Environmental Education Research: NASA and EPA Challenge Students to Solve Green Problems

Environmental Education Research: NASA and EPA Challenge Students to Solve Green Problems

In a joint effort, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) teamed up with NASA’s Ames Research Center, this summer, to find ways to improve environmental and Earth science research. Together the agencies hired more than 40 college students from around the country to work at their facilities exploring technology, environmental management, and the application of Earth science data to develop models and technology in environmental decision-making.
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Among the projects in which the students were involved were improving product packaging for shipping to help reduce waste, examining how to incorporate greener practices in emergency operations, and researching ways to encourage renewable energy technologies in air quality.

“It has been a pleasure to work with our friends at the EPA and share some of the exciting research we are conducting in green technology and Earth science with these college interns,” said Pete Worden, director of NASA Ames. “We hope that this experience has motivated these students to continue working in these important research areas. We look forward to working together in the future.”

“It’s been fantastic to have an infusion of fresh ideas and innovation from students dedicated to protecting human health and the environment,” said Jared Blumenfeld, U.S. EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Their work on these challenging, ambitious projects has been very valuable to the agency, and we look forward to improving on this summer’s program in the future.”

The agencies hope to repeat the innovative program next year. This year’s mix of students represented 15 different colleges, including the University of California at Berkeley and Riverside; San Jose State, San Francisco State, the University of San Francisco, Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan, the University of Illinois, Spellman College, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Texas Southern University and others.

In addition to working closely with experts from NASA and the EPA on their projects, students also took part in speaker series events, field trips, and both individual and group skill-building assignments.