As part of its ongoing commitment to education, NASA has
teamed with the journal Science to provide Historically Black
Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Leadership Alliance
access to a weekly on-line publication devoted to scientific
training and career development.
The online publication, “Science’s Next Wave,” provides
global news, profiles of emerging careers, and advice from
experts in the scientific community at large. Next Wave is a
global source of information that is updated weekly and can
be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from the Internet.
“This resource was initially provided to NASA employees. With
the assistance of George Reese, Associate Administrator for
Equal Opportunity Programs, we decided to extend the program
to include HBCUs when we realized what a great opportunity
this could be to link the best and brightest minds to
promising careers in science. We hope that the subscription
will inform as well as encourage students, especially
minorities, to pursue science-related career opportunities
that are available,” said Dr. Kathie Olsen, NASA Chief
Scientist and Acting Associate Administrator for Biological
and Physical Research at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The subscription will cover the minority schools in the
Leadership Alliance, including: Clark Atlanta University,
Delaware State University, Howard University, Morehouse
College, Morgan State University, Prairie View A&M
University, Southern University at Baton Rouge, Spelman
College, Tougaloo University, Xavier University, and the
University of Puerto Rico system.
“Sadly, the number of underrepresented minorities receiving
graduate degrees in the sciences is still extremely low. For
this reason, we are heartened by NASA’s commitment to make
the training and mentoring of underrepresented minority
science students a top priority,” said Ellis Rubinstein,
editor of Science.
Some of the resources that will be available to the students
are the Career Development Center for Postdocs and Junior
Faculty, the Grant Doctor, and the new Postdoc Network.
These features provide information for beginning scientists,
tips on writing grants and locating funds, help with time
management, and question-and-answer sessions.
More information on “Next Wave” or the Leadership Alliance
can be found at:
http://www.leadershipalliance.org
