All she wanted was a graph showing a spectral energy distribution, but she was having trouble labeling her axes of luminosity versus wavelength.

After a little bit of a struggle, physics major Nora DeMuth, 31, was able to figure it out.

“Just that small, minor achievement was thrilling,” DeMuth said. “I was stoked that I figured that out all by myself.”

Is this just some boring physics problem? Not quite.

Let’s take a step back. A giant step back.

“The big picture is what is truly inspiring,” DeMuth said. “I was making graphs describing the light from other galaxies. I was looking at the regions around super massive black holes.”

Studying the deep reaches of outer space was just another day on the job for DeMuth. This past summer, DeMuth spent 10 weeks as an intern at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the Spitzer Science Center in Pasadena.

DeMuth worked with information gathered by the Spitzer space telescope, an infrared telescope DeMuth describes as “really, really, really cool.”

“It’s an incredible telescope doing amazing science,” DeMuth said. “It’s consistently blowing people away by what it’s able to see and do.”

The Spitzer space telescope is very sensitive, and is able to see the universe on a much broader range than if it were in a visible view, DeMuth said.

She was pleased with the surroundings she was able to do her research in.

“It was amazing to be in that type of environment,” DeMuth said, “to be around other astronomers and to talk to scientists, day in and day out.”

In addition, DeMuth was surprised by the lab staff’s kindness.

“Everybody I encountered was more than willing to go out of their way to help me out,” DeMuth said. “(They) truly seemed to enjoy having students on lab.”

DeMuth looked to the JPL staff not only for guidance, but also for assurance of her future.

“One of the real gems that I got from being there this summer was that I can look at people around me and say, ‘Yeah, I could see myself doing that,'” DeMuth said.

As far as the fellow students interning with DeMuth, she was running with a tough gang of ruffians: hardcore science majors.

“It was the first time that I have ever really been in close quarters with that many other fellow nerds,” DeMuth said. “It was great because I realized that I fit in.”

DeMuth’s personal goal at JPL was to see how much she would enjoy it, as opposed to how well she would do at it.

“My main concern was to really see how it fit me personally and whether or not this was a good life choice,” DeMuth said. “It’s a big decision.”

But it wasn’t always axis-plane wishes and calculator dreams for DeMuth.

She graduated from high school embedded with the belief that her science and math skills didn’t add up to anything good.

“It took me a long time to understand that I’m actually pretty good at math and science, and that I really enjoy it,” DeMuth said.

Initially DeMuth was a psychology major, and took an astronomy class for her natural science requirement.

She had read a lot of science fiction and the thought of taking an astronomy appealed to her cosmic soul.

“I figured that would be the least painful natural science to take,” DeMuth said.

Then one magical night, looking up at the sky through the telescope on campus, DeMuth was starstruck-or rather, “planetstruck”-from observing Mars.

“I was able to see surface features and polar ice caps,” DeMuth said. “It amazed me that I could see that. That got me hooked.”

And she’s still attached. DeMuth performed well enough during her internship to score a part-time position at JPL, continuing her research during the academic school year 10 hours a week.

For students interested in science-related internships, DeMuth said it’s important to be involved with the scientific community. Informal communication is important.

“It’s important to know your physics, it’s important to know your chemistry, it’s important to know your math,” DeMuth said. “And it’s also important to establish those connections.”

EC’s Science Club is one way to make connections and learn more about the local science community, DeMuth said.

The Science Club, which DeMuth presides over as president, meets this Thursday.

As for DeMuth’s stay at JPL this summer, the results of her research were more than just scientific for her.

“The biggest personal conclusion I got out of it was that I love it,” DeMuth said. “This blows me away and this rocks my world.”