Mitchell Community College is again partnering with NASA to promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in our community through the upcoming NC Space Grant Team Design Challenge and Competition.
Dr. Doug Knight, STEM coordinator for Mitchell, is the technical lead for the Team Competition. Students from community colleges across the state will be competing to design, engineer, test and fly a high altitude balloon payload to the edge of space. This year’s competition includes teams from Mitchell Community College, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Central Piedmont Community College and Catawba Valley Community College.
“These teams have designed and are building experiments to take data and pictures from the edge of space,” Knight explains. “This is not an everyday event.”
The Team Competition will take place Saturday, April 18, at the Iredell County Fairgrounds. The first launch is set for 7:30 a.m.
NC Space Grant was selected as a recipient of a 2014 Space Grant Competitive Opportunity for Partnerships with Community Colleges and Technical Schools. The Grant received $499,366 over two years to fund Competitive Student Scholarships for community college students and conduct a Team Design Challenge and Competition. The Team Competition is designed to engage community college and technical school faculty and undergraduate students enrolled in STEM degree programs. Faculty and students from community colleges across the state will build skills and increase awareness of aerospace education and careers.
NC Space Grant is a partnership of academic institutions that strive to promote aeronautics and space-related science, engineering and technology education and training in North Carolina. NC Space Grant partners with NASA, industry, non-profit organizations, and state government agencies to conducts programs that equip the current and future aerospace workforce in North Carolina.
For more information on the NC Space Grant and the Team Competition, contact Dr. Doug Knight at (704) 978-1335 or dknight@mitchellcc.edu.