The space-grant colleges are educational institutions in the United States that comprise a network of fifty-three consortia formed for the purpose of outer space-related research. Each consortium is based in one of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or Guam, and each consists of multiple independent space-grant institutions, with one of the institutions acting as lead.
Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) is an academic preparation program for pre-college, community college and university-level students. Established in 1970 in California, the program provides academic support to students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds throughout the education pathway so they will excel in math and science and ultimately attain four-year degrees in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) fields. The program has successfully been replicated in over a dozen other states.
The Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) is an Organized Research Unit (ORU) of the University of California, Berkeley. Founded in 1959, the laboratory is located in the Berkeley Hills above the university campus. It has developed and continues to develop many projects in the space sciences, including the search for extraterrestrial life (SETI@home).
The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is a non-profit member association, founded in 1893, dedicated to promoting and improving engineering and engineering technology education. The purpose of ASEE is the advancement of education in all of its functions which pertain to engineering and allied branches of science and technology, including the processes of teaching and learning, counseling, research, extension services and public relations. ASEE administers the engineering technology honor society Tau Alpha Pi.
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of education policy or curriculum choices in schools. It has implications for workforce development, national security concerns, and immigration policy, with regard to admitting foreign students and tech workers.
Science Week refers to series of science-related events for the general public which are held in a specific countries during a designated week of the year. The aim of such science weeks is to engage and inspire people of all ages with science, engineering and technology.
NASA's Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) Program was established in 1993 as part of an agency-wide strategy to provide the highest achievable levels of safety and cost-effectiveness for mission critical software. NASA's IV&V Program was founded under the NASA Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA) as a direct result of recommendations made by the National Research Council (NRC) and the Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Since then, NASA's IV&V Program has experienced growth in personnel, projects, capabilities, and accomplishments. NASA IV&V efforts have contributed to NASA's improved safety record since the program's inception. Today, Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) is an Agency-level function, delegated from OSMA to Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and managed by NASA IV&V. NASA's IV&V Program's primary business, software IV&V, is sponsored by OSMA as a software assurance technology. Having been reassigned as GSFC, NASA IV&V is Code 180.
The Universities Space Research Association (USRA) was incorporated on March 12, 1969, in Washington, D.C. as a private, nonprofit corporation under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Institutional membership in the association currently stands at 113 universities. All member institutions have graduate programs in space sciences or technology. Besides the 98 member institutions in the United States, there are two member institutions in Canada, four in Europe, two in Israel, one in Australia and one in New Zealand, one in Hong Kong, two in Korea and two in the United Kingdom.
Science outreach, also called education and public outreach or simply public outreach, is an umbrella term for a variety of activities by research institutes, universities, and institutions such as science museums, aimed at promoting public awareness of science and making informal contributions to science education.
NASA Research Park is a research park operated by NASA near San Jose, California which is developing a shared-use research and development campus in association with government entities, academia, industry and nonprofit organizations. NASA Research Park was approved by NASA in the fall of 2002 and has been active since then.
The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act of 2007, also known as the America COMPETES Act, was authored by Bart Gordon and signed into law on August 9, 2007, by President George W. Bush. The act aimed to invest in innovation through research and development and improve the competitiveness of the United States.
The Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics is Purdue University's school of aerospace engineering contained within the Purdue University College of Engineering. The school offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. It also provides distance graduate education, including an online M.S. in Engineering with concentration in Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a distance Ph.D. Its main office and some of its labs are located in the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering. As of 2010, the School has awarded an estimated 6% of BS degrees and 7% of PhDs in aerospace engineering in the United States.
The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) was a NASA-funded consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight and developing solutions to reduce those risks. The NSBRI was founded in 1997 through a NASA Cooperative Agreement. The founding director was Laurence R. Young of MIT. NSBRI's 16,400-square-foot headquarters facility was located in the BioScience Research Collaborative in Houston, Texas. The Institute shared the facility with Baylor College of Medicine's Center for Space Medicine. The official opening was held March 19, 2012.
The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 is a U.S. law authorizing NASA appropriations for fiscal years 2011, 2012, 2013 with the same top-line budget values as requested by US President Barack Obama. It resulted from the Augustine Commission's review of then-current crewed space flight plans.
STEAM fields are the areas of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. STEAM is designed to integrate STEM subjects with arts subjects into various relevant education disciplines. These programs aim to teach students innovation, to think critically, and to use engineering or technology in imaginative designs or creative approaches to real-world problems while building on students' mathematics and science base. STEAM programs add arts to STEM curriculum by drawing on reasoning and design principles, and encouraging creative solutions.
NASA Alumni League is a U.S. organization that supports people that have worked for or at NASA or its predecessor NACA, to stay connected, and to "support the nation's space programs with technical expertise, educational outreach, and financial contributions to STEM organizations." The organization operates across the nation, also with state chapters that allow patrons to network locally. Three goals of NAL in the early 21st century were to "communicate with the NASA community", "to aid the NASA community with its comprehension of engineering and science, and "encourage members to participate in community service and in turn, encourage a dedication to the pursuit of scientific knowledge that benefits all humankind. " NAL is not part of NASA or the U.S. government, it is a non-profit organization founded in 1986.
SpaceTEC® is one of the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Centers funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for developing partnerships between academic institutions and industry partners to promote improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels. With an emphasis on two-year colleges, the ATE program focuses on the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive the world's economies. Located in Cape Canaveral, Florida, SpaceTEC® supports the education and credentialing of aerospace technicians in six core areas and three advanced disciplines: (1) space vehicle processing activities (2) aerospace manufacturing; and (3) composite materials. A national consortium of community and technical colleges, universities, business and industry organizations, and government agencies promotes careers and educates candidates for technical employment.
Aprille J. Ericsson is an American aerospace engineer. Ericsson is the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Howard University and the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in engineering at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) features a variety of research centers and institutes both based on the campus and affiliated with other academic institutions. These centers and institutes listed below seek out to expand their research, educate, and promote partnerships between the university and the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area and beyond.
The INSPIRE Women Act was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on January 5, 2017 by Representative Barbara Comstock of Virginia. The bill compels the director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to encourage women and girls to pursue an education in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
