{"id":425,"date":"2011-11-21T18:00:15","date_gmt":"2011-11-21T18:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecs.csun.edu\/spectra\/?p=425"},"modified":"2023-02-27T18:51:48","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T18:51:48","slug":"the-skys-the-limit-for-cecs-alumnus-michael-gross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecs.csun.edu\/spectra\/2011\/11\/21\/the-skys-the-limit-for-cecs-alumnus-michael-gross\/","title":{"rendered":"The sky\u2019s the limit for CECS alumnus Michael Gross"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MikeGrossSpacecraft.jpg\"Michael Gross<\/strong>\u00a0has one of the most exciting jobs on\u2014or off\u2014the planet: space exploration. The CECS alumnus (BS \u201996 summa cum laude, MS \u201908 with distinction, Electrical Engineering) has spent his entire career developing spacecraft for missions that are shedding new light on the universe and providing a rare view of Earth from outer space.<\/p>\n

When Gross first arrived at CSUN, however, he didn\u2019t aspire to work for NASA. In fact, engineering was the farthest major from his mind. Not only had he found math challenging in junior high and high school, but his dreams were focused on the ocean depths and marine biology. After realizing the limited job prospects in that field, he decided to become a lawyer and switched his major to political science. It was only after he took a student job in the chemistry lab at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power that he began to reconsider his options. Although bored by his own work assignments, he noticed that the student engineers working alongside him really seemed to be enjoying theirs. Maybe, he thought, he should give engineering a try.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"MikeGross.jpg\"Back at CSUN, he took an introduction to algorithms course. \u201cIt taught me to think and problem-solve, and after that everything made sense,\u201d he says. His academic performance took off, and he knew he\u2019d found his niche.<\/p>\n

As an engineering student, Gross became a leader, serving as vice president and then president of Tau Beta Pi. \u201cI got to interact with some very dedicated and talented students who went on to become very good engineers,\u201d he says. \u201cThe camaraderie was very rewarding.\u201d He also sat on committees for the college\u2019s ABET accreditation, which gave him a chance to work with faculty on an entirely different level.<\/p>\n

About a year and a half before graduating, he learned of an opportunity that would change his life: a part-time job at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He applied and was hired and, he says, \u201cI thank God every day for it.\u201d He has remained there ever since.<\/p>\n

In the intervening years, Gross has held a succession of increasingly responsible and rewarding jobs. \u201cI\u2019ve worked on several missions that have brought around scientific firsts,\u201d he says. \u201cThat has been a major thrill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MikeGrossRussia.jpg\"These have included Project Cassini, which discovered four previously unknown moons of Saturn; GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment), which has documented the ice mass loss of Greenland and water loss in the San Joaquin Valley; NASA\u2019s Mars Rovers, which provided empirical proof that water once flowed on the surface of Mars; and NASA\u2019s Phoenix Mars Lander, which proved that water still exists on Mars today. Along the way, he was recognized with the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal.<\/p>\n

Now serving as the flight system manager for the GRACE Follow-On project, he credits his outstanding CSUN education and mentoring for his success. \u201cCSUN, being a teaching institution, gives you access to professors who teach you how to think and bring out the best in you,\u201d he says. \u201cThey taught me how to apply the subject matter, which made me useful from the very beginning. I owe almost everything I am to my mentors at Cal State Northridge and my father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GravityRecoveryClimateExperiment.jpg\"Gross maintains his connections to CECS by serving on the college\u2019s and electrical engineering department\u2019s Industry Advisory Boards. He delivered the 2011 commencement address and the alumnus speech the previous year. He has participated in TechFest and given keynote addresses to Tau Beta Pi and the college\u2019s IEEE student chapter. \u201cAnytime they ask me to help, I help,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

After working with engineers and computer scientists trained at the world\u2019s top universities, he is convinced that a CSUN engineering education rivals that offered by any of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get to work with some of the best and brightest engineers in the world, but some of the best and brightest I\u2019ve ever worked with came from CSUN,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re everywhere, and they should be proud of the school they went to because it is giving them the tools they need to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael Gross\u00a0has one of the most exciting jobs on\u2014or off\u2014the planet: space exploration. The CECS alumnus (BS \u201996 summa cum laude, MS \u201908 with distinction, Electrical Engineering) has spent his entire career developing spacecraft for missions that are shedding new light on the universe and providing a rare view of Earth from outer space. When Gross first arrived at CSUN, however, he didn\u2019t aspire to work for NASA. In fact, engineering was the farthest major from his mind. Not only had he found math challenging in junior high and high school, but his dreams were focused on the ocean depths […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall-2011"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecs.csun.edu\/spectra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecs.csun.edu\/spectra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecs.csun.edu\/spectra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecs.csun.edu\/spectra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecs.csun.edu\/spectra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecs.csun.edu\/spectra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":426,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecs.csun.edu\/spectra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425\/revisions\/426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecs.csun.edu\/spectra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecs.csun.edu\/spectra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecs.csun.edu\/spectra\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}