Indiana Space Grant Consortium
Engaging STEM Education for the State of Indiana
What Is INSGC?
Indiana Space Grant Consortium is one of the 52 Consortia part of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. In the state of Indiana, INSGC is a source of NASA-related information, awards and programs.
The consortium works to carry out education, research, and public outreach activities in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (STEM) related to space, aeronautics, aviation, and Earth system science, all while advocating increased financial and government support for Space Grant Consortia.
Consisting of 26 different affiliates including colleges, universities, businesses, and other private and public sector institutions, INSGC promotes aerospace education and career training by
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- Supporting STEM students through various scholarship, internship and fellowship opportunities
- Assisting faculty and students in their development of skills in STEM related fields
- Offering experiential training aligned with NASA Strategic Enterprises, and
- Inspiring public interest in aerospace-related disciplines and lifelong learning through partnerships with educators at all levels...
OSTEM Highlights 2020
Here's why the Space Grant is important!
GRANT TO FUND TRINE RESEARCH INTO SPACEWALK IMPACTS ON ASTRONAUTS
September 21st, 2021
A $15,000 grant from the Indiana Space Grant Consortium (INSGC) will fund an undergraduate research project at Trine University that seeks to help understand the impact of spacewalks on astronauts.
Trine University biomedical engineering seniors Madison Howard of Pleasant Lake, Michigan, and Ashley Spirrison of Fishers, Indiana, will lead the project, titled “Developing Microfluidic Technology to Model the Vascular Health of Astronauts.” Max Gong, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Bock Department of Biomedical Engineering, will serve as advisor.
The project seeks to help address concerns NASA has regarding the safety of its astronauts while completing missions outside of Earth’s atmosphere, Gong said.
During missions, astronauts execute Extravehicular Activities (EVAs), commonly referred to as spacewalks, to repair and complete quality checks of spacecraft, and for research and exploration purposes. Prior to an EVA, astronauts must be exposed to 100% hyperoxia (a state of excess supply of oxygen in tissues and organs) for approximately five to eight hours, with repeats of the protocol two to three times each week.
This increase in blood oxygenation has been linked to DNA damage to lung tissue, overproduction of nitric oxide, cell damage from lipid peroxidation, and increased pulmonary fibrosis, Gong said.
Hyperoxia also causes blood vessels to narrow and abnormalities in the architecture of organs, limiting blood flow or fluid transfer through organs.
The Trine students will develop microfluidic vasculature-on-a-chip models, engineered models that mimic living tissues, of blood and lymphatic vessels to investigate the relationship between hyperoxia and its negative health effects. Such models have been used to better understand vascular health in diseases, such as atherosclerosis, Gong said, and can be applied to studying and improving the health of astronauts.
The Indiana Space Grant Consortium was created in 1991 under NASA’s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. The Space Grant national network includes organizations working to expand opportunities for Americans to learn about and participate in NASA’s aeronautics and space projects by supporting and enhancing science and engineering education, research and public outreach efforts.
ANNOUNCEMENT!
NASA Seeks Student Experiments to Soar in Second TechRise Challenge
NASA is calling on middle and high school students to join the second NASA TechRise Student Challenge, which invites student teams to develop, build, and launch science and technology experiments on high-altitude balloons.
Students in grades six to 12 attending U.S. public, private, or charter schools – including those in U.S. territories – are challenged to team up with their schoolmates to design an experiment under the guidance of an educator. Administered by Future Engineers, the NASA TechRise Student Challenge offers hands-on insight into the design and test process used by NASA-supported researchers. It aims to inspire a deeper understanding of Earth’s atmosphere, surface features, and climate, as well as space exploration, coding, electronics, and the value of test data. Teams should submit their experiment ideas by Oct. 24, 2022.
“We are thrilled to offer the second NASA TechRise Student Challenge,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The quality of the experiments and the creativity we saw from students in the last challenge are exactly the kinds of problem-solving and hands-on learning NASA hopes to inspire. We’re eager to see what innovative ideas pour in from students around the nation this year.”
A total of 60 winning teams will be selected to turn their proposed experiment idea into reality and launch their technology on a suborbital flight test. The winning teams will each receive $1,500 to build their experiment and an assigned spot on a NASA-sponsored high-altitude balloon flight operated by one of two commercial providers: Aerostar of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, or World View based in Tucson, Arizona. Both high-altitude balloons provide exposure to the stratosphere at altitudes of approximately 9-19 miles (15-30 kilometers) and variable duration of flight time of hours to days. The challenge is led by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, which rapidly demonstrates technologies for space exploration and the expansion of space commerce through suborbital testing with industry flight providers.
The winning teams will also receive technical support and mentorship from Future Engineers, including the opportunity to learn or improve technology skills such as soldering, coding, and 3D design. NASA encourages students and their instructors to submit experiment ideas even if they have no prior experience with these activities.
“We could not do a project like this in our classroom without the support of NASA TechRise,” said Jill Davis, Superintendent-Director of the Greater Lowell Technical High School in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, which had one of the winning teams in last year’s challenge. “It is something that is truly out of this world! This challenge helped students develop their own unique ideas for future inventions, which adds a new layer of meaning to what they learn.”
To enter the competition, teams will propose their experiment idea online using the design guidelines and proposal template on the competition site. NASA plans to announce the competition winners in January 2023. The selected student teams will build their payloads from January to May, and the final experiments will take flight in summer 2023.
Educators interested in TechRise are strongly encouraged to join the virtual educator workshop on Saturday, Aug. 27, to learn more about the challenge, high-altitude balloons, and how to develop a NASA TechRise proposal. Attendees will also have an opportunity to ask questions of TechRise educators who recently participated in the winner build experience.
NASA also is seeking volunteers to help judge the entries anticipated from across the country. U.S. residents with expertise in engineering, space, and/or atmospheric research who are interested in reviewing NASA TechRise Student Challenge submissions can apply to be a judge on the Future Engineers website.
NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, based at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), is leading the NASA TechRise Challenge, with support from the NASA Tournament Lab, also part of STMD.
Aerospace Project Management
October 25-26, 2022 | Online | Central Time
This introductory course to project management in the aerospace industry will be comprised of three modules. The first module will provide a general overview about project management processes from project initialization phase to the closing phase of a project. The second module will provide case studies and examples that will explain in detail why some projects are successful while others are set for failure right at the start. The third module will investigate the present and future of the fast-changing world of project management.
On completion of this course, attendees will:
- Identify the elements of the PM life cycle, including plan, execution, control, and closure
- Review the established processes and procedures
- Establish the project-selection method and create a business-case cost-benefit analysis
- Identify and understand possible risks of any project in the early planning stage
- Describe the career paths in the PM profession in the aerospace industry
- Analyze future projects in the space business and how they may have an impact on human civilization
Course Instructor: Bojan Garvan
Aerospace Program Manager at EnerSys
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Call us at 720-617-1319 to Register
October 25-26th, 2022 | Online | Central TimeGroup Discounts Available
Group Deals
We are now also offering package rates that can be used either by event or by bundle (you/your company can purchase a package of events for the future and receive a discount for each. Note: Applies to new registrations only and cannot be combined with additional discounts, valid for group pricing events only).
- 5 packs (20% disc. off all group priced events)
- 10 packs (30% disc. off all group priced events)
- 20 or more (40% disc. off all group priced events)
- Call us at 1-720-617-1319 to learn more.
Call for Speakers & Instructors
EUCI is actively searching for knowledge leaders in the Electric, Oil & Gas, Water/Wastewater, Infrastructure and Aerospace industries to share their experiences at upcoming conferences and courses and develop new events. If interested, please send a brief bio to Laxmi Mrig, CEO, at lmrig@euci.com
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS COURSE |
2022-23 INSGC Awards
Name |
University |
Type |
| L.Li | Purdue | NASA Summer Internship |
| K.Keeyan | Purdue | NASA Summer Internship |
| K.Richardson | Ball State | NASA Summer Internship |
| S. Black | Indiana University | Masters Fellowship |
| E. Dalton | Indiana University | PhD Fellowship |
| B.Herrin | Indiana University | PhD Fellowship |
| L. Hunter | Indiana University | PhD Fellowship |
| H. Howard | Indiana State University | Masters Fellowship |
| C. Huebner | Purdue Ft. Wayne | Masters Fellowship |
| J.McFadden | Purdue University | PhD Fellowship |
| M.Mijju | Purdue University | PhD Fellowship |
| D. Zepp Jensen | Purdue Ft. Wayne | Masters Fellowship |
| G. Gallagher | Ball State University | Masters Fellowship |
| M.Shepley | Ball State University | Masters Fellowship |
| I. Zachara | Valparaiso University | Masters Fellowship |
| T. Bachman | Purdue University | Gus Grissom Scholarship |
| I. Hopf | Purdue University | Gus Grissom Scholarship |
| A. Knies | Purdue University | Gus Grissom Scholarship |
| R. deRuyter | Indiana University | Project-Foundations in Science and Math |
| Gribskov | Purdue University | The 2022 Summer Science Program in Genomics at Purdue University |
| C. Nyquist | Purdue University | Purdue Space Day |
| H.Abramowitz | Purdue Northwest | 2022 Materials Camp for Teachers |
| H.Abramowitz | Purdue Northwest | The NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2023 |
| M.Zimmer | Purdue Northwest | Undergraduate research in STEM disciplines at Purdue University Northwest |
| M.Fisher | Science Central | 2022-23 Coding Club |
| M. Fisher | Science Central | Mission to Mars Summer Camp |
| P.Startiz | Taylor University | Tools and Methods for Improved 3d Printing of Martian Structures - Part II |
| J.Canino | Trine University | AIAA Design, Build, Fly 2023 |
| T.Jenkins | Trine University | Team Designs a Human Powered Rover Vehicle 2023 |
| J. Lofton | University of Evansville | Student Launch Initiative 2022-23 |
| P. Bouyer | Valpariaso University | Effect of environmental factors on fungal morphological and gut clearance |
| T.Hillwig | Valpariaso University | UGR in Observational Astronomy Using the SARA Telescopes in Arizona, Chile, and the Canary Islands |
| M. Watters | Valpariaso University | Impact of Environmental Factors on Fungal Morphology: Neurospora crassa |
| M. Gong | Trine University | Developing an Organotypic Lymphatic System for Modeling Astronaut Health |
| C.Brinton | Purdue University | Purdue Aerial Robotics Team (PART) |
| C. Iceman | Valparaiso University | Drone technologies for aerosol sampling |
| P. Smith | Valparaiso University | An Interdisciplinary Approach to Energy Storage From Chemicals Dissolved in Water |
| J.Stone | Indiana State University | Unraveling past hydroclimate dynamics in a high-altitude Sierra Nevada lake |
| M. Skoby | Ball State University | Particle Identification in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions at STAR |
| M.Nakamoto | Valparaiso University | Role of microgravity and altered day-and-night cycle on vertebrate brain development |
| P. Staritz | Taylor University | Low Power Radiation Resistent Martian Greenhouse |
| Z. Bi | Purdue Ft. Wayne | Affection Qualification for Democratic Human Machine Interaction (D-HMI) In Teleoperation of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) |
| A.Malefyt | Trine University | Plasmid design and production of a cancer-targeting monoclonal antibody in mammalian cells for future microgravity applications |
| M. Fisher | Science Central | Community Interships 2022-23 |
| M. Hammond | Purdue Ft. Wayne | iSTEM |
| R. Henry | Terre Hauts Childrens Museum | 2022-23 STEM Program Internships |
| M. Voss | Near Space Launch | Countdown to 2024 Total Solar Eclipse STEM Ground-to-Space (GTS) Learning |
INSGC Photo Of The Day
August 12th, 2022
Explanation: A star cluster around 2 million years young surrounded by natal clouds of dust and glowing gas, Messier 16 (M16) is also known as The Eagle Nebula. This beautifully detailed image of the region adopts the colorful Hubble palette and includes cosmic sculptures made famous in Hubble Space Telescope close-ups of the starforming complex. Described as elephant trunks or Pillars of Creation, dense, dusty columns rising near the center are light-years in length but are gravitationally contracting to form stars. Energetic radiation from the cluster stars erodes material near the tips, eventually exposing the embedded new stars. Extending from the ridge of bright emission left of center is another dusty starforming column known as the Fairy of Eagle Nebula. M16 lies about 7,000 light-years away, an easy target for binoculars or small telescopes in a nebula rich part of the sky toward the split constellation Serpens Cauda (the tail of the snake). As framed, this telescopic portrait of the Eagle Nebula is about 70 light-years across.
Funding
Funding source for INSGC Fellowships, Internships; Research and Outreach Project funding for Higher Education, K-12, and Informal Education through INSGC affiliates.
Need Funding?
Browse through the opportunities we offer and apply today!
Our Affiliates
K-12
Indiana Space Grant Consortium supports K-12 education by offering space based resources to excite children about STEM and NASA education. You can find these resources below.
Educational Resources
Teacher Resources
Educational Programs
Higher Education
INSGC higher education affiliates throughout Indiana with eligible students, must be a US citizen, enrolled full-time as a collegiate student, be involved in STEM related research or STEM education project, are eligible to apply for scholarship/fellowship.
View our Academic pages for more information.
Looking For Career Opportunities?
INSGC currently has a career page with information
and a few valuable resources!
The INSGC twitter page is linked above. There will also be a link to our INSGC Facebook page shortly.
