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NASA Awards �鶹�� for the NASA Space Grant Plant the Moon Challenge Project

chriscarter — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 20:18:38 +0000

Please see this link for the press release on the NASA award to �鶹�� for the NASA Space Grant Plant the Moon Challenge Project.

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DARS (Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services) 2022 Drone Camp

Kristyn Damadeo — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 14:49:41 +0000

The �鶹��’s GeoTEd-UAS program teamed up with the Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC [formerly Thomas Nelson CC]) in partnership with Virginia’s Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) to conduct two drone camps focused on special needs students from area high schools in Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and Williamsburg/James City County. The camps explored career preparation and applications in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS [aka drones]). Students were taught important safety and regulatory practices for drone operators, as well as the basics of flying drones. Students even earned their FAA TRUST certificates for recreational flyers and received their own drone. During each camp, students flew small drones inside through an obstacle course, and larger drones outside on VPCC’s campus, and during a trip to Anderson Park in Newport News arranged by John Lesko (GIS/UAS Specialist, Newport News, VA). On the last day of each camp, students took a field trip to Nauticus (Norfolk, VA) to see the museum’s current drone exhibit, fly drones in their ‘Drone Zone,’ and crawl over the decks of the USS Wisconsin.

“This was a great experience for our students,” said Sherry Hildebrandt, HCS transition specialist. “Both camps helped students gain self-confidence while learning additional life and vocational skills.” VPCC Professor Julie Young said, “One of the students said ‘it was the best week of his life,’ and that was priceless!”

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GeoTEd-UAS Internship Completion

Kristyn Damadeo — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 14:05:19 +0000

Six community college students and three community college faculty recently completed an intensive internship program conducting UAS research and flight testing. Led by VSGC and funded by the NSF, the GeoTEd-UAS Internship program was in partnership with Virginia Tech's site in the Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS), a multi-university NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center. In addition to tuition support for two classes, preparation for the FAA Remote Pilot Certificate, travel funding, and operating supplies, students and faculty earned stipends for completing the internship. VSGC and GeoTEd-UAS team members served as project leaders and subject-matter experts.

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Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars(VASTS) 2022, Week 1

Kristyn Damadeo — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 13:47:15 +0000

On June 24, 2022 the VSGC completed week 1 of the Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS) Summer Academy. 63 students from high schools all over Virginia participated. Students had the opportunity to work at NASA Langley Research Center including tours of the Landing and Impact Research Facility “Gantry”, the Fabrication Lab, and model shop and even saw a demonstration of the “ISAAC” robot. They also attended talks from NASA engineers and Space Shuttle astronaut Dr. Roger Crouch.
A main goal of the VASTS academy was for the students to design a human mission to Mars. Students split into teams necessary to complete the mission. They had to manage scarce resources and teams had to communicate to accomplish the primary objective. Each team then had to present their work to a Mission Design Review Panel made up of NASA Langley Research Center representatives.
If you are interested in the VASTS program you can find out more VASTS Main Page

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Laurel Ridge Community College Students Attend NASA/West Virginia Space Grant Hack Week Program

Kristyn Damadeo — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 16:51:53 +0000

Students from Laurel Ridge Community College were sponsored by the �鶹�� (VSGC) are attending a NASA/West Virginia Space Grant Hack Week Program this week at West Virginia University. The students and their faculty advisor, Melissa Stange worked on Fault Diagnosis for Safety-Critical Autonomous Systems. The educational and training activities introduced the participants to the critical problem-space of Fault Diagnosis on-board spacecraft with the goal of generating novel solutions. The team is working with WVU faculty and technical experts from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center that are serving as mentors. VSGC also sponsored participants from Old Dominion University and Virginia Tech.

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Mary Sandy Honored with NASA’s Exceptional Public Service Medal

Kristyn Damadeo — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 16:46:35 +0000

�鶹�� Director Mary Sandy was honored with NASA’s Exceptional Public Service Medal at the NASA May 24 Honor Awards Ceremony at NASA Langley Research Center.

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Drone Program at Thomas Nelson Community College

Kristyn Damadeo — Mon, 02 May 2022 17:55:05 +0000

Student interns learned the intricacies of flying UAVs(Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) as part of Thomas Nelson Community College’s Drone Program. The course, UMS 111 – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS), is a custom course to prepare the students and faculty for a four-week internship in partnership with Virginia Tech. The co-leads on the hands-on training sessions are: Cherie Aukland ( Thomas Nelson Community College and Co-PI on the project), Daniel Cross (Virginia Tech), the adjunct faculty teacher for the course. Other faculty also working on the course are David Webb and Shawn Shields Lyons.

TNCC is also offering UMS 107 online with an optional Zoom session on Mondays from 4 – 5:30 pm. These Zoom sessions are recorded for students who cannot attend. The session runs from May 9th – July 1st.

The class has a 100% pass rate on the FAA Part 107 Exam.

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Student Research Conference

Kristyn Damadeo — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 17:52:14 +0000

VSGC recently held the Student Research Conference in Hampton, Virginia. Students from colleges all over Virginia gathered to share and learn. A total of 33 Graduate Research Fellows and 13 Undergraduate Research Scholars presented the results of their research funded by the �鶹��.
The colleges represented included Hampton University, Old Dominion University, William & Mary, Virginia Tech, and University of Virginia.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Scott Bailey of Virginia Tech. His lecture was on “Probing the Polar Winter to Understand How Space Weather Couples the Whole Atmosphere”.
Each Graduate Fellow delivered a ten-minute oral presentation followed by a five-minute question and answer session. Graduate Fellow presentations were organized around research areas such as Aerospace, Structures and Materials, Applied Physics, Astrophysics/Planetary Science, Applied Science and more. Undergraduate Scholars provided poster presentations to attendees during two thirty-minute sessions.

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CSIIP Connects With Local Students

Kristyn Damadeo — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 20:08:36 +0000

�鶹��’s (VSGC) Commonwealth �鶹�� Industry Internship Program (CSIIP) team met with Old Dominion University students during a job fair event at Chartway Arena on October 19, 2021.

CSIIP links companies and students in �鶹�� majors, including but not limited to high-need areas such as Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Data Science (Data Analytics, Data Visualization, etc.), Information Technology, Engineering, Physical Science and Financial majors (Finance, Economics, Accounting, Statistics), and helps place students in paid internships to explore career goals, apply classroom theory in the workplace, and hone their skills on real-world projects.

The event gave students an opportunity to talk with our staff about the many internship opportunities offered through our CSIIP program.

Nicole Shaw, a program coordinator with the �鶹��, spoke directly with students about how to take control of their future success.

“It is personally gratifying to watch a student get the opportunity to build their confidence and take control of their future,” said Shaw. “It is always a great feeling to provide a resource to students that will help them fine-tune real-world skills and help shape new leaders in �鶹�� fields.”

Abhiram Kankipati, a computer science major at ODU, was one of the many students who spoke with the CSIIP team in search of internship opportunities.

“What really drew me towards CSIIP was the fact that they are facilitating paid internships for undergraduate students,” said Kankipati. “I am excited to see if I can connect with one of the many leaders in �鶹�� industries through this program in the future.”

An added benefit of participating in the fair was the ability to establish connections with a diverse group of students en mass said Shaw.

“It is important for us to provide as diverse an internship pool as possible so that we can improve the �鶹�� workplace with unique ideas and different background experiences,” said Shaw. “This representation is vitally important to us because we want the �鶹�� industries to accurately reflect both our local and national communities.”

Scott Bellows, technical programs coordinator with VSGC, also attended the event in hopes to inform students about the impact CSIIP can have on a career in �鶹�� industries.

“It gives them real-world experience in their chosen field,” said Bellows. “Additionally, it exposes the students to experiences that will help shape their career goals moving forward.”

For more information on the many internship opportunities through CSIIP visit

The Commonwealth �鶹�� Industry Internship Program is a program of the �鶹��.

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�鶹�� Launches “Next Steps In �鶹��” Campaign

Kristyn Damadeo — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 20:23:36 +0000

The �鶹�� (VSGC) is excited to announce the first video in our new “Next Steps in �鶹��” video series. This series will highlight participants of VSGC programs who have taken their next steps in . They are the next generation of the �鶹�� workforce and Virginia’s best and brightest.

This video features Jackson Bloomer, a drone pilot for DroneUp. Jackson completed several unmanned systems courses as a student at Thomas Nelson Community College. These courses were established through the VSGC-led GeoTEd-UAS project.

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