(San Antonio, TX, April 14, 2005) - For the fourth year in a row, Alamo Community College District students took part in the Community College Aerospace Scholars Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, along with students from community and junior colleges across Texas.
 
With the largest delegation, 20 total students, ACCD was represented by 14 students from San Antonio College, and six students from Palo Alto College, all interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  SAC Engineering faculty members Dan G. Dimitriu, Ph.D., P.E., and professor Charles Overstreet accompanied them.
 
The program, a three-day on-site event at JSC, provides opportunities for students to interact with each other as they learn more about science and engineering careers. There are three weekends of student events, each with students from approximately 10 participating institutions, for a total of more than 300 participants.
 
Prior to the event, students are assigned to teams and, with direction from NASA engineers and student interns, establish fictional companies interested in Mars exploration. They are given individual web-based learning modules to become familiar with the event project.  The scenario is that NASA put out a Request for Proposal, and each team, or company, competes to win the contract to build the Rover to send to Mars.  During the on-site event, teams will develop and test a prototype Rover, design a line drawing, prepare to analyze Martian rock samples, and form a company infrastructure that includes budgeting, communications and presentations.
 
While teammates have been in contact via the Internet prior to the event, they meet, organize and begin planning for the first time at the event. Moreover, each team is allowed only three hours on the second day in which to actually build and test the prototype, design the line drawing, and maintain the company infrastructure, while following a strict building schedule, attending meetings and staying within budget.

 
“The experience was so intense – exciting and invigorating, yet stressful and fearful all at the same time,” said SAC Sophomore Engineering student Benjamin Rodriguez, who served in a leadership role as Project Engineer for his Red Team, named the Rover Engineering and Design Specialists Company.  “I learned more at that one event than in any classroom – engineering principles, and how to manage people and time.”
 
Activities also included tours of the JSC, and guest speakers from various NASA departments.

The Community College Aerospace Scholars Program is part of the Texas Aerospace Scholars and was created by the state of Texas, in partnership with JSC and the Texas educational community, to encourage community and junior college students to enter careers in science and engineering.

For more information, contact Dr. Dimitriu at 733-2836 or visit the program web site at http://aerospacescholars.jsc.nasa.gov/CAS/default.cfm.