Agencies invite students to participate in engineering competition

Agencies invite students to participate in engineering competition

In a sign of the opportunities that may await those who enroll in an online degree, NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) have announced a call for submissions from students who would like their design to potentially become part of a space project.

The 2010 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage allows entrants to choose one of four themes: a lunar outpost design that will help reduce risk for future human missions to Mars; technology-enabled human Mars mission; novel concepts to engage the public in human exploration missions and architecture approaches that provide cost-effective exploration with minimal infrastructure.

Project proposals will be accepted until February 5, 2010.

"NASA is always looking for great ideas. What better group to turn to than the next generation of engineers?" asks Pat Troutman, senior systems analyst at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

"[Participating students] get [the] chance to apply what they learn in class to real world aerospace challenges," he adds.

Online college degrees are a good way to prepare to enter a graduate program in engineering as the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates demand for aerospace engineers will grow by 10 percent over the next seven years.