MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) — For the second year in row, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities has named West Virginia University as a regional winner of the 2025 W.K. Kellogg FoundationCommunity Engagement Scholarship.

The university’s partnership with Mountaineer Area RoboticS (MARS) was selected for the award, which recognizes extraordinary community engagement initiatives between land-grant institutions and its community partners.

UK’s Alexandre Martin wins NASA medal for advancing space technology

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 8, 2025) — Alexandre Martin, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky, has been awarded the NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal — one of the highest honors given to individuals outside the agency.

The medal is a prestigious honor awarded to nongovernment individuals who have made outstanding contributions to NASA’s mission. It recognizes sustained excellence across multiple projects, programs or initiatives that have significantly advanced the agency’s goals.

“Receiving the NASA Outstanding Public Service Medal is humbling and also quite meaningful,” Martin said. “It’s a reminder that the work we do with students at universities can contribute to something much larger. I’m honored to be part of the NASA mission and grateful to stand alongside so many dedicated minds, pushing boundaries.”

According to NASA, Martin was awarded the medal for his “exceptional public service in advancing NASA entry systems technologies and fostering a U.S. engineering and technology talent base.”

Read the full article on uknow.uky.edu

Image Credit: Photo courtesy of Pigman College of Engineering.

Author Credit: Lindsey Piercy

Original Post Date: Aug. 8, 2025

Carter Vu is a 4th year PhD student studying computational hypersonics at the University of Minnesota. His work uses high-fidelity simulations to improve our understanding of hypersonic turbulence and the transition from laminar to turbulent flow. His primary focus is the Air Force BOLT II flight test, a flagship research collaboration with the University of Minnesota, NASA, and 17 other universities and defense organizations around the world. 

 Carter graduated with his BS in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering from the University of Washington in 2022 and has since interned at Aerojet Rocketdyne and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. As a student member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, he has presented novel research at local and national conferences, and has presented abroad at ONERA, the French Aerospace Laboratory through a NATO collaboration. His awards include a NASA Space Grant Scholarship, an Astronaut Scholarship, and an NSF graduate fellowship (GRFP).

Read the full article on kennedyspacecenter.com

Author Credit: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

Image Credit: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

Jack Seabaugh, a senior majoring in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has chartered an impressive course toward a career with NASA.

The North Little Rock native has completed his fourth NASA internship across three space centers, a milestone that should position him well for a future in the aerospace industry.

“I never thought working at NASA was something realizable in my life,” Seabaugh said. “But the more I learned, the more I realized I wanted to be part of the incredible work they’re doing.”

Seabaugh’s journey began in summer 2023 when he secured his first internship at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, funded by the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium. He joined a team working on the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) to develop a prototype capable of recovering oxygen from carbon dioxide using cyanobacteria. The purpose of the project was to create more oxygen for astronauts living on the International Space Station. His role involved building the electronics and programming microcontrollers to monitor and control the system.

That hands-on experience ignited his passion for NASA’s mission and opened doors to new opportunities.

Read the full story on ualr.edu

Author Credit: Angelita Faller

Image Credit: ualr.edu

Original Post Date: 8.18.25

Rep. Adam Smith Visits Bellevue College to Discuss the Washington Space Grant

Since 1989, the Washington Space Grant Consortium has been providing students with hands-on education and research opportunities to succeed in the workforce. Their mission is to support Washington State students in STEM and thereby “strengthen the future workforce for NASA and our nation.” Through their list of affiliates, which include many Washington State community colleges and universities, the WSGC has been able to aid many students in pursuing careers in STEM.

One group of students who have experienced the positive impact of the WSGC is Bellevue College’s own Rocketry and Aerospace Club. The club, led by Mykolas Kovarskas and advised by Dr. Trevor Gamble, builds and launches model rockets in addition to collaborating with the Washington Aerospace Club. Many of the BC Rocketry and Aerospace Club’s efforts have been funded by the WSGC, such as materials for building rockets and scholarships for club members.

Political turmoil at the federal level has placed the WSGC in limbo about receiving federal funding for their initiatives. Recently, the Summer Undergraduate Research Program organized by WSGC had to be cancelled due to funding processing delays on grants nationwide.

On Monday, three students from the BC Rocketry and Aerospace Club sat down to have a conversation with Rep. Adam Smith of the 9th District to discuss the impact that WSGC and the NASA Space grant have had on them. They shared their experiences with how the space grant gave them resources, hands on experience and funding to pursue their educational goals. Kovarskas shared that when he had enrolled at BC he was unsure about a career in STEM, but the Rocketry Club and the space grant helped him find his passion and earn a NASA scholarship. Sam, who will be studying CS and engineering at the UW, didn’t have a lot of resources for STEM in her home state, Texas, and said that the Rocketry Club helped her find interest in STEM. Nathan, who is also transferring to the UW, has been interested in the space industry since a young age and draws inspiration from his father, an aircraft mechanic, and his grandfather, who used to clean planes.

Read the full article on thewatchdogonline.com.

Author Credit: AJ Kapur

Image Credit: AJ Kapur | The Watchdog | Bellevue College

Original Post Date: June 9, 2025

Taking curiosity to new heights: URI Ph.D. students awarded NASA fellowship

INGSTON, R.I. – June 23, 2025 – Two Ph.D. students in the University of Rhode Island’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences’ interdisciplinary biological and environmental sciences graduate program have been awarded graduate research fellowships from the NASA Rhode Island Space Grant Consortium. Michelle Marder, from Lynnfield, Massachusetts, and Kate Remy ’24, from Brockton, Massachusetts, are specializing in cell and molecular biology and aim to help scientists better understand antibiotic resistance.

This summer, Marder and Remy will continue research projects funded through the NASA consortium. The program offers graduate fellowships that provide academic year funding to students working on research projects with NASA relevance. It also provides fellows opportunities to present their findings at the Annual Rhode Island Space Grant Spring Symposium.

Marder is working with Professor Steven Gregory to study the ribosomes of thermophiles, a kind of microbe that can grow and thrive at high temperatures. “My research focuses on the ribosome, the cellular machine that makes proteins using the genetic information encoded in DNA,” Marder says. “This is a basic feature of all living things on earth. In all organisms the ribosomes are similar to one another.”

Read the full article on uri.edu.

Author Credit: Kristen Curry

Image Credit: Rhody Today

Original Post Date: June 23, 2025

Remembering biochemist Wesley Hymer, pioneer of health research in space

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Eberly College of Science mourns the loss of Wesley Hymer, professor of biochemistry, who died May 4 at the age of 89. Over his 35 years on the faculty at Penn State, he made important contributions to the understanding of pituitary hormones and was internationally recognized for his pioneering research of living cells in space.

“Wes was a dedicated researcher and educator who was always full of energy and enthusiasm,” said Ross Hardison, professor emeritus of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State. “He had a long and productive career conducting research on the biochemical and cellular mechanisms by which pituitary hormones regulate growth and differentiation in mammalian tissues. He was the first person I heard talking about muscle loss and other negative physiological impacts of space travel and weightlessness. He ran an early, innovative research program studying these issues, including experiments conducted on space shuttle flights.”

Penn State is now known as a Space Grant institution largely thanks to Hymer, who helped develop the successful proposal that resulted in Penn State participation in NASA’s Space Grant College program in 1989. The program continues to support student research in the space sciences as well as other space-related activities.

“One of the lasting impacts of this research program was the establishment of the NASA-supported Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium, which is still active today, supporting students pursuing careers in science, mathematics, engineering and technology while also providing public service education,” Hardison said.

Read the full story on psu.edu.

Author Credit: Gail McCormick

Image Credit: N/A

Original Post Date: July 22, 2025

What We Don’t Know: USU Physicist Explores Radiation-Induced Conductivity

Doctoral student and Utah NASA Space Grant Consortium Fellow Jenny Whiteley studies the behavior of insulating materials exposed to radiation simulating extreme space conditions.

Utah State University physicist Jenny Whiteley’s Northern Utah home has recently given her and her family occasional glimpses of colorful auroras in the night sky.

“We’ve seen vibrant greens and purples, with moving, vertical white shafts of light,” says Whiteley, a doctoral student in USU’s Department of Physics. “It was fascinating to see the electrons trace out magnetic field lines above the Earth, which are always there but only visible under certain — and in our location — rare conditions.”

The ability to explain physical phenomena following mathematical logic is what attracts Whiteley to the study of physics.

“It’s amazing to me that mathematical expressions can be constructed to successfully replicate the physical behavior we see around us,” she says.

Whiteley, who is one of five USU graduate students selected this time last year for a 2024-2025 Utah NASA Space Grant Consortium Fellowship Award, is studying radiation-induced conductivity in the Materials Physics Group led by USU physics professor J.R. Dennison.

The lab’s team members perform ground-based testing of electrical charging and electron transport properties of both conducting and insulating materials, emphasizing studies of electron emission, conductivity, luminescence and electrostatic discharge.

Read the full article on usu.edu.

Author Credit: Mary-Ann Muffoletto

Image Credit: USU/M. Muffoletto

Original Post Date: June 30, 2025

NDSGC Joins Forces for 2025 IDEAS Educator Workshop in Alaska

This summer, a team of passionate educators, scientists, and space enthusiasts gathered under Alaska’s midnight sun for a unique experience that blended cutting-edge STEM content with hands-on, classroom-ready activities. From July 7–10, 2025, the annual IDEAS Educator Professional Development Workshop brought together pre-service, in-service, and informal educators from across the country to learn new ways to inspire the next generation of space explorers.

Hosted at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks by the Alaska Space Grant Consortium, the 2025 IDEAS Workshop marked another successful year of collaboration between the North Dakota, South Carolina, and North Carolina Space Grant Consortia. Funded by NASA’s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, IDEAS—short for Innovative Differentiated Exploration Activities in Space Science—is more than just an acronym; it’s a mission to empower educators with dynamic teaching strategies grounded in real NASA science.

Reimagining STEM Education, the NASA Way

The goal? Equip educators with the tools, confidence, and resources to bring space science into any classroom—whether it’s a kindergarten class learning about the moon, or high schoolers prototyping a Mars habitat.

Participants explored a wide range of space science content areas, including human spaceflight, heliophysics, astronomy, and planetary science. The sessions weren’t just sit-and-listen lectures—they were built around problem-based learning, multi-modal teaching strategies, and experiential learning, all designed to spark creativity and promote critical thinking.

NASA Space Grant Consortia from Nebraska, Montana, Tennessee, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota, and Alaska each supported teachers to attend.

Read the full story on blogs.und.edu.

Author Credit: Amanda Curatti | NDSGC

Image Credit: NDSGC, NCSGC, SCSGC

Original Post Date: July 21, 2025