ED51C-0029 0800h
Developing Earth System Science Courses and Programs at Minority Serving Institutions
In the current NASA/USRA ESSE21 Program, emphasis is placed on the development of Earth System Science courses and degree offerings in Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). Of the 18 colleges/universities being supported by NASA through USRA, 10 colleges/universities are MSIs. While there is recognition of the need for Earth system science courses, minors and degree programs by NASA and other agencies, within MSIs, a central challenge is how to provide a vision of the future opportunities in ESS and STEM disciplines that attracts and motivates students to these studies. Students need career guidance, role models and mentoring to encourage entry into STEM in general, and Earth system science in particular. Then there is the question of how to bring interested faculty together in institutions to form a critical mass that would forego the breadth and depth of disciplinary interests to undertake the development of multi/cross and interdisciplinary courses, minors and degree programs in ESS. Within the ESSE21 Diversity Working Group, the question has been raised as to how will MSIs ever be mainstream participants in ESS without teaching and engaging in research in remote sensing, modeling of the Earth's climate system and other like endeavors. Two other related questions raised within the Working Group are what are the long-term objectives of MSI adoption of ESS and what course corrections are needed to make ESS viable at MSIs. Within these considerations there are unresolved questions concerning the need and availability of resources from NASA, other agencies and local institutions. Apart from these larger considerations, efforts are underway within the ESSE21 Program that provide for sharing of resources among participants, organization of and access to materials that already exist, online resources, course outlines and successful listings for online resources by topics for particular courses and subject areas. The Lesson Learned Working Group, as well as the program office continue with efforts in organization of the resources to foster availability and utilization. Then there is the emphasis on educational assessment, formative, ongoing and summative by the Evaluation Working Group. These challenges, questions and Working Group activities will be briefly reviewed in relation to the collaborative development of Earth System Science and STEM education within ESSE21 and its current focus on MSIs.
http://esse21.usra.edu
ED51C-0030 0800h
USIO-IODP Developing a New Fellowship for HBCU Students
The U.S. Implementing Organization for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program has developed a new Fellowship for students enrolled at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In this pilot year, the Fellowship is being offered to students enrolled at HBCUs that are in proximity to the JOI Alliance institutions: the Joint Oceanographic Institutions in Washington, DC; Texas A&M University in College Station, TX; and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in Palisades, NY. Selected Fellows will work closely with Alliance mentors on projects related to scientific ocean drilling in the areas of science and engineering, education and public affairs, and scientific program management. Future plans include expanding the Fellowship to include students from all HBCUs.
ED51C-0031 0800h
An Overview of Howard University's Initiatives in the Atmospheric Sciences
We have developed extensive educational, research, and outreach opportunities for the Atmospheric Sciences and closely related disciplines. A significant number of students from underrepresented groups are involved with these programs. These activities are partially supported by a variety of funded initiatives, including cooperative agreements with NOAA and NASA. Educational opportunities include graduate degree offerings, a combined BS/MS degree program, and opportunities for students in other science fields to pursue dissertation topics related to the atmospheric sciences. Several research areas are being pursued, including the creation of an extensive field observation station at our 110-acre research facility located in Beltsville, MD. A variety of outreach activities, including a weather camp for high school students and an intensive Instrumentation Workshop for both graduate and undergraduate students, have been undertaken. In this paper we will provide an overview of the program's activities and discuss some our experiences as an MSI that is developing extensive partnerships with NOAA and NASA for these initiatives.
ED51C-0032 0800h
Teaching Geology at San Quentin State Prison
The students enrolled in our Geology 215 class are about as on-traditional as it gets. They range in age from about 20 - 50 years old, they are all male, all from under-represented ethnic groups, and they are all serving time in one of the country's most notorious prisons. We teach in a degree-granting community college program inside California's San Quentin State Prison. The program is run entirely by volunteers, and students who participate in educational programs like ours are about 5 times less likely to return to prison than the general inmate population in California. The prison population of California is ethnically diverse, though minorities are present in higher proportion than in the general population. Last semester, our geology class happened to be composed entirely of minorities even though the college program serves the full spectrum of the prison population. While some trends in geoscience education encourage the use of technology in the classroom, security restrictions prevent us from using even some of the simplest visual aids. Faced with these challenges, we have developed an inquiry-based syllabus for an introductory Geology class at the community college level. We find that kinaesthetic learning activities such as urban geologic mapping and acting out plate tectonic motions from ridge to trench (complete with magnetic pole polarity shifts) are not only possible in restricted learning environments, but they promote student learning in unexpected ways.
ED51C-0033 0800h
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Academic Research Program
"Know the Earth.Show the Way." In fulfillment of its vision, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) provides geospatial intelligence in all its forms and from whatever source-imagery, imagery intelligence, and geospatial data and information-to ensure the knowledge foundation for planning, decision, and action. To achieve this, NGA conducts a multi-disciplinary program of basic research in geospatial intelligence topics through grants and fellowships to the leading investigators, research universities, and colleges of the nation. This research provides the fundamental science support to NGA's applied and advanced research programs. The major components of the NGA Academic Research Program (NARP) are: - NGA University Research Initiatives (NURI): Three-year basic research grants awarded competitively to the best investigators across the US academic community. Topics are selected to provide the scientific basis for advanced and applied research in NGA core disciplines. - Historically Black College and University - Minority Institution Research Initiatives (HBCU-MI): Two-year basic research grants awarded competitively to the best investigators at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Minority Institutions across the US academic community. - Director of Central Intelligence Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships: Fellowships providing access to advanced research in science and technology applicable to the intelligence community's mission. The program provides a pool of researchers to support future intelligence community needs and develops long-term relationships with researchers as they move into career positions. This paper provides information about the NGA Academic Research Program, the projects it supports and how other researchers and institutions can apply for grants under the program.
http://www.nga.mil/narp
ED51C-0034 0800h
Inspiring Earth Scientists at Salish Kootenai College: A Working Model
The NASA Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) supported a student GIS and Remote Sensing Internship Program with the Salish Kootenai College for the past three years. We feel the key to our program's success is the close interaction between the NASA scientists and the students, both during the internship and during a visiting scientists program held at the Tribal College. This program now includes a five week intensive internship at GSFC for students working on reservation-based research with LDCM science mentors. Students also received training on geospatial tools, courses that have been unavailable to them at their Tribal College. The close working relationship established during the internship encouraged the students to pursue their interests in geospatial analysis, while exposing them to some of the breadth of research that is accomplished with these tools. In 2004, we added a Visiting Scientist Program to bring the NASA scientist mentors to the reservation, a request well articulated from tribal students and leaders over the past few years. We feel that hosting NASA scientists at the reservation for 1-2 weeks per year will help strengthen the bond between the students and mentors, and encourage these students to continue their education, hopefully matriculating into graduate school in geospatial studies. Hosting the NASA scientists at the reservation enables them to have first hand experience with the tribal college, meet the faculty advisors, and share in the students' field work experience on their reservation-based projects. One desired outcome is that the scientists will have a better understanding of student needs in future efforts with Tribal Colleges. We feel our model of NASA working with a Minority Serving Institution has been a success and will continue to serve these underrepresented populations in a meaningful way.
ED51C-0035 0800h
Salish Kootenai College Student Internship With the Landsat Data Continuity Mission: A Student's Perspective
Hello my name is Richard D. Fisher. I was very fortunate to be picked to travel to Washington DC in July 2004, to complete a five week internship at NASA. My internship project is located on the Flathead Reservation and the area is called the Jocko-Spring Creek. My project was to complete land cover classification and land cover change detection. In order for me to accomplish my goals I had to learn how to use two new computer programs, MultiSpec and ENVI (Environment for Viewing Images) for remote sensing processing. Computer use does not come easy to me because, I lack the training most people take for granted. However, I did not let this lack of training get me down. The first step was to acquire two Landsat images. The first image was from the Landsat 7, landsat satellite in 1999 and the other was from the Landsat 5 satellite in 1987. The path row for my study area is 41-27. Once the images were acquired I had to combine the different color bands to make one image and perform a blue band correction. The blue band correction takes the blue haze out of the images making them clearer. The visible bands are blue, green, red and three bands of infrared. Once these color bands are together you can change the color of the image to help you look for different features, because each different color band will show you something different. After I put the images together I used ENVI to do the land cover classifications. The next step was to subset my project area to a smaller size. I cut both images in exactly the same coordinates. With help from my NASA mentor scientist, Rich Irish from the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, and I used photo shop Adobe PhotoShop to do the subsetting of both images. We were able to then link the two images together using ENVI software. After that I started to analyze the different pixels and their colors. I classified each image starting with the areas I knew from the fieldwork. After the classifications on both images were complete and I felt confident in the final classification, I needed to work with the shadows from the mountains in the image. We performed change detection from subtracting the two images. These computer programs are fun to use and were very useful especially when combining Landsat images. I would recommend these programs to anyone.
ED51C-0036 0800h
Jim Sanovia - South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Undergrad: Geological Engineering (Jr.) September 7, 2004 thesanoves@hotmail.com Abstract Experiences Interning at NASA/GSFC
In the summer of 2001 and 2004 I experienced internships at the NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. Through these internships I was introduced to Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing. My experiences at NASA have also helped me acquire the ability to learn how I can now best utilize my networking contacts at NASA and other connections to facilitate my future plans as an engineer working on Indian and non-Indian Reservation lands. My experiences working at a large agency such as NASA have shown me the significance how a Native American engineer can strive to improve and preserve Indian and non-Indian lands for future generations. Formulating new and inventive methodologies on how to better approach Indian Reservation research while incorporating Native American culture I feel are vital for success. My accomplishments throughout the recent past years have also allowed me conduct outreach to Indian K-12 kids and college students alike.
ED51C-0037 0800h
Fly Ash Interaction and Induction into Composite Soils Interrelating with Various Watershed Characteristics Stability and Analysis
My current research is a cross between the geotechnical and water quality aspect of Civil and Environmental Engineering. I will be using fly ash mixed with various soils (cohesive and non-cohesive), clays (expansive and non-expansive), and shales to increase the soil composite's viability of strength and economics by determining the environmental impact of recycling the fly ash and presenting how the constancy of the composite soils will aid in the water quality of a rainfall event during a given storm within a soon to be determined watershed. I, Robert Whipple, am currently a graduate student here at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T) and Oglala Lakota College for the school 2004-2005. My current field of study is in Civil Engineering with a Geotechnical and Water Resource emphasis in my area of analysis. This past 2004 spring semester has been my first semester of study. Currently, I am a Teaching Assistant with the CEE 356 - Geotechnical Engineering I. How I wish to benefit from attending the AGU National Conference is to attain my Ph.D. and teach science, engineering, and mathematics to other Native American students whether at a tribal college, or state/private institution. By attending this year's 2004 Conference in San Francisco, CA it would greatly aid me in coming back to the South Dakota region to teach, mentor, and advise other Native American engineering students that can contribute to their world. To help empower our reservations, tribal colleges, and government agencies with our own Native American engineers is indeed a goal that is realistic and I believe AGU is a big part of that process. I wouldn't just benefit from attending but would be able to relay the message that minorities can achieve goals and participate in professional conferences with quality professors, staff, administrators, educators, and students. I have worked on many research projects involving to Environmental, Geological, Hydrological, and Geotechnical Engineering as cooperative ventures with Oglala Lakota College and the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. This exposure has given me the opportunity to be a role model for other Native American engineering students with both institutions.