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NASA Marshall Outreach Spans All 67 Alabama Counties

Whether it was through the extensive outreach to teachers and students, by fostering scores of small business opportunities, through research partnerships advancing aerospace technologies, or the hundreds of speaking engagements by NASA subject matter experts across the state, Marshall’s impact on Alabama knew no bounds last year.

Maria Chambers, left, from Marshall's Office of Academic Affairs gives instruction to a pair of students in March 2017.
Maria Chambers, left, from Marshall’s Office of Academic Affairs gives instruction to a pair of Johnnie R. Carr Middle School students in March 2017 during a NASA-led STEM engagement. The hands-on engineering activity called “Light, But Strong” challenged students to build a sturdy mobile launch platform with straws and tape. The Montgomery, Ala. Middle School visit is one example of Marshall’s outreach effort to help students excel in STEM-related subjects.
NASA

“Soon after becoming center director, I noticed we consistently reached about two-thirds of the state and challenged the team to extend our reach to every county,” said Marshall Center Director Todd May. “Alabama has long been committed to NASA and to helping us achieve our space exploration goals,” May continued. “We are equally committed to extending our knowledge and the benefits of NASA’s science and technology investments to provide the greatest benefit across the Alabama, and across nation.”

Marshall expertise extends to nearly every facet of NASA’s broad portfolio of exploration and discovery missions. To successfully achieve missions, NASA often forms partnerships with companies, academic institutions, or state and other federal agencies. In turn, those organizations benefit from the broad technical expertise and consolidated cross-cutting capabilities at NASA.

Through special contracts called Space Act Agreements, NASA partners to share resources, personnel and expertise, facilities and equipment, and technology to advance aerospace research or achieve mission goals. Currently, Marshall has more than 50 active Space Act Agreements with industry, academic, non-profit and other government agencies based in Alabama including the University of Alabama System, Auburn University, Alabama A&M University in Huntsville and the University of North Alabama in Florence.

Students throughout Alabama, across the country and around the world, take advantage of some of the unique, challenging competitions offered through Marshall, such as the Human Exploration Rover Challenge and Student Launch. In 2017, 19 of the 99 student teams in the Rover Challenge were from high schools or colleges in Alabama, and a team from Auburn University was a winner in the Student Launch competition. In addition, students nationwide can take advantage of various grants, fellowships and internships offered through Marshall.

And it’s not just through institutions of higher learning that Marshall is making an impact. The business of NASA reaches every corner of the state through Marshall’s award-winning small business program. For more than a decade, the Marshall Small Business team has aided small firms in pursuit of NASA procurement and subcontracting opportunities. In addition, in 2017 alone, the Small Business Innovation Research Program awarded 10 research grants to Alabama companies that will play integral roles supporting five different NASA centers across the United States.

Dr. David Burns with Dr. Kenneth Kitts, president of the University of North Alabama on Feb. 7, 2017.
Through Space Act Agreements, NASA partners with industry, academic, non-profit and other government agencies to advance aerospace research or achieve mission goals. On Feb. 7, 2017, Dr. David Burns, director of the Science and Technology Office at Marshall, left, signed an agreement with Dr. Kenneth Kitts, president of the University of North Alabama. The agreement allows UNA students to access NASA patents so they may identify and evaluate technologies that may have strong commercial and technical applications.
NASA

Network of States

A big part of Marshall’s ability to reach all 67 counties was done through a STEM Education and Accountability Project grant called NASA Network of States, which provides systemic, long-term support for NASA centers and partners by building strong regional networks for NASA educator professional development. Through Network of States, Marshall officials hosted and successfully completed the initial training of 84 teachers representing the 11 education regions in Alabama.

Four of the teachers who received the training will support Marshall’s annual NASA Day in Montgomery outside the Capital on Feb. 22, offering a hands-on engineering activity to visitors walking through the exhibits. The annual event which is open to the public celebrates the historic role Marshall played in NASA’s success and recognizes Alabama’s role in the agency’s journey to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Following intensive training in which the teachers toured Marshall and received instruction from subject matter experts, those trained teachers then offered guidance in their respective regions. To date, more than 100 grades K-12 educators have attended training with teachers who have completed the NASA training.

Thanks to the interest of a helpful 4-H coordinator in rural Alabama, Susan Currie, an education specialist at Marshall, arranged for NASA officials to visit schools in Choctaw, Marengo and Perry counties. Currie had previously had little response from schools in that area, but after connecting with Jacqui James, a county extension agent representing those counties, Marshall set up outreach activities in that part of the state.

Another way NASA reaches diverse and far-reaching communities throughout Alabama is sending subject matter experts in engineering, project management, science and technology to speak to community civic and professional clubs. These include Rotary International, Civitan International, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Boys and Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, chamber of commerce groups and business and industry suppliers to NASA’s Space Launch System.

One example was in in February 2017 in Wilcox County, the home county of Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, when Marshall team members spent the morning with 100 eighth-graders, talking about the long history of NASA in Alabama — and the exciting future students could be a part of. Chris Randall, a Marshall engineer who graduated from Alabama A&M University, led the group in STEM-based experiments and was also able to share his personal educational journey to help inspire the students.

“Education of our youth is the key to the future,” said May, “and Marshall continues to promote outreach efforts across the state and region to inspire the next generation of potential scientists, engineers and space explorers. This is critical to developing a viable STEM workforce in Alabama and across our country. We’ve now finally reached all 67 counties, and we’ll continue in our outreach to go back and reinvigorate different places within those counties in the coming years.”