NASA News
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
John C. Stennis Space Center
(228) 688-3341 Feb. 20, 2004 Paul Foerman FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000
STS-04-015
NASA News Chief
(228) 688-3341
NASA FUNDS MISSISSIPPI CONSORTIUM WORK FORCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. – Mississippi’s Space Grant Consortium has been selected by NASA to be one of 43 consortia in the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant) to receive funding in 2004 for aerospace work force development.
The consortium received the highest possible award, $100,000, according to its director, Peter C. Sukanek, professor and chair of the University of Mississippi’s Department of Chemical Engineering.
The award will fund the consortium’s two-part proposal: positions for up to three state community college faculty members who will work at NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC) near Bay St. Louis or at Kennedy Space Center in Florida; and up to six university summer interns who will work at different companies around the state, including SSC.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll be the only consortium to send community college faculty to Stennis,” Sukanek said. “They’ll find out the kinds of skills NASA needs for technicians on the rocket propulsion test stands or in the Earth science applications field, then go back to their schools and incorporate some of that knowledge in teaching their students.”
NASA is awarding $3.75 million in response to proposals submitted by state organizations to NASA’s Office of Education in Washington. Awards are in two categories: single-state proposals (42) and multi-state proposals (four awards for 16 states).
The consortia were selected based on a competitive evaluation of their plans to enlarge and enhance the “pipeline,” or resource pool, of higher education graduates and faculty involved with NASA as employees, contractors or principal investigators. In support of the agency’s vision and mission, this program will increase the number and diversity of qualified individuals knowledgeable of NASA’s research mission.
“These awards will allow Space Grant to continue its work of attracting talented individuals who are qualified and trained to make significant contributions to NASA’s mission,” said Dr. Adena Loston, NASA’s Associate Administrator for Education. “These efforts advance our commitment, in President Bush’s words, to inspire a ‘new generation of innovators and pioneers.’”
For a list of the Space Grant recipients for 2004 on the Internet, visit: http://calspace.ucsd.edu/spacegrant/workforce
For information about other NASA education programs on the Internet, visit: http://education.nasa.gov
For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit: https://www.nasa.gov
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News releases provided by NASA’s Stennis Space Center are available at https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ssc/news/newsreleases/2004 For more information, call the NASA Public Affairs Office at Stennis at 1-800-237-1821 in Mississippi and Louisiana only, or (228) 688-3341.
2004 News Releases