Caitlin Milera

Last month, NASA’s Science and Technology Education for Land/Life Assessment (STELLA) initiative organized a hands-on workshop for middle and high school teachers at American University focused on advancing remote sensing skills and STEM workforce development. STELLA is a low-cost, open-source, handheld spectrometer platform that participants build and use to measure light reflectance and environmental parameters, helping connect field-based observations with NASA satellite remote sensing.

STELLA Team Lead Mike Taylor led the workshop, with NASA Acres’ Drs. Mike Humber and Allison Bredder serving as contributors alongside Paul Mirel, creator and lead engineer of STELLA, who delivered a talk and Q&A, and Natalia Quinteros Casaverde, who shared a presentation on her use of STELLA to support home garden monitoring in Jamaica. The workshop was organized and planned by Chelsey Brown, Program Manager for the NASA District of Columbia Space Grant Consortium and the Integrated Space Science and Technology Institute (ISSTI). Funding was provided by a grant Chelsey received from the American Physical Society. It included contributions from Rachel Stagner, a nationally recognized STEM educator, 2023 PAEMST Awardee, 2018–19 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at NASA, and founder of STEMTeachersDMV, which also organized and sponsored the workshop.

Read the full story on science.gsfc.nasa.gov

Author Credit: NASA Acres

Image Credit: NASA STELLA

Original Post Date: 2.21.26

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. — West Liberty University recently welcomed area homeschool students to campus for a hands-on science experience designed to spark curiosity and deepen understanding of the human body.

Fifteen students in grades 8–12 from the Ohio Valley Christian Home Educators (OVCHE) cooperative participated in “Topper Science – Anatomy & Physiology for Homeschoolers” in December 2025. The immersive event provided participants with a college-level laboratory experience focused on comparative anatomy and physiology.

Hosted by Dr. Leslie Quinn, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, the program allowed students to explore the nervous systems of humans and animals through guided dissections of sheep brains and cow eyes. Students also examined detailed human anatomical models to better understand structural similarities and differences across species.

Throughout the session, students engaged directly in scientific observation, asked questions about biological systems, and gained exposure to laboratory procedures commonly used in undergraduate coursework. The event also provided an opportunity for participants to interact with West Liberty faculty and students, including Emma Wade, a first-year Biology/pre-veterinary major who assisted with the laboratory instruction.

Read the full story on westliberty.edu

Original Post Date: Dec. 2025

Author Credit: West Liberty University

Image Credit: West Liberty University

Five engineering students with plans and ideas that could benefit NASA’s mission to explore space are in the latest cohort of Nevada NASA fellowship and scholarship recipients.

Materials science graduate student Joy Calhoun and mechanical engineering graduate student John Crosby have received fellowships; mechanical engineering senior Liam Bond, electrical engineering senior Calvin Lu and mechanical engineering graduate student Shanti Quinto have received scholarships.

“This gives them the chance to have real financial support for their own ideas,” Research Professor Eric Wilcox, the statewide director for the Nevada NASA Space Grant Consortium and NASA EPSCoR programs, said.

The engineering students join 10 other University of Nevada, Reno and University of Nevada, Las Vegas students in the 2025-2026 cohort. The Nevada Space Grant fellowships can be up to $20,000 for the academic year, and the scholarships up to $3,000.

Read the full story on unr.edu

Original Post Date: 12.1.25

Author Credit: Chris Moran

Image Credit: Nevada Today

GHOST is a student-oriented research rocket that will be launched from Andøya Space in November 2025. It is a two-stage rocket that will fly up to an altitude of 248 kilometers as part of a larger research campaign organized by NASA.

In other words, it is a full-scale research rocket in a full-scale scientific
research campaign. What is special about GHOST is that the technological experiments it carries are not built by professionals, but by students from Norway, the USA, and Puerto Rico.

GHOST is a collaborative project between NASA and Andøya Space to foster cooperation among students across national borders. It is a unique opportunity to show students what they can experience should they choose a career in the space industry. The students will gain invaluable experience from a real rocket
mission and have the opportunity to make many new contacts within the space industry.

Grand Challenge Initiative

GHOST is part of a larger research program called Grand Challenge, which is a Norwegian initiative. Traditionally, researchers have worked independently to get their research rockets launched.

The idea behind Grand Challenge is to combine several small research projects into one large project, where all participants share their research data with each other, thereby gaining access to more research data for the same cost. The first joint project under the Grand challenge umbrella was called Project Cusp and focused on studying Earth’s magnetic field. GHOST is part of the second project, called Project Mesosphere / Lower Thermosphere, and is the second student rocket of this type.

Read the full article online at andoyaspace.no

Original Post Date: 1.26.26

Image Credit: Andoya Space

As space colonization efforts advance, WVU scientists are developing AI-powered computer models to treat and prevent the physical challenges astronauts face due to extended weightlessness.

A study led by Valeriya Gritsenko and Sergiy Yakovenko, associate professors in the departments of Human Performance and Neuroscience in the WVU School of Medicine and WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, responds to the growing likelihood that astronauts will be spending longer periods in microgravity environments like space stations, the moon or rocket ships bound for Mars.

For each astronaut, Gritsenko and Yakovenko’s technology will be able to create a unique “digital twin” — a computer model capturing the relationships between that person’s movements and muscle activity.

The models will show how each astronaut adapts to weightlessness and identify what that specific individual needs to do to counteract the well-known hazards of microgravity, including muscle loss, declining bone density, and the vision and neurological changes that emerge when gravity disappears.

“Currently, each astronaut requires a very large Earth-based team that looks at his or her vitals and modifies exercise plans or otherwise intervenes,” Yakovenko said. “As we travel farther away from Earth, that kind of support will not be available, so we are researching alternatives.

Read the full article on enews.wvu.edu

Author Credit: ENews | West Virginia University

Original Post Date: 1.28.26

This year’s recipients—Alan Briseño, Nicholas Cox and Xavier Grundler—are all active members of the Society of Physics Students, a group known for leading physics and astronomy outreach. Each student has also engaged in undergraduate research within the department, which offers opportunities in astrophysics, stellar and nuclear astronomy, planetary science, surface physics and materials research.

Briseño, a physics major with an emphasis in astrophysics, said the scholarship will support his ongoing research with Dr. Billy Quarles.

“My research focuses on planetary dynamics, and receiving the Texas Space Grant Consortium scholarship allows me to continue developing these interests while preparing for graduate school,” Briseño said.

Grundler, who studies neutron stars under the mentorship of Dr. Bao-An Li, said the award enables him to continue advancing his work.

“Last year this scholarship supported my research on neutron stars, and we were able to publish our results and present them at multiple conferences,” Grundler said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to continue expanding our models of matter under extreme conditions.”

Cox said the scholarship eases financial pressures and allows him to focus more fully on his coursework and research.

“With this scholarship, I won’t have to worry about the cost of books or supplies this semester, and I’ll be able to concentrate more fully on my studies,” he said.

Read the full article on myparistexas.com

Image Credit: MyParisTexas

Author Credit: Trey Wright

Original Post Date: 1.26.26

For more than 30 years, the NASA Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium has passionately worked to support educators who inspire their students to shoot for the stars, literally.

The OSGC is a collaboration between universities in Oklahoma and NASA to elevate science, technology, engineering and mathematics in Oklahoma. The College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology houses OSGC’s Educator Resource Center on the Oklahoma State University campus.

Through a program called STELLAR (Stem Teachers Experience Linking Learners to Aerospace Research), educators participate in a variety of activities to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.

This yearlong mentorship program for pre-service/in-service educators and undergraduate engineering majors, where participants learn from NASA scientists, educators and researchers on how to implement the NASA curriculum in their classrooms.

Read the full article on news.okstate.edu

Image Credit: Texas Scuba Adventures

Media Contact: Tanner Holubar | Communications Specialist | 405-744-2065 | tanner.holubar@okstate.edu

Original Post Date: 1.27.26

Researchers from the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology are taking a significant step toward accelerating the design and certification of advanced aerospace materials through a new multiscale modeling initiative, supported by a three-year $750,000 NASA grant. 

The project is led by Oklahoma State University and includes investigators from the University of Oklahoma. The science principal investigator is Dr. Wei Zhao, assistant professor for the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and professor Andrew Arena, director of the Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium and Oklahoma NASA EPSCoR, is the administrator of this project. The co-investigators include Dr. Pankaj Sarin, associate professor for the School of Materials, Mechatronics and Manufacturing Engineering and Dr. Peter Attar, associate professor at OU.

The project brings together OSU’s growing expertise in computational mechanics, advanced composite materials, high-performance computing, and next-generation aerospace and space systems.  

At the core of the research is a challenge that has slowed innovation for decades: the difficulty of predicting how complex materials behave across multiple length and time scales in real-world engineering problems.  

Zhao notes that, much like a rope whose strength depends on the integrity of its smallest fibers, material performance at the structural scale is directly tied to what happens at the microscopic level. 

Read the full article on: news.okstate.edu

Original Post Date: 12.18.25

Author Credit: Desa James | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-2669 | desa.james@okstate.edu

Image Credit: OSU

Lindsey Tober was looking for a way to combine her creative side with her passion for science when she found the technological leadership degree at Arizona State University and ultimately used it to pursue her love of filmmaking.

Now she’s one step closer to moving her undergraduate work into a full-time career as she graduates this December with a degree in technological leadership with a minor in film and media production and as the program’s fall 2025 Dean’s Medalist.

“Lindsey has been selected as a Dean’s Medalist in recognition of her drive and success while a student at ASU. Lindsey is pursuing a career path that blends film and media with space and science, creating her own pathways into this industry,” said Cassandra Threadgill, an academic advising manager at the Interplanetary Initiative.

Tober combined the skills learned from both her major and her minor to excel in her internships throughout college. She has previously worked as a NASA Space Grant Intern to create videos  explaining the importance of space technology to society and Earth, and served as an ASU Space Student Ambassador.

Read the full article on news.asu.edu

Author Credit:  Megan Neely

Image Credit: ASU News

Original Post Date: 12.18.25

Dr. Ali Er, Associate Professor of Physics, has been awarded a Research Infrastructure Development Grant in the amount of $35,000. The grant comes from the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, both funded by NASA and administered through the University of Kentucky. The purpose is to support research capacity and student involvement in space and STEM-related fields across the state.

Dr. Ali’s project explores how powerful ultrafast laser pulses can reshape the surface of shape memory alloys, special metals that “remember” their original form. By using lasers to imprint tiny, reversible patterns with size one thousand times the diameter of human hair, the team aims to design smart surfaces that can adapt their shape or behavior with temperature changes. These materials could one day help aircraft and spacecraft reduce drag, resist icing and improve energy efficiency.

Explaining the work’s significance, Dr. Ali noted, “Our goal is to make materials that can literally think on their surface—adapting in real time to their environment. With NASA Kentucky’s support, we can train students to use advanced laser systems while developing technology that may someday influence how aircraft and spacecraft move through air or space.”

Read the full article on wku.edu

Author Credit: Contact: Dr. Mike Carini | info@physics.wku.edu | https://www.wku.edu/physics | WKU News

Image Credit: Open Access

Original Post Date: 11.11.25