NSBRI education team wins Stellar Award

HOUSTON -- (April 27, 2007) -- The National Space Biomedical Research Institute's Education and Outreach Team received a Stellar Award from the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation April 20.

William A. Thomson, Ph.D., NSBRI Education Program Leader, and Director of BCM's Center for Educational Outreach, accepted the award on behalf of the team. NSBRI, headquartered at BCM, is a NASA-funded consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration space flight. The Institute's science, technology and education projects take place at more than 70 institutions across the United States.

The Stellar Award recognized the team's "performance as a nationally recognized, top-tier program that is pioneering new models for exemplary teaching, training and public outreach in support of the Vision for Space Exploration." The NSBRI group was the only education team to receive the award.

NSBRI's education program spans from the elementary grades to postdoctoral fellowships. Current activities focus on developing and disseminating curricular materials; developing and deploying web-based resources for teacher and faculty; designing and implementing workshop-based teacher professional development programs; and supporting summer internship, graduate and postdoctoral programs. The Education and Outreach Team includes members funded at BCM, Colorado Consortium for Earth and Space Science Education, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Rice University, Texas A&M University and University of Texas Medical Branch.

Six teams and 20 individuals were honored with a Stellar Award during the National Space Trophy Annual Gala. Winners were selected from a field of 44 team and 100 individual nominations. (List of Winners) Each year, the Stellar Award recognizes outstanding individuals and teams making significant contributions to the future of our nation's space program.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the 2007 National Space Trophy to Apollo "Failure is Not an Option" Flight Director, Eugene F. Kranz.