BACKGROUND
In December 2021, GESTAR II partnered with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Earth Science Division to advance Earth Science and Goddard’s leadership by providing a competitive environment to hire and retain high-quality scientists who are on track to be leaders at NASA, in academia, and in industry. GESTAR II exemplifies the power of mentorship, embracing a career development strategy that only a university research center can provide. In GESTAR II, early-career researchers and students can build outstanding resumes, launching them to become the Earth science leaders of tomorrow.
GESTAR II has a strong commitment to supporting education, outreach, and fostering collaboration between GESTAR II scientists and students. The GESTAR II graduate fellowship is one of the most important components of GESTAR II’s education/outreach program as it provides an opportunity of specialized engagement between a mentor and graduate student. This webpage provides the basic information about the GESTAR II graduate fellowship.
PURPOSE OF THE GRANT
GESTAR II offers short-term (summer-time) funding for graduate students interested in a research experience at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, MD). This opportunity intends to support the applicant in the following:
- Advance applicant’s own research goals
- Initiate/advance collaboration with researchers within the Earth Sciences Divisions at Goddard Space Flight Center
- Access career development opportunities and resources only available at Goddard Space Flight Center
A fixed short-term stipend of $15,000 will be awarded to one student from each of the following partnering universities within the GESTAR II consortium: Arizona State University, Colorado State University, and Pennsylvania State University. Selected students are required to remain at Goddard Space Flight Center for a minimum of two months beginning in Summer 2024. The maximum residence period is contingent upon an agreement between the Goddard mentor and the student’s home institution. A short list of GESTAR II potential mentors and their expertise can be found here for review. GESTAR II Leadership will facilitate a match between selected students and mentors within the larger group of GESTAR II researchers. Students are responsible for arranging their own travel, accommodations, and managing their daily expenses through the duration of their fellowship. The grant does not cover the cost for computers, laptops, high-performance computing time, or conference and publication fees.
ELIGIBILITY
The applicants must be enrolled full-time students at a GESTAR II partnering university and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Both domestic and international students are eligible for this grant. However, NASA’s policy prohibits citizens from a list of countries to access NASA’s facilities. Please contact GESTAR II Special Programs Administrator Dominique Footes (dominique.n.footes@nasa.gov) about the eligibility.
HOW TO APPLY
Interested students should contact the GESTAR II Associate Director at their institutions for no later than November 15, 2023 for consideration. Selections will be made no later than December 1, 2023:
- Arizona State University: Dr. Vernon Morris (vernon.morris@asu.edu)
- Colorado State University: Dr. Sonia Kreidenweis (sonia.kreidenweis-dandy@colostate.edu)
- Pennsylvania State University: Dr. Jose D Fuentes (juf15@psu.edu)