Fund for the Advancement of Space Science Education

 

In the spirit of dedication to the growth of young scientists and engineers embodied by Gerald Soffen throughout his life, the Dr. Gerald A. Soffen Memorial Fund for the Advancement of Space Science Education offers Student Travel Grants. The Travel Grants are awarded to students pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees in aerospace-related sciences or engineering fields (astrobiology, astronomy, earth and space science, engineering, etc.) to attend a meeting at which they will present their research.

The deadline for the next application opportunity is October 15, 2010. Check back later this fall for a link to the application.

Notification of the award will be made approximately one month after the application deadline. Therefore, the Travel Grant can only support travel to meetings with dates falling after November 15, 2010. We anticipate having another selection cycle in the spring of 2011 (~April 1 application date) so applications to attend meetings falling after approximately May 1, 2011 should be submitted to the April application opportunity. If your meeting date falls near the May cutoff date, application submission to this October's deadline is recommended.

You may contact the Gerald A. Soffen Memorial Fund for the Advancement of Space Science Education regarding Travel Grants at travelgrant@nasa-academy.org.

 

Previous awardees and a description of their research appear below:

An October 2009 awardee, Courtney King, is an undergraduate student at the University of Arizona. Courtney will be presenting her research entitled "Determining the Metal/Silicate Partition Coefficient of Germanium: Implications for Core and Mantle Differentiation" at the Lunar and Planetary Science meeting in March 2010.
An October 2009 awardee, Jeff Bowman, is a graduate student at the University of Washington. Jeff presented a poster [PDF of Jeff's poster (3.6 Mb)] on his research entitled "Elevated bacterial abundance in laboratory-grown and naturally occurring frost flowers under late winter conditions" at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in December of 2009r.
The April 2009 awardee, Sarah Miller, is an undergraduate in materials science and engineering at Washington State University. Sarah presented her talk [PDF of Sarah's talk (2.7 Mb PDF)] entitled "Effect of substrate composition on whisker formation in Sn films" at the Materials Science and Technology 2009 conference in October. Motivated by her long-standing interest in space, Sarah has conducted research since her freshman year of college and is a leader of the WSU branch of Material Advantage, a national materials science student group.
An October 2008 awardee, Nishant Agarwal, is a PhD candidate in Astronomy and Space Sciences at Cornell University. Nishant presented [PDF of Nishant's presentation (530 Kb)] his research, entitled "Cosmological Constraints on General, Single-Field Inflation," at the American Physical Society meeting in April 2009. This research seeks to aid the development of a physical model of the expansion of the universe which agrees with theory, while being based on observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background and the large-scale structure of the universe. In addition to being one of the top graduate students in his department, according to his advisor Rachel Bean, "…he is already working, in terms of competence and independence, at the level of a senior graduate student despite only being half way through his graduate career." Not only is Nishant an outstanding researcher and student, but he is also active in engaging undergraduates and teenagers in astronomy education, and has already given talks at a number of conferences and seminars.
An October 2008 awardee, Paul Richardson, is an undergraduate at the University of Washington in Earth and Space Sciences with a minor in Applied Mathematics. Paul was a participant in the USRP at Goddard Space Flight Center conducting research under Dr. Jacob Bleacher. He presented [PDF of Paul's presentation (17.7 Mb)] his research entitled "Small Volcanic Features on Olympus Mons in the Tharsis Region, Mars" at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in March 2009. This research uses hi-res images from Mars Odyssey's THEMIS and Mars Express's HRSC to catalog small volcanic vents and improve the understanding of the geological history of the Tharsis region. Paul has been an undergraduate research assistant on a number of projects at UW, a teaching assistant in two courses, and is a member of many professional clubs and societies in his field. His PI at Goddard described him as an outstanding intern based on both his progress so far and his ability to see the implications of this research on the global scale.
An April 2008 awardee, Emily Tenenbaum, is a graduate student in physical chemistry at the University of Arizona. Emily, who studies the chemistry of stars using observational radio astronomy, presented [PDF version of Emily's presentation (1.2 Mb PDF)] her discovery of two P-bearing molecules around two different types of stars at the International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy in June of 2008. The discovery of P-bearing molecules in circumstellar space is important for understanding the development of life, as P is a crucial element in the building blocks of life.
An April 2008 awardee, Erin Beck, is a senior in physics at Washington University in St. Louis. Erin, the project manager and mission planning lead of a team of 60 students designing and building a flight-ready satellite for the Air Force Research Laboratory's University Nanosatellite competition, attended the Small Satellite Systems and Services "4S" Symposium in May 2008. She not only presented [PDF version of Erin's poster (2.8 Mb PDF)] her team's progress but also carried out her responsibilities for the overall meeting as a member of the meeting's technical committee.
A 2006 awardee, Madeline Leong, is a first--year M.D./Ph.D. student at Duke University. Madeline enthusiastically wrote about how her experience leading her Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunity Program team redefined her perspectives on medicine and sparked a fascination with space research. She presented [PDF version of Madeline's poster (1.9 Mb PDF)] the results of her team's study on the influence of gravitational stress on immunity at the National MD-PhD Student Conference in July of 2007.
A 2006 awardee, John Janeski, is a senior at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. John participated in the Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunity Program where his team demonstrated electrostatic orbits between two charged spheres. John presented [PDF version of John's presentation (7.4 Mb PDF)] the results of their experiment at the American Association of Physics Teachers meeting in January 2007 in hopes of providing physics teachers with a unique and exciting way to teach basic principles of physics in their classrooms.
A 2005 awardee, Matthew Gadja, is a second year graduate student in engineering physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Matthew presented a talk on the design of "A Lunar Volatiles Miner" [PDF version of Matthew's presentation (1.1 Mb PDF)] at the International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments in Houston, Texas in March of 2006. Matt has a longstanding interest in space and was a high-performing engineering physics major as an undergrad while lettering as a member of the University of Wisconsin football team.
A 2005 awardee, Nicole Jordan, is a second year graduate student in the Aeronautics and Astronautics/Technology and Policy program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nicole presented a talk on the "Development and Validation of a Multidisciplinary Spacesuit Model" [PDF version of Nicole's presentation (8.4 Mb PDF)] at the 44th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Reno in January of 2006. Nicole has extensive experience in spacesuit research and an impressive academic record.
A 2004 awardee, David Harmon, was a senior double major in computer science and mathematics at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. David attended the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics: Computation Science and Engineering conference in February of 2005. He presented the work he did as a summer intern at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Maestro, a software package used to control the Mars Exploration Rovers during surface operations [PDF version of David's poster (3 Mb)]. David's application was noteworthy for its outstanding letter of support from his computer science department chair, who also had served as his professor in numerous courses. Awarding a Travel Grant to David marks the second year in a row the Soffen Fund was able to provide support to a student at a small college outside the mainstream of NASA university activities.
A 2004 awardee, Amber Straughn, was a second year graduate student in physics and astronomy at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Amber attended the American Astronomical Society's meeting in January of 2005 to present her research on characterization of "Tadpole Galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field" Dataset [PDF version of Amber's poster (4.2 Mb PDF)]. Amber's application stood out not only for its glowing letter of support from her advisor, but by her enthusiastic essay.
The 2003 awardee, Philip A. Ashley, was a sophomore studying Physical Science at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. Philip presented his work on "Measurement of Diatomic Oxygen in the Exhaust Plume of a Mini-Hybrid Rocket" [PDF version of Philip's poster (463 Kb PDF)] at the American Chemical Society's 227th National Meeting in Anaheim, California.
The 2002 awardee, Kristen Bethke, was a senior studying Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. Kristen presented her work on "Revolutionary Concepts for Human Outer Planet Exploration (HOPE)" [PDF version of Kristen's presentation (3.2 Mb PDF)] at the Space Technology and Applications International Forum in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 3rd, 2003. Kristen presented slides 14-26 of the presentation.