Senior Rohit Rao helps study sleep in internship at NASA

Scrolling through his inbox in the spring of his junior year, senior Rohit Rao searched for a response from any of the countless professors he emailed in an effort to get some kind of science-related internship.

Frustrated by his inability to obtain an internship with a professor in the subjects that he was interested in, Rao took a break and started watching YouTube videos, stumbling across a TedTalk about the importance of sleep.

The topic of the TedTalk sparked his interest, and Rao thought about contacting the speaker. Though he knew the man would not likely respond, Rao proceeded to send an email because he already had a template prepared.

“I've just been intrigued with sleep and I thought it was a great opportunity for me to pursue,” Rao said.

Rao was then surprised to find out that the speaker had not only read his email, but connected him with an adviser that got Rao a job at the NASA AMES research lab in Mountain View. (Rao declined to give the name of the TedTalks speaker.)

Rao started working at the NASA AMES research lab in September and has been going to the lab three to four times a week.

Rao said that the paid internship involves working in a cognitive science lab that is focused on the effects of sleep loss on the cognitive function.  

“[Cognitive function] is the field that holds important implications for many different populations, from pilots to college students,” Rao said. “But we mostly focus on pilots’ sleep patterns and try to maximize their efficiency to make sure they aren’t sleep deprived on the job.”

The lab keeps track of the pilot’s sleep through actiwatch that monitor data, such as the amount of sleep and what time the pilots sleep. It also involves bringing pilots in for a reflex test.  

Rao also helps format the data, so that it can be graphed and made into a model.  

Rao said that he cannot go into too much detail about what he does to comply with NASA’s need for confidentiality.

Rao said that the job is something he would like to continue doing in the future.

Despite wanting to major in business, Rao said that he plans to continue working at the center this summer until he leaves for college, and that he may continue in the summers in between years of college.

“I’m not sure this is something I will continue to do as a job later in my life,” Rao said. “I’m trying to explore my options later in life and this was a good experience.”