The university’s SpaceTrek initiative, which strives to bolster the region’s aerospace workforce and encourage women to participate in the industry, has been expanded into West Virginia thanks to the grant funding.
Morehead State University has received nearly $4 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) program to expand and enhance the university’s SpaceTrek initiative. Founded in 2011, SpaceTrek seeks to engage more women in the aerospace industry, as well as to bolster the region’s aerospace workforce. The funding from the ARC will allow for the expansion of SpaceTrek into Morgantown, West Virginia, by offering its SpaceTrek and SpacePrep programs at the West Virginia Small Satellite Center at West Virginia University.
According to an article on Morehead State University’s website, Dr. Ben Malphrus, who serves as the executive director of MSU's Space Science Center, was quoted as saying of the benefits of SpaceTrek, "Since its inception…SpaceTrek has had a tremendous impact on our space systems engineering program at Morehead State University. The SpaceTrek program has directly led to an exceptionally large number of females in our undergraduate degree academic program. Women are significantly underrepresented in all balances of engineering, and aerospace is no exception. Our female enrollment has exceeded 38% and is directly attributed to SpaceTrek. SpaceTrek changes lives and career trajectories and has the potential to greatly improve female participation in the aerospace industry in Appalachia."
SpaceTrek is the result of collaboration between the Space Science Center at Morehead State University and the American Association of University Women. The programs offered by SpaceTrek, including SpacePrep and the SpaceTrek summer program, work to introduce girls to the possibilities of working in aerospace. Students get to participate in immersive aerospace experiences that simulate parts of space exploration, including working with electronics and telecommunication. SpacePrep works as a recruitment program for SpaceTrek. It is a one-day workshop for high school girls to get a hands-on look at what the SpaceTrek program entails.
The grant funding will allow for the expansion of these programs into West Virginia to give even more students the opportunity to explore aerospace education. The Center for STEM+eXcellence will collaborate with MSU’s Space Science Center and the West Virginia University's Small Satellite Center to give roughly 3,000 students the opportunity to participate in these programs.
Jennifer Carter, the director of the Center for STEM+eXcellence, said, "The benefit of SpaceTrek is that it helps develop within the girl the confidence to pursue these degree programs, the resilience to complete them, and the motivation to successful transition into a high-tech workforce such as aerospace engineering. The benefit to the region is a population of young, trained professionals who can fulfill the economic demand of a high-tech workforce."
For more information about Morehead State University, visit the school’s website.