UNA junior completes summer internship with Alabama Space Grant Consortium

Brooke Patterson never planned on working for NASA. The University of North Alabama junior is double-majoring in secondary education and mathematics, not aerospace engineering. But this summer, that combination made her the first education intern in the Alabama Space Grant Consortium’s partnership with UNA, tasked with turning NASA’s Artemis program into lessons that hundreds of Alabama students will encounter this year.

“I never would have imagined that my background and interests in mathematics and education could connect so naturally to NASA and space exploration,” Patterson said. “This experience has shown me just how broad STEM truly is.”

Working under Melissa Simmons, the ASGC’s outreach and program coordinator, Patterson built age-appropriate presentations breaking down Artemis (NASA’s mission to return humans to the Moon) for K-12 audiences.

“Her hard work is certainly not going to sit on the shelf,” Simmons said. “Brooke’s summer internship may have concluded, but her impact will continue to inspire Alabama classrooms for a long time to come.”

Read the full article on 256today.com

Original Post Date: 9.1.2026

Author Credit: Baylor Frazie

Image Credit: 256 Today

NASA visit highlights Iowa State’s aerospace impact, urges students to join ‘greatest adventure in human history’

MANTI, Utah — When you think about the people needed to get the next generation of spacecraft into space, astronauts and engineers may come to mind first.

But NASA needs something else, too: skilled workers who can build the parts that make those missions possible.

That is where Southern Utah University is stepping in.

SUU has been selected to lead a new statewide NASA aerospace workforce hub, part of a roughly $10.5 million, multi-year investment from NASA designed to strengthen the pipeline of skilled technical workers for the aerospace industry.

The effort could eventually connect thousands of Utah students and educators with opportunities in fields including welding, machining, electrical work, advanced manufacturing and other technical careers.

And in rural Utah, some of those skills are already being taught.

From the shop room to space

At Manti High School, students spend time learning skills they can use in the trades – from welding and woodworking to engineering and drafting.

Junior Cole Osborn says he is already considering a career in the trades.

“Welding would be pretty fun to go into, or anything with electrical or something like that,” Osborn said.

The new NASA initiative could give students like him a clearer connection between the skills they are learning in high school and the aerospace industry.

Melinda Pfundstein, SUU’s executive director of Community and Workforce Development, is helping lead the initiative. She spoke with FOX 13 from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where representatives from the seven newly selected state hubs are taking part in NASA onboarding and training.

“NASA has turned their attention toward building skilled technical workforce in aerospace through these hubs,” Pfundstein said.

She said the goal is to help students think beyond the traditional image of an astronaut.

A multidisciplinary team of NJIT students from the Ying Wu College of Computing (YWCC) and Newark College of Engineering (NCE) Rocketry Club made history as participants in NJIT’s first team to launch in NASA’s RockSat Program. With their A.R.R.O.W. Mission (Aerospace Retrieval and Re-Entry Observation Workstation) NJIT’s team successfully qualified, integrated, launched, and captured data at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility. This milestone marks the first time a student-designed payload from NJIT reached outer space, putting NJIT on the map as a rookie club achieving instant success.

Under the advice of Dr. Hyomin Kim (Associate Professor, Department of Physics), YWCC junior Abdul Azeez Shaik (Computer Science Lead), along with NCE mechanical engineering majors Luka Stulic (Mechanical/Instrumentation Lead), Dariel Torres (Project Manager), Carlos J. Munoz (Project Manager) and Sayed Rahimi ( Mechanical/Design Lead), and electrical engineering major Nathanael Gunawan (Electrical Lead) had the distinctive opportunity to have their A.R.R.O.W. project accepted and fully launched through the highly competitive RockSat program, which is not only a first for NJIT but uncommon among universities who either are down-selected or do not meet NASA’s flight requirements pending a series of strenuous review periods during their initial attempt to earn a place on the sounding rocket.

“To reach launch at all is itself a real outcome, not a formality,” said Shaik.

The RockSat program is a competitive collegiate sounding rocket initiative managed by the Colorado Space Grant Consortium in partnership with the NASA Sounding Rocket Program Office (SRPO) at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Students progress from RockOn, an entry-level introduction to building flight hardware up to RockSat, where teams design, build, test, integrate, and fly an original scientific or technology payload on a real NASA sounding rocket under the same review standards used for professional missions.

Read the full article on news.njit.edu

Author Credit: Michael Giorgio

Image Credit: NJIT News

Original Post Date: 9.28.26

Sound Decisions: Acoustics Research Leads Goldwater Scholar to NASA and Beyond

Michigan Tech student Jennifer Celeste is going places in the specialized field of acoustics engineering, including conferences, a summer internship with NASA, and graduate school thanks to a prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship.

Before coming to Michigan Technological University, Jennifer Celeste, a mechanical engineering junior, knew very little about acoustics engineering.

Fortunately, Celeste learned from a young age to keep her eyes and mind open to learning possibilities.

“My mom raised my siblings and me by herself, and she really valued education,” said Celeste. “Growing up, I knew I wanted to make the most of the education I was given.”

An early interest in math and science and a rigorous high school engineering program helped Celeste find her spark in mechanical engineering, though not in the same way as many of her peers.

“Most mechanical engineers love cars or airplanes, and that’s a strong draw, but that never interested me much,” she said. “I always thought it was cool in general, but I didn’t have a specific application that I liked.”

A valuable research experience in her first year at Michigan Tech helped her move from the broad field of mechanical engineering to acoustics. Also known as acoustical engineering, it’s a branch of engineering that focuses on sound and vibration.

Read the full article on mtu.edu

Author Credit: Coby-Dillon English

Image Credit: Michigan Tech News

Original Post Date: 9.14.26

UAB students honored by NASA Alabama Space Grant Consortium

Five undergraduate students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham College of Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering have been awarded NASA Alabama Space Grant Consortium scholarships, and two College of Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering graduate students have been honored as fellows.

“The NASA Alabama Space Grant undergraduate scholarships and graduate research fellowships allow UAB students to network with NASA scientists and prepare them for future careers in the science and technology fields,” said Yogesh Vohra, Ph.D., College of Arts and Sciences interim dean and College of Arts and Sciences associate dean for Research and Innovation.

Read the full article on uab.edu

Author Credit: Halie Hubbert

Image Credit: Canva Stock

Original Post Date: 8.21.26

 | WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. — Two West Liberty University seniors have been selected to serve as NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium Student Ambassadors for the 2026–27 academic year.

Gwyneth Horzempa, a senior Data Science major, and Elizabeth Ivanac, a senior Mathematics Education major, will represent West Liberty while promoting STEM education, NASA-related opportunities, and West Virginia Space Grant Consortium programs to students and communities.

“Gwen and Elizabeth are two of West Liberty’s brightest stars,” said Dr. Raymond Holsapple, Chair of the Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics. “I was thrilled when they told me that they were going to apply to be NASA Ambassadors, and I had no doubt they’d be selected. Both are brilliant, hard-working, and devoted to science and education.”

As NASA WVSGC Student Ambassadors, Horzempa and Ivanac will participate in STEM events, interact with K-12 and higher education students, and help promote NASA-sponsored programs, internships, research opportunities, and student research competitions.

Ambassadors also develop outreach activities on their campuses, promote opportunities through social media, and work with WVSGC leadership throughout the academic year. They are expected to conduct or attend at least three outreach events during the year and will have the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., for the NASA Space Grant Directors meeting.

Read the full article on westliberty.edu

Author Credit: Rhone Thrash

Image Credit: Rhone Thrash | West Liberty University

Original Post Date:  9.29.26