Integrating Math and Science Through Engineering Design Workshop (Va STEM CoNNECT)

The focus of the week long Institute is to integrate STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education into math & science teaching/learning content using the engineering design process.

This five day professional development Institute is being offered to only 25 high school educators who teach math or science. If selected, the participants will receive a $600.00 stipend for their Institue attendance and their involvement in the year-long follow-up study.

Institue is June 25 to 29, 2012. Application deadline is May 18th, 2012.

To find out more and apply, visit the site HERE.

2012-13 STEM Bridge Scholarship Program Recruitment

Attention Sophomore STEM majors. The Virginia Space Grant Consortium is now accepting applications for the Undergraduate STEM Bridge Scholarship for the 2012-13 academic year. Students must be majoring in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) field and be interested in research related to NASA and the aerospace sector. Please find more information and the application on the VSGC STEM Bridge website. Applications are due by May 18, 2012. For additional questions please contact Denice Dublin, STEM Bridge Scholarship Program Coordinator at ddublin@odu.edu.

NOTE: Current STEM Bridge students can apply to extend their scholarship into their junior year. This Bridge renewal scholarship will help guide and support students in submitting quality proposals for the Undergraduate Research Scholarship for their senior year in 2013-14. There will be 10 spots available for this $1000 scholarship. Deadline in May 18, 2012. To find out more and apply, visit here..

Student Research Conference 2012

The 2012 Student Research Conference hosted by The College of William & Mary was Thursday, April 5th.

To view the conference agenda, photos, student abstracts or find more info, visit the conference page HERE

Release of OCT Space Technology Research Opportunities for Early Career Faculty NRA

NASA is seeking proposals from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of outstanding early career faculty beginning their independent careers. This inaugural Space Technology Research Opportunities for Early Career Faculty solicitation seeks to sponsor research in specific, high priority technology areas of interest to NASA.

Specific topic areas were selected because they can best benefit from early stage innovative approaches provided by U.S. academic institutions. The research will investigate unique, disruptive or transformational space technologies or concepts.

"NASA is committed to ensuring our nation's intellectual capital pipeline remains the best in the world, and that we bring the brightest minds together with the best ideas to meet the challenges of NASA's future missions," said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA's Space Technology Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "These grants offer a means for NASA to capitalize on the tremendous creativity and innovation that these brilliant individuals have to offer."

NASA expects to award approximately ten grants this fall, funded up to $200,000 each per year, based on the merit of proposals received. Notices of intent to submit proposals are due March 30. The deadline for submitting final proposals is May 3. The solicitation is available by opening the NSPIRES homepage at HERE selecting "Solicitations," then selecting "Open Solicitations," and, finally, selecting "Space Technology Research Opportunities For Early Career Faculty (STRO-ECF)."

The Space Technology Research Opportunities for Early Career Faculty is a part of NASA's Space Technology Program, managed by the Office of the Chief Technologist. For more information about the Space Technology Program and the crosscutting space technology areas of interest to NASA, visit HERE.

eXploration Habitat (X-Hab) 2013 Academic Innovation Challenge

The National Space Grant Foundation is pleased to announce the X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge. This program is a university level challenge designed to engage and retain students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The competition is intended to link with senior and graduate-level design curricula that emphasize hands-on design, research, development, and manufacture of functional prototypical subsystems that enable habitation-related functionality for space exploration missions. NASA will directly benefit from the challenge by sponsoring the development of innovative habitation-related concepts and technologies from universities, which will result in innovative ideas and solutions that could be applied to exploration habitats. The Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Habitation Systems Deep Space Habitat (DSH) project will offer multiple X-Hab awards of $10K - $49K each to design and produce functional products of interest to the DSH project (see topic list) as proposed by university teams according to their interests and expertise. The prototypes produced by the university teams will be integrated onto an existing NASA built operational habitat prototype. X-Hab proposals will have a Notice of Intent and proposal phase, where down-selection will determine which projects will be funded. X-Hab university teams will deliver their products in May-June 2013 to be integrated in the FY13 DSH habitat configuration. Universities may collaborate together on a Project Team.

The Foundation anticipates that approximately 6-8 awards will be made under this solicitation ranging between $10,000 and $49,000 each.

Visit here http://spacegrant.org/xhab/ to view more info and learn of Eligibility requirements.

Aerospace Days at the Virginia Legislature

The 7th Annual Aerospace Day at the Virginia Legislature was held February 8-9 to increase awareness of the importance of NASA and the aerospace industry to the economic well being and future of the Commonwealth. This is evident as Virginia has over 300 companies that employ more than 28,000 people in the aerospace sector and 259,000 in aviation. NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) contribute $1.2 billion to Virginia's economic base, which supports 10,700 jobs.

Mary Sandy, VSGC Director, had the lead for coordinating the Aerospace Sector messages that were presented to legislators and key policy makers in Richmond. Teams of senior leaders from NASA LaRC and Wallops Flight Facility, VSGC staff members, aerospace industry representatives and members of academia met with state senators, delegates and key officials during meetings held on both days of the event. Sandy notes, "Aerospace Day offers a wonderful opportunity for Virginia's Aerospace Sector as a whole to come together and meet with policy makers. The event provides an excellent venue for show casing to legislators and executive branch personnel the importance of aerospace and aviation to our state and national economies. Also as part of Aerospace Days activities, a legislative reception was held February 8 at the Library of Virginia to promote support for the Commonwealth's aviation and aerospace interests."

Students from the Langley Aerospace Research Student Scholars (LARSS) program and the Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS) program participated in a breakfast forum attended by members of the Legislature and also accompanied the teams on visits with individual Senators and Delegates. Legislators heard first hand from the students how important these student programs are to the Commonwealth's workforce development efforts in STEM areas.

NASA LARSS intern, Angel Henderson (L) and former VASTS Scholar, Kaylin Blount (R) talk with Delegate Joe May (center) and Mary Sandy, Virginia Space Grant Consortium Director, during the Aerospace Day Education Forum.

Photo Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

Senator Ryan McDougle poses with Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholar (VASTS) Megan Isabelle during Aerospace Days at the General Assembly. Megan, a student at Atlee High School in Mechanicsville, Virginia participated the VASTS program in 2011.

Photo Credit: NASA/Sean Smith