NASA announces $3.6 mn grant under its educational programme

The National Aeronautics and Space administration (NASA) is extending its STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programme to create a cloud sourced aerospace academy that would link several US universities and other institutions.

NASA's Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) has selected nine universities for cooperative agreement awards totalling $3.6 million to create and operate a NASA MUREP Aerospace Academy.

The universities will receive as much as $160,000 per year for two years and up to $100,000 for a third year.

The Aerospace Academies will engage historically under-served and underrepresented students in grades K-12 through hands-on activities that reflect each of NASA's four mission directorates: Science, Aeronautics, Space Technology and Human Exploration and Operations.

The academies will also provide access to NASA technology through an Aerospace Education Laboratory, and encourage families and communities to get involved through the Family Café, an interactive forum with activities, workshops and guest speakers.

The universities selected for Aerospace Academy grants are:

• California State University, Fresno
• Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland
• Elizabeth City State University, North Carolina
• Hartnell College, Salinas, California
• Morgan State University, Baltimore
• Tennessee State University, Nashville
• Texas State University, San Marcos
• The University of Texas at El Paso
• York College, City University of New York

MUREP awards promote STEM literacy and enhance and sustain the capability of institutions to perform NASA-related research and education.

The goals of the programme are to expand the nation's base for aerospace research and development, increase participation by faculty and students at minority serving institutions, and increase the number of undergraduate and graduate degrees in NASA-related fields awarded to students from minority serving institutions.