FY 2018 Year 4 Extension Annual Performance Document Florida Space Grant Consortium Lead Institution: University of Central Florida Director: Dr. Jaydeep Mukherjee Telephone Number: 407-823-6177 Consortium URL: www.floridaspacegrant.org Grant Number: NNX15AI10H Lines of Business (LOBs): NASA Internships, Fellowships, and Scholarships; Stem Engagement; Institutional Engagement; Educator Professional Development A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program consists of 52 state-based, university-led Space Grant Consortia in each of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Annually, each consortium receives funds to develop and implement student fellowships and scholarships programs; interdisciplinary space-related research infrastructure, education, and public service programs; and cooperative initiatives with industry, research laboratories, and state, local, and other governments. Space Grant operates at the intersection of NASA’s interest as implemented by alignment with the Mission Directorates and the state’s interests. Although it is primarily a higher education program, Space Grant programs encompass the entire length of the education pipeline, including elementary/secondary and informal education. The Florida Space Grant Consortium is a Designated Consortium funded at a level of $760,000 for fiscal year 2018. B. PROGRAM GOALS FELLOWSHIPS, SCHOLARSHIPS, & INTERNSHIPS 1. Enable students to pursue careers in the space program – whether through graduate, undergraduate, or Community College technical training. a. SMART Objective – On an annual basis, at least 15 undergraduate scholarships, 5 internships, and 10 graduate fellowships will be competitively awarded to students who wish to pursue space/aerospace/aeronautics training. At least 10 of these awards will be offered to minority candidates and at least 10 to female students. At least 70% of awardees will continue to the next step in their chosen STEM disciplines (academia/NASA/industry). RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE 1. Support NASA related interdisciplinary research projects emphasizing work-force development with undergraduate and graduate students. a. SMART Objective – On an annual basis, at least 10 research projects will be competitively awarded. At least three of these research project awards will be awarded to a minority serving institution and/or include minority participation. At least 10 undergraduate or graduate students will be supported by the projects, including at least 2 women and 2 under-represented minorities. 1 2. Foster collaboration among NASA engineers, Florida university faculty and industry partners. a. SMART Objective – By March 2018, facilitate at least two Space-Related Research Symposia within the State of Florida that specifically target NASA engineers, Florida university faculty and industry partners. HIGHER EDUCATION 1. Provide undergraduate students with opportunities for interdisciplinary hands-on experiences in team-based student launch activities and student pay-load development programs to better understand STEM concepts as they relate to space exploration. a. SMART Objective – On an annual basis, involve at least 100 students, representing a minimum of five Florida-based higher education institutions, including at least two minority serving institution, in collaborative space-based interactive learning experiences. PRE-COLLEGE EDUCATION Contribute space-related resources and training to help increase the number of K-12 teachers who: 1. Use space-related curricula resources to motivate more students to pursue math and science courses a. SMART Objective – On an annual basis, conduct and/or facilitate space-related pre- service and in-service teacher training opportunities for middle school teachers focused on space-related math and/or science curricula. A minimum of 50 Florida teachers per year will attend this training. INFORMAL EDUCATION Contribute space-related resources to help increase the number of citizens who are aware of: 1. How the application of math and science enable or enhance common activities, NASA’s contributions to our standard of living (beyond Velcro®), and NASA’s mission. a. SMART Objective – On an annual basis, collaborate with Florida museums and/or science centers to facilitate/conduct engaging space-related learning events held in public venues. A minimum of two events per year will be held. At least 200 members of the public will attend one or more of these events per year. C. PROGRAM/PROJECT BENEFITS TO PROGRAM AREAS My participation in the Florida Space Grant allowed me to greatly expand my skill set and experience in aerospace engineering-related topics and work, and also allowed me to grow my professional network. This in turn has helped me to continue excelling in my university studies, as well as gain admittance into the Master of Science program at the University of Florida in aerospace engineering. (Carlos Ojeda -, 2018 Space Grant Internship, University of Florida - Aerospace Sciences Lab Teaching Assistant) The Florida Space Grant has not only enabled me to continue my dissertation research, but it has also provided me with the opportunity to become involved in more outreach initiatives (eg. Pegasus Express STEM Mentoring Initiative) and educational/academic endeavors (eg. participation in a NASA grant panel in 2018) as I have become connected with people in my field and integrated into the periphery of the Aero/Space community. It's also been inspiring and informative as to my future career track, ideally with NASA Space Biology or a similar program. (Madeline Vroom -, 2016 Space 2 Grant Fellowship, 2017 Affiliate Scholarship Program, 2018 Space Grant Scholarship, University of Florida - Graduate Student Researcher) I have acquired an interest in the field of materials through my work on this project; the project has given me a greater overall understanding of research design and techniques, and it has also allowed me to gain insight into how broad the field of materials is. This expansive range of potential applications is appealing to me, and was a key factor in my decision to choose a Mechanical Engineering minor with specialization in Materials Engineering as an undergrad, which ultimately led to my current studies in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. (Cecilia Luciano -, 2018 Space Grant Research Award) D. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS • NASA Internships, Fellowships, and Scholarships (NIFS): Fellowships: (i) Dissertation and Thesis Improvement Fellowship Program The program awards Master’s Thesis and Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Fellowships in areas of space science and engineering. Proposals must align with the topics of interest to NASA. These grants provide partial support of Master’s Thesis and Doctoral Dissertation research for improvement beyond the already existing project. Funds cannot be used for salaries. In 2018-19, FSGC supported 10 fellows from 5 universities. 3 of the fellows were women and 2 were under-represented minorities. (i) Space Grant Masters Fellowship In 2018, the Masters Fellow received an Academic Year 2017-2018 fellowship stipend of $10,000 for full-time masters students. The award cannot be renewed. In 2018-19, FSGC awarded 2 Masters fellowships, one from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and the other from the University of Central Florida. Both the fellows were men.1 of them is an under-represented minority. Scholarships: Bethune-Cookman Presidential Scholarships The Presidential Scholarship is offered to student who will complete high school the spring prior to enrolling into Bethune Cookman (HBCU) in the subsequent Fall Semester. The FSGC scholarship covers university expenses not covered by federal and/or state financial aid and other non-institutional scholarship. Students must earn and maintain a 3.50 cumulative grade point average to renew the award. In 2018-19, 32 scholars were supported by FSGC under this program. of the students were women and were under- represented minorities. FSGC also supported 5 scholars at the University of West Florida. Among these 5 scholars, 1 was a woman and 1 was an under-represented minority. Internships: FSGC will be supporting interns during the Summer of 2019. Details will be provided in the OEPM report. In summary, we supported 49 fellows and scholars. Among them were 36 minorities (80%) and 21 were women (47%). All of them were directly funded. This is in agreement with our SMART goals for NIFS. 3 • Higher Education projects: The goal of our Higher Education projects is to provide students the opportunities to engage in hands-on activities that requires working in a group and in inter-disciplinary topics. We achieve this by supporting senior design projects and student groups taking part in NASA Competitions like Robotic Mining Competition, Student Launch Initiative, RASC-AL ROBO-OPS Student Competition and Microgravity University. In addition, FSGC runs the Hybrid Rocket Competition for Florida students. Details of our higher education programs are as follows: Hybrid Rocket Competition 76 students in 9 teams from 7 universities are taking part in this competition. The objective of the competition is to build and launch a hybrid powered rocket. There are two categories in the competition. This competition is a stepping stone for students to participate in the University Student Launch Initiative competition. This project is sponsored by FSGC. Final launch is scheduled for March 17, 2019. NASA Competitions: FSGC is supporting 5 teams from