Dr. Imelda Muller, a 2017 graduate of the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, has been selected as one of NASA’s 10 new astronaut candidates.

Muller, 34, was chosen from nearly 8,000 applicants, according to an announcement. She is part of NASA’s 24th group of astronaut candidates since the first group was selected in 1959.

Muller, who grew up in Copake Falls, New York, earned a bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience from Northeastern University before attending UVM. She is a former lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and served as an undersea medical officer after training at the Naval Undersea Medical Institute. She later provided medical support for Navy operational diving training at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Read the full article on burlingtonfreepress.com

Original Post Date: 9.24.25

Author Credit: Beth McDermott

Image Credit: University of Vermont / NASA

As a North Carolina Space Grant Graduate Research Fellow, Gwen Kirschke is shooting for the stars — but not in the way you might think.

At the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Crested Butte, Colorado, Kirschke, a doctoral student pursuing a Ph.D. in geospatial analytics at NC State University, is pairing traditional boots-on-the-ground pollinator monitoring methods with aerial imagery captured by the U.S National Science Foundation’s National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Airborne Observation Platform. Her goal is to create a floral resources map of the East River valley in Colorado and determine if it can accurately predict ecological factors such as the nesting rates of bees.

This fellowship is awarded to graduate students conducting research in STEM fields related to NASA Mission Directorates. Kirschke’s project represents NASA Science, which “seeks to discover the secrets of the universe … and protect and improve life on Earth and in space.”

The 2025 field season was Kirschke’s sixth visit to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. She previously studied floral nectar production as an undergraduate student and later worked as a research technician on related pollinator projects. Kirschke’s interest in geospatial analytics and pollination pairs perfectly with the interests of her advisor, Applied Ecology Associate Professor Elsa Youngsteadt, who studies plant-insect interactions on a landscape level.

Read the full article on cals.ncsu.edu

Image Credit: NC State University

Author Credit: Heather Frantz

Original Post Date:

The Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium (WSGC), housed at Carthage College, announced its 2025-26 fall awardees Dec. 8, distributing over $150,000 in funding to advance STEM education and research across Wisconsin.

This year, Carthage students secured five Undergraduate Scholarship Awards, highlighting the College’s role as a key contributor to the state’s aerospace and STEM workforce.

Congratulations to the Carthage Undergraduate Scholarship Awardees:

• Juliana Alvarez ’27, Engineering
• Owen Bonnett ’27, Physics
• Jordan Gozum ’28, Engineering
• Braedon Larsen ’27, Physics and Engineering
• Teagan Steineke ’26, Physics

As the lead institution for the WSGC, Carthage plays a vital role in strengthening the state’s STEM talent pipeline. This year, the consortium funded 37 competitive awards at 19 institutions statewide, supporting everything from K-12 aerospace outreach to museums, national competitions, and student-led research. This competitive funding provides Carthage students with hands-on research opportunities and enables their participation in events aligned with NASA priorities, directly connecting their academic work to real-world applications.

For a complete list of all recipients from all institutions across all award categories, you can view the full announcement on the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium News and Awards page.

Read the full story on cathage.edu

Author Credit: Robert Nagel

Original Post Date: 12.7.25

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