Flying High

Well-Grounded Alumnus Has Smooth Landing at Space Agency

It may seem like a long way, both metaphorically and geographically, from a northwest Pennsylvania farm to NASA at Cape Canaveral, Fla., but Slade Peters doesn’t see it that way.

Don’t misunderstand—the recent Penn State alumnus concedes the airline flight or car trip are considerable, but in his mind, it’s a lot farther in terms of distance than science.

An Agricultural and Biological Engineering major, Peters grew up on a small dairy operation near Meadville, Pa., where his family milks about 170 Jersey cows that are carefully bred to supply the maximum volume of milk. In fact, theirs was recently judged the topproducing herd of its size in Pennsylvania. “My dad understands it is all about genetics,” he says.

He also worked at his uncle’s nearby shop, where they heat treat, or harden, parts for many different types of manufactured equipment. “The business has contracts with the U.S. Navy, the aerospace industry, and the automotive industry among others— we covered all facets of machinery,” says Peters, who graduated in May of 2006 and soon after went from the farm and heat-treat shop to the space agency.

Now a fluid-systems test engineer with NASA who troubleshoots the space shuttle’s orbital maneuvering and reaction-control systems, Peters sees clearly that his earlier jobs and education prepared him well for his high-tech career. “Being involved with machinery started on the farm,” he says. “Every summer I went home and did the maintenance on the equipment—and it transitioned into this.

“Actually, I started out in electrical engineering at Penn State Erie, then two weeks into my junior year at University Park, I made the switch to ag and bio engineering, and everything just fell into place,” Peters adds. “The difference between electrical and ag and bio engineering is astronomical. Electrical just seemed all theoretical, and ag and bio engineering was more applied, hands-on. I liked it a lot better and felt that I fit in much better with the people and the atmosphere. The classes were smaller and I got to know all the professors by name. I really liked that aspect of it.”

Peters was pleasantly surprised about how well prepared he was to land a good job. “As far as engineering positions go, as long as you get the basic principles from the engineering major, you can apply them to any job,” he says. “I found out when I got to NASA that they needed me to have the basics, and they would train me on the specifics. The great thing about agricultural and biological engineering is that you can branch out and take classes from other engineering disciplines and get a really well-rounded education.

“Ag and bio engineering is not just geared toward agriculture,” Peters notes. “Other graduates are working on Apache helicopters, at NASA, as food engineers at Hershey, and as soil and water experts at private and governmental levels. It’s such a broad major, and you can apply it to the real world in many different ways.”

But despite getting what he calls the chance of a lifetime to work on the space shuttle at NASA, Peters’ heart is still on the farm in Crawford County. “I still love dairy farming,” he admits. “For sure, I am going to pursue this opportunity, but when I get the time off, I’m still going to love going home and being with the cows. I love the farm lifestyle. That probably won’t ever change.”

—Jeff Mulhollem