Jocelino Rodrigues, a Principal Analyst with our advisory team, will be working at NASA’s Ames Research Center for six months. The internship will enhance his professional skills while he fulfils a personal ambition to play a part in space exploration. 

It’s just over 12 months since Jocelino joined Sagentia Innovation, shortly after completing his PhD in engineering at Cambridge University. He’d been awarded an internship with NASA during his studies, but it was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When travel restrictions eased, NASA invited him to join the 2023 intern cohort at its Silicon Valley research facility. However, he wasn’t immediately sure if he’d be able to take up the opportunity.

“I mentioned the internship during my interviews with Sagentia Innovation but didn’t know whether it would be permitted. I needn’t have worried because the whole team has been very supportive. Everyone knew how much it meant to me and saw that it would benefit me professionally too. I’m thrilled to be going to NASA Ames. The facility is well-known for its world-class R&D activity in aeronautics, exploration technology, and science.”

While full details will be confirmed when Jocelino arrives, he knows he’ll be working in Ames’ Arc Jet Complex. Arc Jets provide ground-based hyperthermal environments to support R&D surrounding thermal protection materials, vehicle structures, aerothermodynamics and hypersonics.

Scientific rigour

SpaceTech is a disruptive and progressive industry closely aligned with Sagentia Innovation’s applied science capabilities. As a Principal Analyst Jocelino is involved in a wide range of consultancy projects for clients in various sectors. His role entails a great deal of research, technology landscaping and evaluation which requires a high level of scientific rigour. Our Head of Advisory, Francisco Siro, says the internship will be a valuable experience, enriching Jocelino’s skills for future projects in aerospace and other related industries. 

“Jocelino has a great talent for identifying nuggets of insight that can drive transformative innovation strategies and fix clients’ pain points. I am confident that this experience with NASA will further strengthen and extend these capabilities. We are very excited for him and wish him every success.”

This isn’t the first time Jocelino has been involved in a NASA initiative. In 2013 he took part in a week of astronaut training at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after reaching the finals of an international competition. A decade later, he’s looking forward to applying his engineering skills to the agency’s endeavours.

“My academic background is in aerospace engineering, so I follow NASA’s progress in deep space exploration very closely. Being able to play a part in this – even in a small way – is very exciting. I’m so glad I’ve been able to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Find out more about the work Jocelino does at Sagentia Innovation by emailing us: [email protected]