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From VCRs to Spacecraft: Electrical Engineer Karreem Hogan

Contact: JPL/Charli Schuler (818) 393-5467
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
June 30, 2003

When Karreem Hogan was 9 years old, he would have been
more than happy to fix your VCR. The small wonder, a fan of
1980s television shows "MacGyver" and "Mr. Wizard's
World," started disassembling and reassembling his parents'
old audio-visual equipment (without their permission) at age
6 and eventually parlayed his captivating hobby into an
electrical engineering career. 

"I was fascinated with electronics and how they worked," he
said. "I once took the top off my parents' brand new VCR, just
to watch the wheels inside turn and see what was connected to
what and how things worked." 

Now a radio science systems analyst for NASA's
Saturn-bound Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, Hogan, 27, spends
his summers analyzing frequencies at JPL. Cassini sends radio
signals that pass through various mediums. Any fluctuations
in a signal may reveal characteristics about the signal's path;
for example, if the signal passes through a planet's
atmosphere, it may reflect what the atmosphere is like. Hogan
helps process data from the spacecraft by comparing the radio
signals sent from JPL to Cassini with signals the spacecraft
sends back. 

"My job basically consists of looking at graphs and plotting
data," he said. "It involves a lot of analytical skills because
sometimes I get random files of information and I need to
research it and figure out how to translate it from numbers to
visual references." 

Hogan has been a summer scholar at JPL for two years. The
laboratory recruited him from North Carolina Agricultural
and Technical State University, where he obtained his
bachelor's and master's degrees, both in electrical engineering.
He is now a teaching assistant at the university, pursuing a
doctorate degree in electrical engineering with an emphasis in
signal processing and communication. 

Being a teaching assistant solidifies my knowledge of what I do," 
said Hogan, who has taught advanced laboratory classes on applied 
circuits for four semesters. "My main goal is to make sure the 
students learn the material, but I also get something from teaching 
in that it confirms what I know and helps me identify my weaknesses." 

This summer, Hogan is part of the JPL Minority Education
Initiative Program, which provides minority university
students and education communities with access to
opportunities at the laboratory. After finishing his studies, he
plans to secure more work in the engineering industry and
eventually teach at an historically black engineering college. "I
want to make contacts and create opportunities for others," he
said. 

Born and raised in Philadelphia and North Carolina, Hogan
excelled in school, developing major interests in math and
science. After high school, he turned down a full scholarship
to Penn State University and acceptance to North Carolina
State University to attend North Carolina Agricultural and
Technical State University. There, he felt he could make a
difference for minorities and contribute to a historically black
university. 

Hogan, who also harbored a childhood dream of becoming a pilot, 
joined the Army Reserves at age 19. He graduated from training 
with top honors and served as a parachute rigger and paratrooper 
for the 82nd airborne division at Fort Bragg, N.C. "The education 
path was always going to be there, so I wanted to get some life 
experience first," he said. "The Army Reserves was like a crash 
course in maturing. Now I can say I deliberately jumped out of 
a plane." 

Hogan's military experiences also prepared him for an engineering 
career by teaching him to pay attention to detail. "I learned that 
a small mistake can lead to disaster," he said. "Every detail counts.
There is zero margin for error." 

Speaking of disasters, the question beckons: Did Hogan's parents 
ever get mad at him for taking apart their stuff? An enigmatic grin 
spreads across Hogan's face as he delivers his answer: "By the time 
they found out, I knew how to fix a lot of things," he said. "They 
were more than happy to have an in-house repairman."

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