In late May, NASA will welcome the first cadre of
students participating in the new Undergraduate Student
Research Program (USRP), another element in NASA’s continued
commitment to education excellence and support for academic
research.
USRP attracted over 1100 applications from undergraduate
students around the country. Some 100 students representing
70 of the nation’s colleges and universities — and fully
representative of America’s rich diversity — will
participate in this year’s pilot program.
An essential objective of this program is to address the need
to increase the nation’s undergraduate and graduate science,
engineering, mathematics and technology skill base. In
particular, USRP will provide undergraduates with challenging
research experiences designed to pique student academic
interest in these fields and disciplines. The program also is
intended to encourage continued student career interest
aligned with NASA’s research and development mission.
“We are extremely pleased with the response to this pilot
program. The caliber of students who competed for these
‘hands-on’ research assignments was extraordinary. And, we
must commend the research communities at our NASA centers for
their very deliberate efforts to help this program achieve
its goals,” said Frank Owens, Director, NASA Education
Division.
The Virginia Space Grant Consortium, Hampton, VA, provides
national coordination of the USRP pilot program for NASA’s
Office of Human Resources and Education, Washington, DC.
Further information is available at:
http://education.nasa.gov/usrp
