Innovations in Education

Three Rensselaer students will be working at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the summer as interns in some of the most competitive science and engineering programs in the nation. The undergraduates each received scholarships to participate in the program from the New York Space Grant Program (NYSG).

Hector Morales, a senior studying aeronautical engineering, is working at the prestigious NASA Academy at Marshall in Huntsville, Ala. Kevin Fort, a junior studying computer and systems engineering, is working at the NASA Robotics Academy at Goddard in Greenbelt, Md. At the academies, Morales and Fort will hone their technical and leadership skills in aerospace and robotics beside top engineers.

Michael Kuhlman, a senior studying electrical engineering, will work with the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Calif., where he will study in the lead U.S. center for robotic exploration of the solar system.

NYSG is part of a national consortium of space grant programs around the country that were developed in partnership with NASA to broaden the base of universities and individuals participating in aerospace science and technology.

NYSG funds programs that encourage students at all levels of their education to pursue a career in science and technology and prepare future members of the NASA team. It also builds support for NASA-related research and promotes public understanding of astronomy and space sciences.

The NYSG program includes 17 top universities from around New York state, and annually funds graduate and undergraduate research programs at Rensselaer.