WEX Foundation Awarded $800K NASA Grant For Unique Space Education Program | UTSA Today | UTSA | The University...

Reference: See here

In The News:

• The University of Colorado Boulder receives $10 million NASA grant to study the impact of climate change on snowpack and glaciers. (Source: CU Boulder Today) • A team of researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, is developing a new AI-powered system to detect and track asteroid threats to Earth. (Source: UCLA Newsroom) • The European Space Agency awards a €1 million grant to the University of Padua to study the effects of space weather on satellite communications. (Source: ESA Press Release) • NASA grants $1. 2 million to the University of Hawaii at Manoa to study the AARGUS system... which can detect earthquakes and tsunamis. (Source: UH News) • The University of Toronto receives $2 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to develop new technologies for sustainable manufacturing. (Source: U of T News) • Researchers at the University of Surrey receive £1. 5 million from the UK's Space Agency to develop a new satellite-based system for monitoring ocean health. (Source: Surrey. ac. uk) • NASA awards a $5 million grant to the University of Arizona to study the effects of lunar regolith on spacecraft. (Source: U of A News) • The University of Queensland receives AU$2. 2 million from the Australian Research Council to develop new technologies for sustainable agriculture. (Source: UQ News)

#news

UTeachSA trains UTSA students to become highly qualified STEM teachers by offering unique opportunities for undergraduates majoring in math and science fields.

JUNE 14, 2024 ⁘ Starting this fall, San Antonio middle school students will have a unique opportunity to design, build and test lunar lava tube habitat models made in afterschool programs with recyclable materials and simple supplies. These students are part of a new four-year program that was created through a grant and partnership between NASA and the WEX Foundation , a local nonprofit dedicated to STEM education, in partnership with UTeachSA , UTSA's teacher recruitment and training program.

The after-school students taking part in this fall's program will get help with their habitats through the use of multimedia resources like ⁘Career Chats,⁘ where students will have the opportunity to talk with STEM professionals who work in space exploration including guest speakers from NASA, Southwest Research Institute, UTSA, Texas A⁘M and Blue Origin. At the end of the semester, student teams will compete against each other for the best lunar lava tube habitat.

A critical part of developing STEM-based education in the space industry is cultivating the next generation of students who are interested in STEM, and specifically in space exploration and research. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , there are an estimated 42,200 job openings for middle and 67,100 job openings high school teachers for a total of over 109,000 job openings for both across the nation.

According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) , over 50% of new Texas teachers entering the classroom post-pandemic are lacking the standard certification, pointed out Carey Walls , associate director of UTeachSA.