“Accomplishing remote geology on Mars requires all aspects of STEM. Science drives the mission goals, technology enables the mission to achieve the goals, engineering built the rover in the first place, and math got the rover safely to the surface of Mars.” – E. Moreland
The Texas Space Grant consortium awards funds to both graduate and undergraduate students annually. The Graduate fellowships were established in 1995 to encourage STEM research in the area of space and technology as part of the broader NASA program called the National Space Grant (NSG) College and Fellowship Project. NSG is a nationwide network of colleges and universities across all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
Rice University is among 65 Texas grant-eligible institutions, with at least two Rice student fellows selected among 18 awards given each year. Fellowship awards are good for one year and renewable for up to three years.
Applications are solicited in the fall each year and are judged equally on the student’s ability to communicate their research to non-specialists and its relevance to NASA space research, education and public outreach.
“I like writing in plain language, so that part of the application was fun to complete. I think they were really focused on how well I could communicate my research in a way that people can understand it if they don't actually do my research. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to apply for and successfully win a grant as a student”, says Moreland.
Moreland will use the funds to attend Mars 2020 science team meetings in Denmark and Norway later this year.
“One of the nicest aspects of this grant is the flexibility to use the funds in a variety of ways. For me, being able to meet with international collaborators in person is extremely valuable as an early career scientist,” Moreland concludes.