Filed under: Funding, Higher Education, Research, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI)-sponsored Ph.D. Training Program in Space Life Sciences at Texas A&M University (TAMU) is currently accepting applications for Fall 2010. Students participating in this program work toward a Ph.D. in Nutrition, Kinesiology or Nuclear Engineering (Health Physics), or a M.D./Ph.D. or Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from the Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
Students will focus their research on space environment-induced bone loss, muscle wasting, cosmic radiation damage and/or changes in metabolism. The Space Life Sciences graduate program at TAMU is designed with immersive components including: fundamental courses in space life sciences, individual research and an experiential component with work at Johnson Space Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory and/or University of Texas Medical Branch. All trainees participate in outreach by teaching elements of space life sciences in a K-12 setting.
To learn more about the program, please visit http://SLSGraduateProgram.tamu.edu. The deadline for submitting an application package is February 15, 2010.
For more information please contact:
Chelsea L. Bishop
Program Coordinator, Ph.D. Training Program in Space Life Sciences
Phone: 979-845-0850
E-mail: CLBishop (at) tamu.edu
NASA, in conjunction with TopCoder Inc. and researchers from Harvard Business School and London Business School, has kicked off an experimental programming competition. The competition is aimed at developing algorithms that optimize medical kits for long-duration human space exploration.
Competitors will develop algorithms to help NASA’s flight surgeons make decisions involved with optimizing the contents of the medical supplies kit that may one day be carried on board long-term space missions. Submissions will be compared with the results of an existing computer model that has simulated the expected medical occurrences and outcomes for various mission scenarios.
Registration for the event closes on Oct. 28, 2009. The online competition runs Nov. 4-14, 2009. The competition is open to all TopCoder members but will be limited to 480 members. More than $24,000 in cash and prizes is at stake.
For full registration information and rules, visit http://www.topcoder.com/nasacontest
TopCoder is a competitive software development community with more than 220,000 developers representing more than 200 countries that offers competition-based development using a unique model of open innovation.
Filed under: Competitions, Cool Science, Educational Materials, Educator Kit, Engineering, K-12, NASA, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
NASA is inviting students in grades 5-8 to participate in the Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge. The challenge uses real-world scenarios that meet science and mathematics content standards. Students can participate in a formal, informal or home-school setting.
Teams of up to six students will design a water recycling system for the unique environment of the moon. Teams will then test their system on a simulated wastewater stream. Proposals and results are due Feb. 1, 2010.
The winning teams will be announced in May 2010. The top three teams will receive awards. The first place team will receive an expense-paid trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During the winning team’s visit to Kennedy, students will gain firsthand knowledge about NASA’s missions, receive behind-the-scenes tours of NASA’s launch facilities, and learn about future aerospace and engineering careers.
For more information and contest rules, please visit http://wlmr.nasa.gov/
On Oct. 28, 2009, Dr. Jay Garland will be hosting a webcast tutorial for educators on the WLMR design challenge from 4-5 pm EDT. The presentation will provide an overview of the contest objectives and schedule, demonstrate methods students will use to create and analyze the wastewater, and answer questions from the audience. The webcast can be accessed at http://dln.nasa.gov
Also available online is the Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge Educator Guide. This guide is a starting point for middle school students to research and answer the challenging questions of how to maintain human habitations on the moon and other planets in the solar system. The guide focuses specifically on the need for water recycling. The guide includes background information on topics relating to the moon, Earth’s water cycle and water recycling. Several basic classroom activities on water recycling are also included.
The guide is available for downloading at http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/WLMR_Guide.html
Filed under: Astronomy, Cool Science, Higher Education, K-12, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities, Webcasts
YouTube viewers have the opportunity to “Ask a Nobel Laureate” a question via the Internet. NASA Astrophysicist John Mather, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2006, is the first Nobel Laureate to participate with Nobelprize.org, the official Web site of the Nobel Foundation, and he will answer a selection of video questions uploaded onto YouTube.
Nobelprize.org manages TheNobelPrize YouTube channel and disseminates content from their archives gathered since the first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901. Mather is the first NASA researcher to receive the Nobel Prize, which he received with George Smoot for their discoveries regarding the echoes of the Big Bang – providing extraordinary glimpses of the beginning of the universe.
Questions must be submitted by Oct. 30, 2009. John Mather will post video responses to a selection of questions shortly after.
To participate online and see questions that have already been submitted, visit http://www.youtube.com/thenobelprize
For more information about John Mather and his discovery, visit http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2006/index.html
Filed under: Aeronautics, Educational Materials, Higher Education, K-12, NASA, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities, Teacher Opportunities
On Oct. 27, 2009, NASA launches the first flight of a new era with the flight test of the . In preparation for the flight test, NASA has launched a new Web site to involve the public in this exciting and historic event.
The “MyExploration” Web site encourages visitors to learn, explore and participate in the upcoming mission. NASA is asking the public to upload 60-second videos that finish the statement “Space exploration is important because …” These videos will be posted on the site for others to see.
The “MyExploration” Web site also has links to Ares information on the Web, including links to the latest news and information on Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
To learn more, upload your video, view videos submitted by others, and take the “MyExploration” quiz, visit http://www.nasa.gov/myexploration
Filed under: Cool Science, K-12, NASA, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities, Webcasts
Cassini scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will answer questions about Saturn from students who entered the Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest.
This live event will air on the “NASAJPL” channel on Ustream TV (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasajpl) on Oct. 20, 2009, beginning at noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT). This program will also be archived for later viewing.
More information on the Cassini mission is available at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini
Filed under: Astronomy, Cool Science, Higher Education, K-12, NASA, Science, Student Opportunities, Teacher Opportunities, Webcasts
NASA invites students and faculty to an internet chat with Peter Schultz, co-investigator with the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite mission. NASA’s LCROSS, which is searching for water ice in the Cabeus A crater near the moon’s south pole, culminated with two lunar impacts on Oct. 9, 2009. Schultz is also involved with two other NASA missions: Stardust-NExT and Deep Impact eXtended Investigation. To learn more about Peter Schultz and his career, please visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/centers/kennedy/technology/schultz_peter.html.
The chat will begin at 2 p.m. EDT on Oct. 15, 2009, at http://ESMDSpaceGrantProject.universitywebchat.com/chat9385/.
The chat room will not be available until 5 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. There are 100 slots available that will be filled on a first come/first serve basis.
Participants are encouraged to submit questions ahead of time to Mandi.C.Falconer@nasa.gov. Questions about the activities surrounding LCROSS can also be asked during the chat.
For more information about the mission, visit the NASA mission page at http://www.nasa.gov/lcross. You can also follow the mission on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LCROSS_NASA and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/LCROSS-Lunar-Impactor-Mission/154478180006
Filed under: Higher Education, Internships, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
The NSBRI’s summer program is for graduate or medical students and undergraduate students who have completed their second year of undergraduate studies. Applicants are asked to send a curriculum vitae or resume, a letter of interest indicating available dates during the summer, and two letters of recommendation. The program is open to U.S. citizens.
The deadline to apply for the 2010 program is Jan. 31, 2010.
For more information, visit http://www.nsbri.org/Education/SummerInternship.html
Filed under: Funding, Higher Education, NASA, Research, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
The NSBRI-sponsored training program in space life sciences enables students to work toward a Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. at Texas A&M University and focus their research on space life sciences and fields related to the space initiative. Texas A&M is currently recruiting participants for fall 2010. Students will pursue doctoral degrees in kinesiology, nuclear engineering (health physics) or nutrition, or a M.D./Ph.D. or Ph.D. in medical sciences.
Application packages are due Feb. 15, 2010.
For more information, visit http://SLSGraduateProgram.tamu.edu
Filed under: Competitions, Engineering, Higher Education, NASA, Research, STEM, Science, Student Opportunities
NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace announce the 2010 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage Competition. RASC-AL is a design project competition aimed at university-level engineering students.
The RASC-AL contest challenges participants to design projects based on real NASA projects. These design projects could then potentially be implemented by NASA.
Student teams must submit an abstract for their proposed project by Feb. 5, 2010. Their work must be based on one of four themes: lunar outpost to settlement, technology-enabled human Mars mission, bringing the world along with participatory exploration, and common lunar sortie / near-Earth object mission design. The RASC-AL Steering Committee of NASA and industry experts will evaluate the proposals and select as many as ten undergraduate and five graduate teams to compete against each other at a forum in June 2010 in Florida.
The RASC-AL Program is open to full-time undergraduate or graduate students majoring in engineering or science at an accredited university. University design teams must include one faculty or industry advisor with a university affiliation and two or more undergraduate or graduate students. A group of universities may also work in collaboration on a design project entry. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.
For more information about this competition, visit http://www.nianet.org/rascal/index.html
