Resources - Education

Academic Education and Outreach

NASA and education go hand in hand.  Students' enthusiasm for space travel, exploration, and the unknown can be encouraged into a life-long passion for science and engineering.  For students who are already pursuing interests in science and engineering, NASA offers real-world work experience with top-notch professionals in a stimulating environment.  NASA's education programs are a winning endeavor for all involved:  they inspire today's youth to strive for academic and personal achievement and they ensure the next generation of researchers, engineers, and professionals for future space programs and other challenges.

BSO embraces NASA's commitment to education by participating in formal and informal education activities:

• Project Grant group (for at-risk high school students in the Houston area) and the University of Houston - Downtown Scholars have taken tours of the Johnson Space Center, including BSO's Flight Definition Laboratory and Sensor and Controls Technology and Development Laboratory.
• BSO employees hold faculty appointments at the University of Texas Health Science Center, the University of Texas Medical Branch, Rice University, the University of Houston, and Tulane University.

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• BSO staff have made presentations at local primary and secondary schools, have been judges at high school science fairs, and have volunteered for Engineering Week.
• NASA is a proud host of LiftOff, a Texas Space Grant Consortium annual summer institute for middle and high school educators.  BSO staff are regular presenters and have demonstrated NASA's bioreactors.
• BSO has hosted graduate students participating in NASA's summer cooperative and mentorship programs.  These students had the opportunity to conduct their research (in areas including immunology, in vitro bone modeling, cell science, and skeletal and bone muscle) at JSC laboratories alongside established and respected researchers.

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The Biological Systems Office is involved with extensive outreach activities for NASA, the science community, academia, the government, and the greater community at large.  Our outreach goals are to:

• Build and strengthen strong involvement in NASA's science and technology mission from the academic, scientific, and industrial communities;
• Increase general public understanding of NASA's scientific research and the applications of this research on Earth;
• Sponsor and support meetings and symposia that facilitate the interaction of professionals from different disciplines; and
• Disseminate the details of NASA-supported research to the public through the Internet and the NASA research task books.

Dr. Neal Pellis

• University of Texas Health Science Center - Biotechnology modules of Space Physiology
• University of Texas Medical Branch:  Space Medicine and Physiology
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• Rice University - Cancer Immunology and Biology

Melody Anderson

• University of Houston - Organic Chemistry

Dr. Steven Gonda

• University of Texas Medical Branch - Space Cell Biotechnology

Dr. Thomas Goodwin

• Tulane University - Space Physiology

Dr. Diane Byerly and Dr. Marguerite Sognier

• Lab rotations offered towards the Space Physiology Ph.D. Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center and the University of Texas Medical Branch.

• Cancer Cell Biology and Immunology in 3 surgery textbooks - Dr. Neal Pellis
• Basic and Applied Space Cell Biology (in preparation) - Dr. Neal Pellis and Dr. J. Milburn Jessup

• Coursework at Texas A&M at Galveston
• Research with the new Center for Microencapsulation and Drug Delivery at Texas A&M (TAMU)

• Immunology
• In Vitro Bone Model
• Cell Science
• Skeletal Muscle
• Cardiac Muscle

• Microencapsulation flight experiments - TAMU Center for Space Power
• Microencapsulation animal testing - TAMU School of Veterinary Medicine
• Bioreactor - stem cell culture systems for vaccine production - UTMB (Galveston)

Lectures given by Dr. Neal Pellis:

• Module 1: Space Biotechnology Cellular Systems
• Microgravity: A Novel Environment for Cells
• Tensegrity
• Signal Transduction
• Differentiation in Microgravity and in Analog Culture
• Gene Expression in Microgravity
• Tissue Engineering in Microgravity
• Mechanical Culture Conditions Affect Renal Cell Gene Expression
• Tissue Engineering and Disease Modeling

• Virtual Astronaut Learning Environment - for grades 5-8 (Flash and text-only activities available)
• Liftoff to Space Exploration - for teens and older
• NASA Kids - for grades K-6
• Science@NASA - for teens and older
• Web of Life - for teens and older
• NASA Education Program - the gateway to student and educator resources, K-12, undergraduate, and graduate
• NASA SpaceLink - resources for K-12 educators