ASU NewSpace Expo

Good morning everyone! Welcome back to my blog!

This past week was a bit hectic but that only means my senior project research is in full gear. Last Thursday I attended Arizona State Universities NewSpace Expo. It was a networking breakfast followed by a quick update on a few of the things that this program is currently working on. The mission of this program is "the integration of academics and commercial space enterprises using the resources ASU has to offer."

Tes Calvert was one of the people who gave a brief presentation. As a major contributor to the program, she wanted to talk about a new and upcoming part of the NewSpace program, The Interplanetary Initiative. She said that "humankind is compelled to explore space, and will have a space future" arguing that there needs to be a link between humankind and all future space discovery. This makes a lot of sense. If something is inevitably going to occur then, of course, you want to be on the leading edge of progression. In my mind, this meant feeding a lot of money into the STEM programs that would help further space research. However, as if she read my mind, she was quick to caution that this initiative was NOT just for the STEM fields but for all fields. The "Interplanetary Initiative" is designed to pair discovery with education. I believe that this applies to my entire research project because it shows that while it might take a very specific person to love math the way engineers do, everyone can think creatively and everyone can make significant contributions to a group effort. No matter gender, ethnicity, or financial background all people think individually. The only way that progression is going to continue is if these diverse thoughts join together while working on various projects, such as those for the NewSpace Expo.

After a few more professors and staff gave presentations, Kaylee, a current ASU senior majoring in astrophysics, gave us a tour of the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology building. While on the tour we got to peek into the lab rooms through the windows. In many of the windows was the sign pictured below. After all of the research I have been conducting, this sign made me smile because it shows that no matter how many people still reject the idea of females in the engineering field, there are people, programs, and even schools as a whole supporting our goals. The sign reads "This space RESPECTS all aspects of people, including race, ethnicity, gender expression, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, age, religion, and ability."



For more information on the NewSpace program, visit their website here.

Thank you! Stay tuned for more!