in the Department of Computer Science. In addition, she served on the Campus Rescue Squad and became an emergency management technician.

But that wasn't enough for the multi-talented student. In the summer of 2007, Szafran was one of 20 selected from more than 1,000 applicants to participate in a highly competitive internship at NASA, which focused on exploration system sand mission control directives. She did such an amazing job at the Kennedy Space Center that her supervisor arranged to have her return the following summer for a co-op, where she attended graduate school for a semester, and then worked at the center in alternating semesters until she graduated.

After graduating from the University at Buffalo with a Master of Science degree in 2010, NASA recruited Szafran to come aboard full-time as a computer scientist/engineer, AST (Aerospace Technologist), for the Kennedy Space Center. She is now a lead developer on the spacecraft command and control system's common services Team, writing software to control ground support equipment for the next chapter in human spaceflight. She is also an engineer, working with the SwampWorks rapid prototyping research and development lab, enabling design and testing of equipment for regolith operations, now and in the future.

Outside of work, Szafran is a half-marathoner and triathlete, a performing musician, a self-styled programming language theorist and serves as the treasurer of FamiLAB, Orlando's hackerspace.

For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Alumni Association, visit www.potsdam.edu/alumni.

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges-and the oldest institution within SUNY. As the College marks its bicentennial in 2016, SUNY Potsdam will celebrate a 200-year legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and leadership in the arts. Empowered by a culture of creativity, the campus community is nearing the completion of Take the Lead: The Campaign for Potsdam, which has already raised $32 million for scholarships and programs.

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