Sonja Alexander
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1761)

Lori Rachul
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH
(Phone: 216/433-2901)

Fred Price
Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, NY
(Phone: 212/594-8926)

RELEASE: 00-83

Brooklyn, NY, students soon will be exploring the world of science
and technology using
the latest computer hardware and software in the brand new Major Owens
Aeronautics
Education Laboratory (AEL), named for Brooklyn Congressman Major R.
Owens.

NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin, Astronaut Michael P. Anderson
and other NASA
officials, along with Congressman Owens, and staff from Medgar Evers
College/CUNY,
Brooklyn, NY, and the Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, open the
lab doors today at
a dedication ceremony on the campus of Medgar Evers College.

“This magnificent educational laboratory represents the
culmination of a long-term effort
to increase the benefits of educational technologies in the 11th
Congressional District,” said
Congressman Owens.

The laboratory steps outside the traditional classroom and offers
a state-of-the-art,
electronically enhanced, computerized environment that puts
cutting-edge technology in the
hands of students in grades 9 to 12. At the various workstations,
students can examine
elements of satellite global positioning, remote sensing, amateur radio
and aircraft design.

“NASA believes the opportunities the Aeronautics Education
Laboratory offers the
students of Brooklyn will honor the legacy of Mr. Evers by providing
young people with the
tools for success in the new millennium,” said Administrator Goldin.

NASA’s Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, Washington, D.C.,
provided a $200,000
grant for the partnership to establish the laboratory.

“The AEL is a wonderful addition to our college and pre-college
programs,” said Medgar
Evers College President, Edison O. Jackson. “This laboratory will
encourage our
community partners and students to study in fields that lead to careers
in aeronautics and
aviation, fields where minorities have been underrepresented.”

A vision of former Ohio Congressman Louis Stokes, the program was
established in
1993 by Glenn and Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland, OH, to help
foster
understanding and enthusiasm in school-age children for science, math
and technology
fields. Since its inception, the Science, Engineering and Mathematics
and Aerospace
Academy and its laboratories have grown from a single location to a
multiple-site
organization.