By The Keystone Newspaper Freshmen, sophomores and transfer students in STEM majors given the opportunity to work alongside NASA scientists
By John Mahoney
NASA has selected KU as one of the few institutions to receive a 5-year $375,000 grant for two partnership programs. The grant will allow students to work alongside NASA science teams and attend meetings and conferences.
Photo Credit: Prof. Donna DeMarco
H2O (Here to Observe) is a NASA-wide program that aims to give underrepresented students the opportunity to engage with members of the STEM workforce and ideally develop or strengthen their own interests in the field.
KU students will have the chance to sit in on meetings, attend conferences and work alongside mentors on the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover mission. The rover’s mission is to collect samples from “Martian rock and regolith” that will be used to “explore the past habitability of Mars.”
H2S (Here to Storytell) is a KU specific program that encourages students to compile their experiences and knowledge from the H2O program into physical media such as video and craft a presentation on their work.
Currently, there are 14 students participating in these programs at KU. They will have the opportunity to attend in-person events such as the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas, as well as a potential day trip to Washington, D.C. These events as well as any other excursion for H2O are completely funded by the grant.
Dr. Erin Kraal, principal investigator, is overseeing these programs at KU, and has stated that this is the first time KU has partnered with an active mission like this before. While writing the grant proposal, Kraal said that she and co-investigator, Professor Donna DeMarco, advocated for KU by expressing the difficulties students face due to the location of the university.
“Internships are really challenging for KU students because of our location regionally. Even though we’re close to Allentown and Reading, we don’t have public transportation. If students get an internship, it can be really hard to actually get there,” Kraal said.
Dr. Kraal also stated that she believes KU has an extremely diverse and talented group of STEM students perfect for the vision of the H2O program.
“Our students will now have the incredible opportunity of going to a professional conference, networking, getting to meet people from all over in many different areas as early as freshmen and sophomore year,” Kraal said. “Then, when these students start to think about internships or research programs, they’re going to have so many more connections to reach out to.”
With their expertise and passion in the fields of planetary and computer science respectively, Dr. Kraal and Professor DeMarco have high hopes for the future of the H2O and H2S programs and hope that it can be a springboard for cultivating interest in STEM fields. Beyond this, both professors are personally thrilled to have the opportunity to work with and follow such a fascinating mission.
“It’s great to be able to work with Mars science again, it’s very nostalgic,” Dr. Kraal said.
“We’re all very excited to be part of the H2O program. Dr. Kraal bought me Mars Rover socks, and she got herself a skirt that is a replica of the landing parachute, and when she twirls it spreads out,” said DeMarco.
For students interested in taking part in the H2O and H2S programs, they must follow the requirements of being a STEM focused freshman, sophomore or transfer at KU. The programs will last for the 5 years that the grant covers, and every year there will be a new group of students.
“Next summer there will be an email sent out to all eligible first years, sophomores and transfer students inviting them to apply,” DeMarco said. “For those who submit an application, we’ll review and go through the difficult process of narrowing it down to 12 students for our second cohort. Two students from our current cohort will also continue as student mentors for the new cohort.”
The 14 participating students, according to Dr. Kraal, are extremely excited to take part in such a rare experience and take a huge step in the door with their future careers.
“I am so, so grateful for these opportunities and connections for our students. Especially because we have been sitting in on some internal mission meetings and I know how excited the mission scientists and engineers are, and I know how excited our students are,” Dr. Kraal said.
“These kinds of opportunities, especially for early career students, are so, so difficult to come by and to have the funding and support to make that happen is life changing,” Dr. Kraal added.