NASA brings space to Morgan
Morgan's engineering students give opportunity to touch the stars
Zania Adamu
Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: World News
Morgan State University was one of seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities to receive a research grant totaling $35 million. NASA's Office of Education provided Morgan's Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. School of Engineering the grant to establish the Center of Excellence in Systems Engineering for Space Exploration Technologies (CESET). The awards will help to attain aggressive aerospace research and technology development capability among Morgan students, while giving them the opportunity to become more knowledgeable engineers in their fields of study.
The primary goal of CESET will comprise of many vital aspects to maintain and expand space development. Under faculty supervision, engineering students will perform applied research in space exploration technologies promoting NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, a similar program. In addition, CESET will provide system engineering regulation and present academic and specialized programs in systems engineering under the Systems Engineering and Management Institute (SEMI).
NASA started out as a small organization established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958, and transformed into the world's leading agent in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research. NASA's influence around the world stems from community involvement in bettering students and engineers.
"Our engineering school is a rather new one," says Justin Dean, senior and Electrical Engineering major at Morgan. "I am grateful to see that we are being provided the funding to advance our engineering school."
Not only will CESET enhance the learning experience for the students, but also professional engineers in the industry are encouraged to participate. The program will offer a hands-on environment in systems engineering to improve their capabilities when in the work field.
Over a five-year period, $1 million dollars will be rewarded to each university participating based on school performance and obtainable funding. By 2013, the outcome of CESET will be to equip engineering graduates with proper research and technological skills allowing them to approach the work environment prepared and dedicated to promoting advancement. Another byproduct of CESET will be an increase in the number of minorities with NASA-oriented engineering degrees. Other schools awarded the grant includes Howard University, which will introduce the Beltsville Center for Climate System Observation located in Washington D.C., and Texas Southern University's Center for Advanced Nanotechnology and Environmental Research in Houston.
This is not the first occasion NASA has contributed to Morgan. In 2006, The NASA/Morgan State University Summer Institute of Robotics, or SIR, was created to encourage high school students to pursue careers in science and technology. Students are carefully selected from a pool of top performers in their class to participate in a two-week session on robot design and operation. Morgan's School of Engineering in conjunction with the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering and the Department of Industrial Engineering coordinate the annual event.
The primary goal of CESET will comprise of many vital aspects to maintain and expand space development. Under faculty supervision, engineering students will perform applied research in space exploration technologies promoting NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, a similar program. In addition, CESET will provide system engineering regulation and present academic and specialized programs in systems engineering under the Systems Engineering and Management Institute (SEMI).
NASA started out as a small organization established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958, and transformed into the world's leading agent in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research. NASA's influence around the world stems from community involvement in bettering students and engineers.
"Our engineering school is a rather new one," says Justin Dean, senior and Electrical Engineering major at Morgan. "I am grateful to see that we are being provided the funding to advance our engineering school."
Not only will CESET enhance the learning experience for the students, but also professional engineers in the industry are encouraged to participate. The program will offer a hands-on environment in systems engineering to improve their capabilities when in the work field.
Over a five-year period, $1 million dollars will be rewarded to each university participating based on school performance and obtainable funding. By 2013, the outcome of CESET will be to equip engineering graduates with proper research and technological skills allowing them to approach the work environment prepared and dedicated to promoting advancement. Another byproduct of CESET will be an increase in the number of minorities with NASA-oriented engineering degrees. Other schools awarded the grant includes Howard University, which will introduce the Beltsville Center for Climate System Observation located in Washington D.C., and Texas Southern University's Center for Advanced Nanotechnology and Environmental Research in Houston.
This is not the first occasion NASA has contributed to Morgan. In 2006, The NASA/Morgan State University Summer Institute of Robotics, or SIR, was created to encourage high school students to pursue careers in science and technology. Students are carefully selected from a pool of top performers in their class to participate in a two-week session on robot design and operation. Morgan's School of Engineering in conjunction with the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering and the Department of Industrial Engineering coordinate the annual event.
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