MSU SpaceTrek initiative receives $4 million to expand program
While Morehead State University's space science programs are helping students work with NASA, assist with lunar missions, and reach further into space, one of its regional programs can now expand its reach and impact.
MSU received nearly $4 million in funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission's (ARC) Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) program to expand its SpaceTrek initiative, which addresses deficits in the region's aerospace workforce and encourages women's participation in the aerospace sector. The expansion of SpaceTrek program now includes the West Virginia Small Satellite Center at West Virginia University (WVU) in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Created in 2011, SpaceTrek is a collaboration between the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the Space Science Center at Morehead State University. In Kentucky and West Virginia, academic institutions will collaborate with industry partners to implement the SpaceTrek summer program and SpacePrep, a one-day "aerospace exploration workshop" for high school girls, as a recruitment program for SpaceTrek.
"Since its inception…SpaceTrek has had a tremendous impact on our space systems engineering program at Morehead State University. The SpaceTrek program has directly led to an exceptionally large number of females in our undergraduate degree academic program," said Dr. Ben Malphrus, executive director of MSU's Space Science Center. "Women are significantly underrepresented in all balances of engineering, and aerospace is no exception. Our female enrollment has exceeded 38% and is directly attributed to SpaceTrek. SpaceTrek changes lives and career trajectories and has the potential to greatly improve female participation in the aerospace industry in Appalachia."
These programs introduce pre-college students to higher education opportunities and careers in aerospace while providing an immersive experience in aerospace subdisciplines like electronics, telecommunications, data analysis, and other elements of space missions.
"The benefit of SpaceTrek is that it helps develop within the girl the confidence to pursue these degree programs, the resilience to complete them, and the motivation to successful transition into a high-tech workforce such as aerospace engineering," said Jennifer Carter (Class of 2002, 2008, 2010), director of the Center for STEM+eXcellence at MSU. "The benefit to the region is a population of young, trained professionals who can fulfill the economic demand of a high-tech workforce."
The Center for STEM+eXcellence, in collaboration with the Space Science Center, partnered with West Virginia University's Small Satellite Center to create a multi-state initiative proposal to expand SpaceTrek to other areas in Appalachia. The SpaceTrek program fits the ARISE grant initiative's criteria since the Appalachian Regional Commission has "Building Workforce Ecosystems" as one of its five strategic investment priorities.
The approximately $4 million will help implement the SpaceTrek and SpacePrep programs in Kentucky and West Virginia, impacting roughly 3,000 girls by providing them with hands-on college and career-related experiences in aerospace engineering. The SpaceTrek and SpacePrep programs are aligned with Morehead State and West Virginia University's aerospace degree programs and overall aerospace industry needs.
"The expansion of Morehead State University's renowned SpaceTrek program to West Virginia will have a transformative impact on STEM-related education and career opportunities in the state. By introducing high school students to aerospace engineering through immersive experiences like building and launching satellites, the program will inspire a new generation of students to pursue careers in STEM," said John Dahlia, director of communications for TMC technologies in Fairmont, West Virginia.
"Ultimately, the SpaceTrek program will be crucial in fostering innovation and economic growth in West Virginia and the Appalachian Region."
Learn about SpaceTrek by contacting the Center for STEM+eXcellence at stemxcenter@moreheadstate.edu or 606-783-2300 or visiting www.moreheadstate.edu/spacetrek.
