31/08/2020

The Interstellar Mathematical Brilliance of Katarine Klitzke

Luiza Barata

More than 80 years separate the trajectories of the American scientist Katherine Johnson and the Brazilian Katarine Emanuela Klitzke, from Timbó, Santa Catarina. But besides their very similar first names, there is another point in common between the two. The mathematics of the stars brought them inspiration and brilliance in important scientific achievements. In July of this year, Katarine, 19, was awarded by NASA during the RASC-AL (Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts), a competition that challenges participants to develop new concepts for aerospace systems.

Some of the solutions found by her and six other participants who formed the winning group will be used in the 2024 moon landing and also in the Mars mission in the 2030s. If it weren't for the pandemic, Katarine would be in the United States today, where she has lived since last year to pursue her undergraduate studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In March, the young woman's plans changed, and she returned to her parents' home, where she will spend the next semester taking online classes in Computer Engineering, Astrophysics, and Artificial Intelligence.

“It has been a very interesting experience because, upon returning to Timbó, I went back to studying in the same room where I prepared for school and for the science competitions I participated in as a child. But, at the same time, everything is very different because today I carry a different kind of baggage,” he compares.

To participate in the NASA challenge, planning began at the start of the year. Together with friends from the astronomy club she met at university, Katarine had to put together a research and analysis project to create aerospace equipment designs . Finally, the group had to scientifically prove that their creations were valid. “It was very hard work, but incredibly amazing. Since I was four years old, people have asked me what I would be when I grew up or where I would go, and my answer has always remained firm and strong: 'I'm going to NASA!'” she celebrates.

In her childhood, the student began to follow in the footsteps of her parents and siblings, who carry on the family tradition of being scouts. It was then that she fell in love with the stars and observing the sky. "A little later, while still in high school, a teacher brought a telescope and it completely enchanted me."

With her participation in the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools (OBMEP), her scientific career began to take on a more defined shape. “That's where everything took off. OBMEP was truly the gateway to everything in my life. I studied at the Padre Martinho Stein Municipal School and competed from 6th to 9th grade. In order, I went from honorable mention, through bronze and silver, and finally reached gold.”

After participating in other mathematics, physics, chemistry, and astronomy olympiads, Katarine was invited to study at a private school in Fortaleza. Her initial plan was to apply to the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA), but after participating in the selection process for the Estudar Leaders Project, run by the Estudar Foundation, she was sent to the United States, where she is currently attending university.

Looking to the future, the young woman plans to work on developing space probes and telescopes to understand how stars and galaxies work. “I came here to help humanity better understand the universe. The knowledge we have today is still very limited, so imagine how many things are out there that we don't know and that are part of our history,” she says.