Transcript A multiple team-project model for the educational pipeline at Arizona State University Thomas Sharp Associate Director AZ Space Grant Consortium.

A multiple team-project model
for the educational pipeline at
Arizona State University
Thomas Sharp
Associate Director
AZ Space Grant Consortium
The pipeline problem
• We need a STEM pipeline of future engineers and
scientists.
– That pipeline must have ethnic and gender diversity.
– To increase the diversity, we need a more diverse pool
of applicants.
• The pipeline must have engineering/science
projects that attract top university students and
reach out to future students.
2009 ASU Intern Program
• 48 interns selected from 113 applicants
– 33% female, 19% underrepresented
• All NASA Strategic Enterprises:
– Space Science, Earth Science, Biological and
Physical Science, Mechanical, Aerospace and
Electrical Engineering, Education and more.
All interns are required to serve the community (unpaid) with
15 hours/semester of informal education or public outreach.
ASCEND: BalloonSat
• ASCEND: Aerospace Scholarships to
Challenge and Educate New Discoverers
– Statewide program
– Our main group project for 4 years
• Problem: students outgrow the project
– Need fresh students every year
– Need more segments for our pipeline
New model: multiple projects of varying difficulty:
ASCEND, UAV, Daedalus and Robotics
ASCEND
• New team in spring 2009
– Engineering, Earth and Space Exploration and Geology majors
• Launch 1: Introduction to satellites and space instrumentation
• Launch 2: Science-driven experiments
Gulf of
California
Mexico View
Florence View
UAV Project
• New project for this year
– Spinoff of ASCEND
– 3 male 1 female + 2 from
other projects
– Mentor: Srikanth Saripalli
• Design and build an
autonomous aircraft for
competition
– Association for Unmanned
Vehicle Systems
International (AUVSI)
International; Aerial Robotics
Competition
SG Robotics Team/Club
• New last year: creation of Michael Veto and affiliate Shea Ferring
– Build underwater robots for competition
– Mentor FIRST Robotics
• 36 members: 13 women and 5 underrepresented
• Competed in the National Underwater Robotics Competition (NURC) and the
Marine Advanced Technology Education Competition (MATE)
Informal Education and
Outreach
• All members
participate in
campus
education/outrea
ch events.
• 5 members were
mentors for high
school FIRST
robotic teams
– Direct recruiting
Competition
• NURC
competition in
Chandler AZ:
2nd place
• MATE
international
competition in
Boston: 6th
place
– Beating MIT
and Georgia
Tech
Daedalus Astronautics
• Rocketry club
and research
group
– Started by James
Villarreal
– Intern lead: Matt
Summers
Projects
• High powered
sounding rockets
– 7 rockets completed
– 12 launches
• Propulsion
development
– Solid and hybrid rocket
engines
• Guidance and
navigation
Informal Education and
Outreach
• Rocketry workshops at schools and ASU
– Teach rocketry basics
– Let students design and build rockets
• Rocketry outreach guidebook available
soon.
Competition
• NASA USLI Rocket Competition
– Objective: design and build a rocket to
reach altitude of 1 mile (5380 ft.)
– Daetalus VCM rocket flew to 5293 ft. and
won the Closest Altitude Award.
Advantages
• Multiple projects attract more students
– Projects have greater student visibility
• Interns and volunteers can participate in
multiple projects in their tenure at ASU
• Project teams cooperate and share expertise.
• Groups cooperate in informal education
• Leaders of 3 teams are Intern advisors
– Lead interns and advise the director
What next?
• CubeSat program as the capstone Space Grant
Engineering project at ASU
• Students from any other project could join
• Preparing a proposal with Srikanth Saripalli, Joel
Rademacher and Gene Katz