Oklahoma State University Awarded $22 Million Grant from NASA Oklahoma State University has been awarded a $22 million grant to manage NASA’s Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience, also known as INSPIRE, it was announced Friday.   Through INSPIRE, OSU will help to develop K-12 students’ educational opportunities in the science-related areas.   This grant, which will be awarded over five years, is the latest in OSU’s longstanding partnership with NASA.

“Oklahoma State University is proud to continue its strong relationship with NASA through INSPIRE,” said OSU President Burns Hargis.  “Gaining this new partnership is a credit to OSU’s NASA Education staff and our commitment to encourage young people to pursue educational opportunities and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

“INSPIRE is especially important to Oklahoma State University and the College of Education because we can better prepare many more individuals in the math and science areas, which is a great need for our state and the nation,” College of Education Dean Pamela Fry said. “I appreciate the leadership of Dr. Steve Marks and his staff. Their efforts have helped us build on a relationship with NASA that spans nearly 40 years.” Marks is the aviation and space education program coordinator in the OSU College of Education. “INSPIRE provides Oklahoma State University the opportunity to again partner with NASA and engage students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) experiences on the National level,” Marks said.  “This project compliments the involvement of OSU with the NASA Explorer Schools Project, which targets the middle school level student, and extends the educational opportunities to the high school and undergraduate student levels.   We are very proud to be a part of this significant NASA effort.”

Dr. Steve Marks, OSU aviation and space education program coordinator.

Under the grant, Oklahoma State University will provide administrative services for student recruitment, on-line resources, logistics and program evaluation. The work will be performed at NASA facilities throughout the country. OSU plans to manage the NASA INSPIRE project with partnerships established to attract and recruit underrepresented and underserved populations into the NASA workforce pipeline
 
About the INSPIRE Project
INSPIRE, or the Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience, is a multi-tiered project for students and their parents or legal guardians. Participating students must be in grades 9-12 or in their freshman year of college. The project is designed to provide grade-appropriate NASA-related resources and experiences to encourage and reinforce students’ aspirations to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM education and careers. INSPIRE will offer selected students unique summer experiences at NASA facilities and access to a variety of online resources.  
 
Oklahoma State University and NASA
Oklahoma State University has 37 years of experience in educational partnerships with NASA. Currently, the University holds two grants from NASA with a total funding amount of more than $5.1 million annually.  OSU operates NASA’s Teaching from Space Project at NASA Johnson Space Center and provides ongoing support for the NASA Explorer Schools Project and the NASA Digital Learning Network Module.  The addition of the INSPIRE Project will bring OSU’s total annual grant funding from NASA to $7.4 million annually. INSPIRE is scheduled to launch 30 days from now.

Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, Oklahoma State University is a five-campus, public land-grant educational system that improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach.  OSU has more than 32,000 students across its system and nearly 21,000 on its Stillwater campus.  Established in 1890, the Stillwater campus is the home of the OSU System.  The STATE’s university boasts students from all 50 states and more than 110 nations, and has more than 200,000 alumni throughout the world.

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