Results of the MTPE Education NRA

--Stephanie Stockman (stockman@denali.gsfc.nasa.gov), MTPE Education Program

Last fall, NASA's Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) Program announced its first National Research Announcement specifically focused on education, NRA-96-MTPE-07, "Opportunities to Participate in NASA's Mission to Planet Earth Education Program." This announcement, developed in conjunction with the NASA Education Division, sought to round out and strengthen the MTPE Education Program by soliciting unique and innovative proposals from a broad range of education and research professionals to address two specific areas. Those two areas were Earth system science education for the pre-service teaching community, and support of undergraduate student research opportunities in Earth system science.

A total of 61 proposals were received from over 50 different institutions in response to this NRA. Using a peer review process that included both science and education professionals, 18 proposals were selected for funding at a level of nearly $700,000 per year for the next 3 years. This group includes 12 pre-service teaching proposals and 6 undergraduate student support proposals as listed below.

Pre-Service Teacher Enhancement

Planet Earth Workshops for Teachers of Physical Science
PI - Dr. John J. Sullivan
University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148-2840

CISAT Pre-Service Teacher Enhancement Workshop PI - Dr. James L. Barnes James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Umass Planet Earth Education Program (Planet Earth) PI - Dr. Morton M. Sternheim University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003

Introductory Training for Pre-Service Teachers in Earth System Science PI - Dr. Vicki Harder University of Texas, El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968

Earthworks: Educating Teachers in Earth System Science PI - Dr. Hartmut Spetzler University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309-0216

Pre-Service K-12 Teacher Workshops for Earth Systems Science and Policy PI - Dr. Jack F. Paris California State University, Monterey Bay, Seaside, CA 93955-8001

Mission Possible: Earth System Science, the Curriculum, and You PI - Dr. Valerie K. Olness Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD 57197

Concepts and Pedagogical Strategies in Earth System Science Education for K-12 Teachers of Science and Environmental Education PI - Dr. Richard Busch West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383

Pre-Service Earth Science Training Opportunity (PESTO) PI - Dr. John Katzenberger Aspen Global Change Institute, Aspen, CO 81611

A Cross-Disciplinary Literacy Course on Earth System Science for Teachers in the 21st Century PI - Dr. Assad A. Panah University of Pittsburgh, Bradford, PA 16701-2898

Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Enhancement Using a Space Camera PI - Dr. Wallace Fowler University of Texas Austin, Austin, TX 78759-5321

A Summer of Seasons PI - Dr. S. Raj Chaudhury Norfolk State University Norfolk, VA 23504

Higher Education Student Support

Advanced Undergraduate Research Using Optical Radiation in
the Atmosphere (AURORA)
PI - Dr. Doyle A. Temple
Hampton University, Hampton, VA 23668

UCSB Earth System Science Undergraduate Summer Research Program PI - Dr. Catherine Gautier University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106

Undergraduate Internships in Earth System Research at Biosphere 2 Center PI - Dr. W. S. Broecker Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964 Oricle, AZ 85623

Earth Systems Field Research Experience for Undergraduates Foundation for Glacier and Environmental Research PI - Dr. Maynard M. Miller University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844

OUR Earth: Opportunities for Undergraduate Research in Earth System Science PI - Dr. Janice DeCosmo University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195

Research Experience in Earth System Science PI - Dr. Waldo J. Rodriguez Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA 23504