College of the Canyons Awarded NASA Funds to Participate in Space Grant’s HASP & RockSat X

The College of the Canyons Aerospace and Science Team has received a $300,000 grant from NASA’s Mentoring and Opportunities in STEM with Academic Institutions for Community Success program, which aims to expand student access to research opportunities in science and space engineering, as well as to NASA’s workforce.

The two-year grant will provide mentorship and advisor support to approximately 80 COC students, with approximately 40 opportunities for student stipends to participate in more in-depth mentorship opportunities for student leaders working on development for NASA mission projects.

The funding will also go toward establishing at least four NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory internship opportunities for COC students.

“This grant will bring enhanced recognition at our college of our participation with NASA, increase advertising to students so more students are made aware of the opportunity to participate with NASA, and lead the way to a sustainable program at our college,” Teresa Ciardi, who teaches physical science and astronomy at COC and is the AST faculty advisor, said in a news release. “We are excited to partner with JPL, (which)will provide valuable internship experience that would not have been possible without this grant. We are all excited for this next level of experience for our students to participate with NASA.”

Through this project, COC will partner with NASA JPL and California Institute of Technology to engage students in astrophysics research. A dedicated research and prototyping center workspace will also be established on campus.

Read the full article on signalscv.com. (Original Post Date: Sept. 28, 2024)

Author Credit: Signal News Room News Release

Image Credit: The Signal / Santa Clarita Community College, College of the Canyons