Indiana Space Grant Consortium

The Indiana Space Grant Consortium (INSGC) is a non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

. INSGC's goal is expanding opportunities for the people of Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 to learn about and participate in NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

's activities by supporting and enhancing science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

, technology

Technology

Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...

, engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

, and math education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

, research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

 and public outreach efforts. INSGC includes 23 academic, outreach, and corporate affiliates who work together to promote STEM

STEM

STEM can refer to*STEM fields – an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics*Scanning transmission electron microscopy...

 education initiatives related to NASA themes and careers in the State of Indiana. Purdue University

Purdue University

Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

 in West Lafayette, IN

West Lafayette, Indiana

As of the census of 2010, there were 29,596 people, 12,591 households, and 3,588 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,381.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 74.3% White, 17.3% Asian, 2.7% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.03% Pacific...

, serves as the INSGC lead institution under the direction of Dr. Barrett Caldwell.

History

INSGC is part of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. Space Grant was first established under Title II of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 1988. A unique national program - inspired by the mission and work of NASA - Space Grant enhances the United States' capabilities to carry out education, research, and public outreach activities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and additional fields related to space, aeronautics, life science, physical science and earth system science.

INSGC Vision

The INSGC is a premier source of coordination, information, and inspiration for the NASA-related education, outreach, and workforce needs of the State of Indiana.

As part of this vision, INSGC has set the following goals to align with NASA Education Outcomes:

1.INSGC promotes NASA-related Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce development

Workforce development

Workforce development is an American economic development approach that attempts to enhance a region's economic stability and prosperity by focusing on people rather than businesses. It is essentially a human resources strategy...

 by providing support to STEM research and education in higher education

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

settings.

2.INSGC provides educational opportunities for K-12 students and teachers in order to inspire students to STEM disciplines.

3.INSGC collaborates with formal and informal STEM educators in order to promote awareness of NASA-related missions to the general public.