NASA Astrobiology Academy: Program Information

Introduction

The NASA Ames Academy is a unique summer institute of higher learning whose goal is to help guide future leaders of the U.S. Space Program by giving them a glimpse of how the whole system works. The success of the Space Program results from the interaction of government, academia, and the private sector, each playing a critical and different role in the 47-year-old civil program. Responsibilities overlap, leaders migrate from one sector to another and interdependence changes with each new administration.

NASA's Charter, written in the 1958 Space Act, gives it the main role of using and exploring space for the betterment of humankind. Congress and the President have both supported and restrained NASA as its programs have evolved. President John F. Kennedy's vision of putting a man on the Moon within the decade included much more than the Apollo spectacular of newspaper fame. After Apollo's success, NASA has constantly sought to redefine its goals and fine tune its schedule every year seeking a budget to match its imagination. We have explored most of the planets, measured the solar system, flown humans in long term endurance missions and short term operational missions, invented new technology and trained Congress, teachers, students, businesspeople, and engineers, developing a whole new generation familiar with the expertise of the "Space Age."

The NASA Ames Research Center

The Ames Research Center (ARC), located at Moffett Field, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, specializes in revealing new knowledge about the universe, planetary systems, and life science and in creating new technologies that enable exciting new ventures in aeronautics and space exploration. Throughout its history, results from Ames¹ research have significantly influenced national and international policy, enabled most of the major space missions of the past thirty years, and contributed science discoveries and engineering insights that have rewritten the textbooks. In the process of these endeavors, Ames has made numerous contributions to environmental protection, public health, and the nations economic well being.

The NASA Ames Academy

Ames is unique in having world class ground, Airborne, and space flight research capabilities in aeronautics, astrophysics, earth sciences, exobiology, fluid dynamics, gravitational biology, thermal protection technology, computational chemistry, planetary atmospheres, space laboratories, information sciences, and spacecraft life support.

As a result, Ames is the only NASA center to support all NASA Strategic Enterprises and acts as technical bridge to transfer skill, knowledge and technologies among the NASA Enterprises. This multidisciplinary synergy has created the world's only capability for the comprehensive study of Astrobiology -- life's origin, evolution, and distribution in the universe and destiny, from the protection of our planet to the evolution of terrestrial life into space.

Ames is the lead NASA Center for Astrobiology and is also the lead NASA Center for understanding the effects of gravity on living things. Ames plays a major role in understanding the origin, evolution, and distribution of stars, planets, and life in the universe. One important activity is Ames' unique research in atmosphere and ecosystems science in support of Mission to Planet Earth and the protection of the global environment. In space technologies, Ames is also the lead center in providing the thermal protection systems that are critical for future access to space and planetary atmospheric entry vehicles.

Ames is NASA's Center of Excellence in Information Systems technologies, encompassing research in supercomputing, networking, numerical computing software, artificial intelligence, and human factors to enable bold advances in aeronautics and space.

In aeronautics, Ames is the agency lead center in airspace operations systems, including air traffic control and human factors, and the lead center for rotorcraft technology. Ames also has major responsibilities in the creation of design and development process tools and in wind tunnel testing.

About 1600 civil servants and over 2000 contractor personnel are employed at Ames. In addition, Ames is proud to host more than 500 graduate students, cooperative education students, post-doctoral fellows and university faculty members who work in collaboration with Ames preeminent scientists and technologists.

Ames is a pioneer in the application of the multidisciplinary approach in science, technology, and projects, that is, combining the perspectives, training, and technologies of a variety of discipline experts to attack problems of exceptional difficulty. Multidisciplinary approaches are flexible and tend to stimulate cutting edge concepts. Successful application of this technique requires a deep appreciation for the talents, skills, and insights of others and ability to cross-organizational lines to reveal hidden treasures of understanding. Today, more and more scientists and high tech industries are using this approach with remarkable results.

It is in this spirit of shared discovery and the synthesis of diverse talents that Ames offers the NASA Ames Academy. Students will contribute to every aspect of successful multidisciplinary research on Earth, in the air, and in space, from the formulation of an idea to the procurement of goods and services necessary to develop it, through the management, marketing, and manufacturing necessary to turn a concept into a reality.

One goal of the Academy is to provide insight into all of the elements that make the NASA missions possible, while at the same time assigning the student to one of our best researchers to contribute towards one of our missions. Each student will be hand picked by a series of gates -- panels, interviews, etc., starting with their own State Space Grant Consortium who has selected and agreed to sponsor them. The Ames¹ researchers have been selected through a highly competitive process for selecting only the best, the brightest, and the most innovative. The "match" between student (Research Associate) and researcher (Principal Investigator) will be done by mutual selection.

Sixty percent of the time at Ames will be spent in the laboratory of the selected Principal Investigator assisting in research. About 40% of the working time and most of the social time of the students will be spent as a "group" or "team" in plenary sessions. This time will be devoted to exchange of ideas, on forays into the highest level of decision making, prioritizing, planning and executing our space missions. This will be done by interviews with leaders and motivators of the space program. Besides the domestic Ames' experts, we will bring in leaders from the aerospace, high-tech, and genetic engineering firms in Silicon Valley; local, state, and national political decision makers; international partners; advocates and adversaries of space exploration.

Activities -- June 20 to August 27

These dates were selected to give most students a breather before returning to school. We know this is a compromise, as no two schools have identical schedules. It is important that you all begin together and all end together. The success of this Academy depends not on us as much as all of the students. We do not accept people who are not able to attend this entire period. All students must be U.S. citizens or hold a "green card." Specific exemption may be made if a national space agency is involved.

Our intention is to assure that the students interact as a "team." We will always try to spark your leadership qualities.

While we encourage the students to stay together as much as possible, we do not want you to feel trapped. All students will be housed on base at NASA Ames Research Center with access to mass transit.

We plan several trips on the weekends. These include trips to the Jet Propulsion Laboratories, to Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, to the Dryden Flight Research Center, to Vandenburg Air Force Base and to other areas of interest in the West. Other weekend trips will be planned by the selected students when they arrive.

Each of the ten weeks will be a unique group experience, but at the same time the student will be working on a research project with Investigators in the Ames' laboratories or on our flight projects. Every morning after breakfast at Ames the work starts at 8 a.m., lunch is at Ames, and dinner will be at local eateries.

The Academy Experience

These past seven summers, 13 students, interested in life, space, or Earth sciences, space technology, or space engineering came from all over the U.S., were selected for the 10 week session to share a unique experience resulting from their own ingenuity and free spirit. Teaching and learning are not the same. Teaching is the orthodoxy of our universities and colleges; learning is the "ah-ha!" process of finding out and understanding. That is our objective: to foster curiosity, to spirit endeavor, and to inspire leadership.

All of these elements make the Ames Academy a unique experience. All that is missing are the unique individuals who can make these elements into a meaningful education.

Student Support

The NASA Academy program is co-sponsored by the participating NASA Center and the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. Students submit their applications to the Lead or Affiliate Space Grant Consortium office in their State. These applications are screened and forwarded to the appropriate NASA Academy program. Most State Space Grant Consortium offices, as well as the Space Grant offices of the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, support the program. Please check with the Space Grant office in your State for participation information. Space Grant Consortia offices agree to provide the students with summer stipend support and round-trip transportation to and from the participating NASA Center. The participating NASA Center agrees to host the student, providing housing, local transportation, and meals. More information on the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program is found at: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/spacegrant/

Student Eligibility

Demonstrated interest in the Space Program

Enrolled as a junior, senior, or graduate student (as of June 1 of the program year)

Maintain an overall B average (minimum)

Majoring in science (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.), math, engineering, computer science, or other areas of interest to the space program

Be a US citizen or permanent resident (as of June 1 of the program year)

Contact Information

NASA Academy information is obtained through these sources:
WWW
http://www.nasa-academy.nasa.gov/
http://academy.arc.nasa.gov
Telephone & email
Tel: (650) 604-4391
Fax: (650) 604-6779
EMAIL: YPendleton@mail.arc.nasa.gov
US mail
Dr. Yvonne Pendleton
NASA Ames Research Center
Mail Stop 245-3
Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000

Applications for the Academy programs are available on-line beginning in November. Check the Academy homepage at either of the addresses above for the application availability and due dates.

NASA Academy at Ames Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
Program Information Academy Description Introduction The NASA Ames Research Center The NASA Ames Academy Activities The Academy Experience Student Support Contact Information
Introduction The NASA Ames Academy is a unique summer institute of higher learning whose goal is to help guide future leaders of the U.S. Space Program by giving them a glimpse of how the whole system works. The success of the Space Program results from the interaction of government, academia, and the private sector, each playing a critical and different role in the 47-year-old civil program. Responsibilities overlap, leaders migrate from one sector to another and interdependence changes with each new administration. NASA's Charter, written in the 1958 Space Act, gives it the main role of using and exploring space for the betterment of humankind. Congress and the President have both supported and restrained NASA as its programs have evolved. President John F. Kennedy's vision of putting a man on the Moon within the decade included much more than the Apollo spectacular of newspaper fame. After Apollo's success, NASA has constantly sought to redefine its goals and fine tune its schedule every year seeking a budget to match its imagination. We have explored most of the planets, measured the solar system, flown humans in long term endurance missions and short term operational missions, invented new technology and trained Congress, teachers, students, businesspeople, and engineers, developing a whole new generation familiar with the expertise of the "Space Age." The NASA Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), located at Moffett Field, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, specializes in revealing new knowledge about the universe, planetary systems, and life science and in creating new technologies that enable exciting new ventures in aeronautics and space exploration. Throughout its history, results from Ames¹ research have significantly influenced national and international policy, enabled most of the major space missions of the past thirty years, and contributed science discoveries and engineering insights that have rewritten the textbooks. In the process of these endeavors, Ames has made numerous contributions to environmental protection, public health, and the nations economic well being. The NASA Ames Academy Ames is unique in having world class ground, Airborne, and space flight research capabilities in aeronautics, astrophysics, earth sciences, exobiology, fluid dynamics, gravitational biology, thermal protection technology, computational chemistry, planetary atmospheres, space laboratories, information sciences, and spacecraft life support. As a result, Ames is the only NASA center to support all NASA Strategic Enterprises and acts as technical bridge to transfer skill, knowledge and technologies among the NASA Enterprises. This multidisciplinary synergy has created the world's only capability for the comprehensive study of Astrobiology -- life's origin, evolution, and distribution in the universe and destiny, from the protection of our planet to the evolution of terrestrial life into space. Ames is the lead NASA Center for Astrobiology and is also the lead NASA Center for understanding the effects of gravity on living things. Ames plays a major role in understanding the origin, evolution, and distribution of stars, planets, and life in the universe. One important activity is Ames' unique research in atmosphere and ecosystems science in support of Mission to Planet Earth and the protection of the global environment. In space technologies, Ames is also the lead center in providing the thermal protection systems that are critical for future access to space and planetary atmospheric entry vehicles. Ames is NASA's Center of Excellence in Information Systems technologies, encompassing research in supercomputing, networking, numerical computing software, artificial intelligence, and human factors to enable bold advances in aeronautics and space. In aeronautics, Ames is the agency lead center in airspace operations systems, including air traffic control and human factors, and the lead center for rotorcraft technology. Ames also has major responsibilities in the creation of design and development process tools and in wind tunnel testing. About 1600 civil servants and over 2000 contractor personnel are employed at Ames. In addition, Ames is proud to host more than 500 graduate students, cooperative education students, post-doctoral fellows and university faculty members who work in collaboration with Ames preeminent scientists and technologists. Ames is a pioneer in the application of the multidisciplinary approach in science, technology, and projects, that is, combining the perspectives, training, and technologies of a variety of discipline experts to attack problems of exceptional difficulty. Multidisciplinary approaches are flexible and tend to stimulate cutting edge concepts. Successful application of this technique requires a deep appreciation for the talents, skills, and insights of others and ability to cross-organizational lines to reveal hidden treasures of understanding. Today, more and more scientists and high tech industries are using this approach with remarkable results. It is in this spirit of shared discovery and the synthesis of diverse talents that Ames offers the NASA Ames Academy. Students will contribute to every aspect of successful multidisciplinary research on Earth, in the air, and in space, from the formulation of an idea to the procurement of goods and services necessary to develop it, through the management, marketing, and manufacturing necessary to turn a concept into a reality. One goal of the Academy is to provide insight into all of the elements that make the NASA missions possible, while at the same time assigning the student to one of our best researchers to contribute towards one of our missions. Each student will be hand picked by a series of gates -- panels, interviews, etc., starting with their own State Space Grant Consortium who has selected and agreed to sponsor them. The Ames¹ researchers have been selected through a highly competitive process for selecting only the best, the brightest, and the most innovative. The "match" between student (Research Associate) and researcher (Principal Investigator) will be done by mutual selection. Sixty percent of the time at Ames will be spent in the laboratory of the selected Principal Investigator assisting in research. About 40% of the working time and most of the social time of the students will be spent as a "group" or "team" in plenary sessions. This time will be devoted to exchange of ideas, on forays into the highest level of decision making, prioritizing, planning and executing our space missions. This will be done by interviews with leaders and motivators of the space program. Besides the domestic Ames' experts, we will bring in leaders from the aerospace, high-tech, and genetic engineering firms in Silicon Valley; local, state, and national political decision makers; international partners; advocates and adversaries of space exploration. Activities -- June 20 to August 27 These dates were selected to give most students a breather before returning to school. We know this is a compromise, as no two schools have identical schedules. It is important that you all begin together and all end together. The success of this Academy depends not on us as much as all of the students. We do not accept people who are not able to attend this entire period. All students must be U.S. citizens or hold a "green card." Specific exemption may be made if a national space agency is involved. Our intention is to assure that the students interact as a "team." We will always try to spark your leadership qualities. While we encourage the students to stay together as much as possible, we do not want you to feel trapped. All students will be housed on base at NASA Ames Research Center with access to mass transit. We plan several trips on the weekends. These include trips to the Jet Propulsion Laboratories, to Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, to the Dryden Flight Research Center, to Vandenburg Air Force Base and to other areas of interest in the West. Other weekend trips will be planned by the selected students when they arrive. Each of the ten weeks will be a unique group experience, but at the same time the student will be working on a research project with Investigators in the Ames' laboratories or on our flight projects. Every morning after breakfast at Ames the work starts at 8 a.m., lunch is at Ames, and dinner will be at local eateries. The Academy Experience These past seven summers, 13 students, interested in life, space, or Earth sciences, space technology, or space engineering came from all over the U.S., were selected for the 10 week session to share a unique experience resulting from their own ingenuity and free spirit. Teaching and learning are not the same. Teaching is the orthodoxy of our universities and colleges; learning is the "ah-ha!" process of finding out and understanding. That is our objective: to foster curiosity, to spirit endeavor, and to inspire leadership. All of these elements make the Ames Academy a unique experience. All that is missing are the unique individuals who can make these elements into a meaningful education. Student Support The NASA Academy program is co-sponsored by the participating NASA Center and the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. Students submit their applications to the Lead or Affiliate Space Grant Consortium office in their State. These applications are screened and forwarded to the appropriate NASA Academy program. Most State Space Grant Consortium offices, as well as the Space Grant offices of the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, support the program. Please check with the Space Grant office in your State for participation information. Space Grant Consortia offices agree to provide the students with summer stipend support and round-trip transportation to and from the participating NASA Center. The participating NASA Center agrees to host the student, providing housing, local transportation, and meals. More information on the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program is found at: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/spacegrant/ Student Eligibility Demonstrated interest in the Space Program Enrolled as a junior, senior, or graduate student (as of June 1 of the program year) Maintain an overall B average (minimum) Majoring in science (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.), math, engineering, computer science, or other areas of interest to the space program Be a US citizen or permanent resident (as of June 1 of the program year) Contact Information NASA Academy information is obtained through these sources: WWW http://www.nasa-academy.nasa.gov/ http://academy.arc.nasa.gov Telephone & email Tel: (650) 604-4391 Fax: (650) 604-6779 EMAIL: YPendleton@mail.arc.nasa.gov US mail Dr. Yvonne Pendleton NASA Ames Research Center Mail Stop 245-3 Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000 Applications for the Academy programs are available on-line beginning in November. Check the Academy homepage at either of the addresses above for the application availability and due dates.
Last Updated November 23, 2004 Responsible NASA Official: Yvonne Pendleton

NASA Academy at Ames Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California

Program Information

NASA Academy at Ames
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California