USRA Selected to Manage NASA's Education Associates Program

COLUMBIA, Md., March 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA Ames Research Center
(NASA Ames) has selected the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) to
manage, enhance and expand the Education Associates Program (EAP). Operated
under the auspices of NASA Ames Education and Public Outreach Branch, the EAP
is an important workforce development and augmentation program for NASA and a
significant element in NASA's workforce development pipeline.

The EAP is designed to address a critical shortage of US students enrolled in
and graduating from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
programs and to give NASA a flexible workforce augmentation option by
providing internships to talented university students and faculty engaged in
STEM studies and education. By offering talented students and faculty members
the opportunity to gain valuable "hands on" experience working side-by-side
with NASA scientists and engineers, the EAP expands career horizons for those
students and enables faculty to update technical knowledge and critical
skills. Benefits provided to program participants are complemented by benefits
that the EAP provides to NASA by giving the agency a flexible method for
tapping pools of technical talent represented by students and faculty at
universities, community colleges, etc, to meet workforce needs and enhance the
workforce development pipeline.

Working under a 5 year cooperative agreement with NASA Ames, USRA will bring
to bear not only its recognized expertise in managing successful education and
workforce development programs, but also its deep reach into the university
community and its demonstrated ability to expand and diversify program
participation in managing and enhancing the EAP. Through its work with a
variety of other, similar education and workforce development programs, USRA
will also be able to establish important synergies between EAP and other
programs (e.g. NASA's Undergraduate Student Research Program) that will
significantly strengthen the aerospace/space science workforce development
pipeline.

"We are extremely proud to have been selected to be part of this very
important program," said Sheri Klug, USRA's Project Administrator for the EAP,
"We see this as a wonderful opportunity to enhance education and career
options for both students and faculty across the broad higher education
community while providing NASA centers across the nation with a flexible and
responsive way to tap into the technical talent in that broad community. We
look forward to serving higher education students and faculty as well as NASA
program and project managers across the US through this program."

"As an education and research focused association closely aligned with both
NASA and the aerospace industry, USRA fully appreciates the critical role
played by programs like the EAP," stated USRA President and CEO, Dr. Frederick
A. Tarantino. "We are very pleased that USRA's experience with successful
programs that provide opportunities for talented young people and enhance the
nation's technical workforce development pipeline will be put to such good use
in support of the EAP."

About USRA
The Universities Space Research Association, established in 1969 by the
National Academy of Sciences, is a private, nonprofit consortium of 104
universities offering advanced degrees in space- and aeronautics-related
disciplines. USRA's mission is to conduct leading-edge research, develop
innovative technologies, promote education and policy across the breadth of
space science, and operate premier science and technology facilities by
involving universities, private industry and government.

Contact: Sheri Klug
281-853-4992
sklug@epo.usra.edu

SOURCE Universities Space Research Association

Sheri Klug of USRA, +1-281-853-4992, sklug@epo.usra.edu