NASA competition rewards engineering and architecture students

NASA competition rewards engineering and architecture students

Those who wish to find employment in a successful industry may benefit from earning a degree in a math- or engineering-related field. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, professionals in these industries earned 70 percent more than the national average for all other workers during the 2005 fiscal year.

NASA and the National Space Grant Foundation have created a competition in order to encourage studies in spaceflight-related engineering and architectural fields. The contest asks students to design, manufacture, assemble and test an inflatable loft for future space exploration. The qualifying university teams are from Maryland, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

"This competition gives these students the opportunity of a lifetime," said Bobby Braun, NASA chief technologist.

The loft will be integrated into an existing NASA prototype habitat, and the winning concepts may be applied to habitats in the future.

The National Space Grant Foundation will award the teams $48,000 each to cover the costs of their design development and participation in the competition.

By Mark Danson