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Six ��ż��� students have been awarded the 2024–25 NASA Space Grant, which recognizes STEM students for academic achievement and supports their education:

• Shylah Brogan ’29, biology

• Lalisse Burka ’27, biology/chemistry

• Katie Knox ’27, data science

• Kayla Olivas ’27, computer science

• Sumaya Osman ’25, data science

• Madeleine Paulosky ’27, biology

This is Olivas’, Osman’s, and Paulosky's second year receiving the scholarship, an award initiated by NASA in 1989. ��ż���’s faculty awards committee administers the scholarship to STEM students who have demonstrated connections to projects of interest to NASA.

��ż���’s is one of 13 other colleges and universities in the , as part of the funded by NASA. In the program, ��ż��� STEM faculty coordinate five areas of activities: scholarships, research, higher education, outreach activities, and MnSGC activities on campus. Opportunities range across STEM departments, such as the curriculum additions of biology faculty members Tami McDonald, PhD, and Rahul Roy, PhD, who integrated research on the surface material of the moon into their classes last fall. Erick Agrimson, associate professor of physics, is the ��ż���’s affiliate Space Grant director. The lead PI on the grant since 2012, Agrimson conducts research with students with high-altitude balloons (HABs). In affiliated outreach activities, STEM faculty members lead science summer camps or 4-H workshops for kids and teens. 

Bethlehem Gronneberg, PhD, chair of mathematical sciences and director of the data science program of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, chairs the committee that conducts the yearly selection of students majoring in STEM fields. In their application essays, student applicants reflect on how their studies and career aspirations relate to NASA’s mission, explains Gronneberg, adding that the trajectories of these students are exceptional.

“The application process made me reflect on my education journey and how it has prepared me for the data science world,” says two-time recipient Osman, who is a double major in data science and computer science. “I realized how my academic experiences have fueled my passion for the field and shaped my readiness to tackle real-world data challenges.” She says the scholarship will help her to “focus on using machine learning and business analytics to … create models that can help businesses make data-driven decisions and improve efficiency. My goal is to use data science to drive positive change in the business world.”

More about the NASA Space Grant

The mission of the  is to provide a driving force for aerospace education in Minnesota as part of the larger . This national network of colleges and universities works to expand opportunities in aeronautics and space projects through science and engineering education, research, and outreach efforts.