NASA Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP)

The New York City Research Initiative (NYCRI), which is sponsored by the NASA Education Office, annually funds up to 30 research teams, which are assigned to 12 colleges in the New York Metropolitan area. One of those institutions is the New Jersey Space Grant Consortium at Stevens Institute of Technology as the lead institution. From 2003 to 2005, the New Jersey Space Grant Consortium and Stevens has participated in the NASA SHARP program, which is a paid, eight-week program for high school students who have demonstrated an aptitude and interest in engineering, science, or technology careers. The objective of NASA SHARP program is to encourage the career paths of pre-college students who have been traditionally underrepresented in math, science, engineering, and technology fields.

The Summer Research Institute Component of the program sponsors teams of high school and undergraduate students, and faculty work along side graduate students and the principal investigators (lead scientists) of NASA funded research projects at universities within a 50-mile radius of New York City (NY, NJ and CT); or at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) under the mentorship of a GISS scientist. Summer enrichment experiences include content and research seminars, team oral research reports, visits to various research laboratories and informal education institutions, participation in local and national research conferences and a final research summit with participants from other government agencies, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States Department of Education (USDE) and the United States Department of Defense (DoD).

The conference guest speaker was Dr. Bernice Pinkney Alston. Dr. Alston is currently the Deputy Chief Education Officer at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. She has a Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology, a Master of Science in Communication Sciences, and an Educational Doctorate in Education Administration and Policy Management from George Washington University. At the conference, she reinforced the 10 goals that comprise the NASA Strategic Plan for the Education Enterprise that must be achieved for the Agency to realize its Vision and achieve success in its Mission.

The Education Enterprise has the lead role in the accomplishment of the goal to "inspire and motivate students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics" and a strong supporting role in achieving the goal to "engage the public in shaping and sharing the experience of exploration and discovery." With its ability to capture the imagination of educators, students, and the general public, NASA has a unique capacity to help revitalize science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in America. This will contribute to the continued availability of trained scientists, technologists, engineers, and educators to meet our Nation's technical workforce needs in the 21st century.

Dr. Alston joined NASA from the Fund for Educational Excellence in Baltimore, MD. where she was Director of Achievement First, a whole-school change initiative that focuses on literacy. The essential elements of education reform are principal as instructional leader, professional development, focus on literacy, standards and student work, and parental involvement. Dr. Alston has also been a teacher, principal, Director of the Speech and Hearing Clinic at Howard University, university professor, assistant superintendent, and a key player in systemic school reform. In the execution of NASA‘s strategic plan for education she has shared her knowledge of urban school reform with numerous school districts throughout the country.

Her distinguished career has allowed her to bond with educators, community supporters and parent advocates. Her passion for education and her love of children has been reflected throughout her career. While the formal presentations at the conference focused on NASA’s strategic goals and the encouragement of education, each of the participants displayed the fruit of their summer research projects. Each student or project team created and presented a poster describing the results of their research.

Below, are a few examples demonstrating students, educators and other participants absorbing the result of the presentations.

The SHARP conference, led by Dr. Frank Scalzo (second from right) accompanied by a team of program sponsors, educators, and participants is shown below:

Affiliations of the NYCRI sponsors and their biography’s

Both Dr. Neville Parker and Dr. Leon Johnson are directors of the National Science Foundation (NSF) New York City Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program. (http://nyc-amp.cuny.edu/). Over the past eleven years, the NSF has funded The NYC LSAMP and offered research internships for thousands of City University of New York (CUNY) students, including assignments to NYCRI research teams. The NYC LSAMP overall goal is to insure long-term capacity to produce significantly greater numbers of minority students in science, mathematics, and engineering careers through lasting changes achieved in participating CUNY institutions. The LSAMP program is a sponsor of the SHARP program.

XDr. Neville A. Parker (City College):

Neville A. Parker, Ph.D., P.E., is a Herbert G. Kayser Professor of Civil Engineering at The City College of The City University of New York, Director of the Institute for Transportation Systems of The City University of New York, Former Director of Research Careers for Minority Scholars at The City College (RCMS), and Director of the New York City Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in Science (LSAMP), Director, Entrepreneurial Training and Technological Assistance Program (ETTAP), and Project Director, Summer Transportation Institute (1996-2002).

Professor Parker also directed the NSF-funded Research Careers for Minority Scholars (RCMS) program at City College and served as the Co-PI on the NASA MUSPIN project. Dr. Parker also serves as Principal Investigator of the NASA funded Institute on Climate and Planets and Global Climate Variability Project. Dr. Parker also serves as the Co-PI for the CUNY led AGEP program that includes the CUNY Graduate Center, Stevens Institute of Technology, and New Jersey Institute of Technology.

As Director of the RCMS program, Dr. Parker led a college-wide effort to increase the number of minorities entering research careers in Science, Engineering and Mathematics at the post-graduate level. As Lead Principal Investigator and Director of Alliance for Minority Participation in Science (AMP) at The City University, Dr. Parker is part of a CUNY-wide effort to increase minority participation in Science, Mathematics and Engineering degrees at all levels. The RCMS and AMP programs have substantially contributed to the national goal of increasing the number of minority graduates in Science, Mathematics and Engineering.

Dr. Leon Johnson (Medgar Evers College):

Dr. Leon Johnson is chairperson of the Physics Department at Medgar Evers College, holds a Ph.D. in Relativistic Astrophysics, and has directed a variety of grant fund programs for underrepresented SMET students. Professor Johnson is a member of the CUNY Research Foundation Advisory Board and a research associate at NASA GISS. He is the project director of the NASA MASTAP grant "Science and Technology Teachers for the Next Millennium", the CUNY Space Alliance, the NASA MURED AEL Center at Medgar Evers College, and is a Co-PI on the NASA MUSPIN Project based at Medgar Evers College. Dr. Johnson is currently conducting research in Planetary Atmospheres and Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology.

Dr. Johnson is the Principal Investigator of The New York City Space Science Research Alliance (NYC-SSRA), a NASA Office of Space Science funded program. In collaboration with the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) of the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), NYC-SSRA engage underrepresented students and faculty of CUNY in NASA Space Science research and education projects.

Dr. Bernice Alston (Deputy Chief Education officer of the NASA Education Enterprise):

The conference guest speaker was Dr. Bernice Alston. Dr. Alston is currently the Deputy Chief Education Officer at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. She has a Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology, a Master of Science in Communication Sciences, and an Educational Doctorate in Education Administration and Policy Management from George Washington University. Dr. Alston joined NASA from the Fund for Educational Excellence in Baltimore, MD. where she was Director of Achievement First, a whole-school change initiative that focuses on literacy. The essential elements of education reform are principal as instructional leader, professional development, focus on literacy, standards and student work, and parental involvement.

Dr. Alston has also been a teacher, principal, Director of the Speech and Hearing Clinic at Howard University, university professor, assistant superintendent, and a key player in systemic school reform. Her distinguished career has allowed her to bond with educators, community supporters and parent advocates. Her passion for education and her love of children has been reflected throughout her career.

Dillard Menchan (Deputy Education Officer):

Dillard Menchan serves as the Assistant Chief of the Education Programs Office at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. He is responsible for providing staff leadership, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of over 50 Center educational activities. Prior to his current appointment, Menchan served as the Chief of the Equal Opportunity Programs Office at Goddard. In that position, Dillard Menchan was the focal point to assure equal opportunity in employment for employees and applicants.

Dillard Menchan is the recipient of numerous awards including NASA’s Medal for Exceptional Service and NASA’s Medal for Outstanding Leadership Award. During his 38 years of service, Menchan has served in a variety of community organizations. He has a special interest in career counseling for students. Dillard Menchan, a native of Philadelphia, is a graduate of Howard University, Washington, D.C. where he earned a Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in Political Science.

Dr. Frank Scalzo (Educational Program Specialist):

Dr. Frank Scalzo is NASA’s Educational Program Specialist for the NJ, NY, and CT metropolitan area. He is program director of the SHARP program at The Goddard Space Flight Center at GISS (Goddard Institute for Space Studies). Dr. Scalzo is responsible for coordinating educational programs for K-12 and Higher Education in the tri-state area and is an affiliate member of the NJSGC. He is also a former professor and administrator for City University of New York, as well as the Provost and Dean of Academic Affairs at Five Towns College. He has more than 30 years of experience in science education and academic administration. Additionally he has authored five computer-assisted mathematics textbooks.

Dr. Siva Thangam and Joseph S. Miles (NJ Space Grant Consortium):

Both Dr. Siva Thangam & Joseph S. Miles are principals of the NASA sponsored New Jersey Space Grant Consortium. The NJSGC (http://www.njsgc.org/) was established with the objective of advancing aerospace education and research and development at the following New Jersey institutions of higher learning: Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT - lead institution), New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Princeton University, Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. For the 2005 NYCRI Summer Research Institute, a number of NYCRI research teams are assigned to SIT, NJIT and Rutgers University. In 2004, Stevens Institute of Technology, in collaboration with the NYCRI, hosted a NASA Proyecto Access Nation-wide Conference, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology hosted a NYCRI enrichment day for all participants, at which they were given presentations at a number of NJIT research laboratories. SIT will provide some NYCRI students with fellowships during the 2005-2006 academic year, and has hosted the 2005 NYCRI Research Summit on August 12, 2005.