➜ SPACEGRANT.CARTHAGE.EDU/FIRST-NATIONS-LAUNCH
A rare opportunity for undergraduate students to compete nationally as they design, build, and fly a rocket, the First Nations Launch (FNL) National Rocket Competition is an annual event. Now in its 10th year, FNL is the largest Native American rocket launch in the country and gives many students their very first chance to take part in an organized aerospace project.
The competition, held at the Richard Bong State Recreation Area in Kansasville, Wis., is open to teams of students who attend a tribal college or university and/or are members of an AISES College Chapter. Team members work together to conceive, design, and fabricate rockets that ultimately pass a series of prelaunch reviews according to contest specifications. Competition awards include a $3,000 grand prize that comes with an invitation to a NASA center, a $2,000 second prize, and a $1,000 third-place award, as well as team honors in additional categories such as rocket aesthetics and altitude achieved after liftoff.
All prospective contestants must complete an online application, and their teams of approximately four to six members are required to identify both a team leader and faculty advisor. In addition, faculty advisors are responsible for registering their teams and submitting a Rocket Team Launch grant application. Each team receives $3,000 for project and travel expenditures, with four days (three nights) of paid lodging and meals. Key competition milestones between application acceptance in the fall and the springtime launch weekend include virtual presentations to judging panels in order to ensure design integrity, safety, and flight readiness.
First Nations Launch is sponsored and organized by the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium (WSGC), a member institution of the national network of Space Grant Consortia funded by NASA’s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. WSGC advisors and experts from its STEM industry partners are available to offer guidance to student teams throughout the competition process.
Aaron Ashley is a systems safety engineer for Raytheon who participated in the 2018 FNL competition as a graduate student and served as a judge for the 2019 contest. He holds a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder and a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). We asked Aaron, Mark Abotossaway, a structural analysis engineer at The Boeing Company and FNL advisor, and Christine Bolz, WSGC assistant director, about the competition.
Aaron, how did you become interested in the FNL competition? I grew up in Gretna, Neb., and always leaned toward STEM subjects, although I didn’t really have a concept of what engineering was as a career choice. I used to make model rockets just for fun, which is why I began looking into aerospace engineering and ended up pursuing it as a major at MIT. Right after MIT, I enrolled in graduate school at the University of Colorado, and our AISES chapter was organizing a team for First Nations Launch. I thought that was a great idea and signed up right away.
Christine, from your perspective, what is unique about FNL? In addition to being developed as an opportunity for Native Americans, the entire process, including what students can learn from our team members and industry experts, makes FNL unique. Our network of administrators and outside advisors includes Native American professionals, so students have an excellent opportunity to be part of a big event and see people like themselves who have participated in the program and then entered a STEM career.
Christine, do applicants need to have rocket-building experience? One of the valuable things about the FNL experience is that students can develop the skills and competencies they need as they go. We host virtual workshops, conduct safety reviews and inspections, and make judges and advisors available throughout the preparation period. That way participants are able to make great strides in their aerospace knowledge and know-how. It’s all about inspiring the next generation, whether a student chooses to stay on the reservation and use these skills in the community they love, or to one day work for a STEM leader like NASA or Boeing.
Mark, as a STEM professional and FNL advisor, what are some of the skills you see participants develop? There are so many different capabilities involved in the process. In addition to the STEM skills required, there are a number of so-called “soft skills” we see students develop and improve. They are challenged to learn planning tactics, take charge of project management, and enhance their communication skills. For some students, it’s the first time they’ve been required to do public speaking, and they have to reach beyond their comfort zone. Also, often it’s the first time participants have traveled any real distance from home, which makes the competition memorable from a personal development perspective as well.
Aaron, as a former competitor and now judge, what are some key takeaways for FNL student teams? Team members have to pull together and motivate themselves — and sometimes each other — in order to meet deadlines and keep everything moving in the right direction. All that requires close collaboration and dedicated focus over a number of months. Also, the launch weekend itself can involve on-the-spot troubleshooting and modifications depending on initial rocket performance or initial preparation. Just like real life, you may run into an unexpected obstacle and have to think fast and adjust. Teamwork, focus, and persistence are required — so it’s about a lot more than engineering, in a really good way.
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A commitment to diversity is at the heart of the Future Faculty Career Exploration Program (FFCEP) at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester, N.Y. Postgraduate students who participate in the FFCEP have the opportunity to network with RIT academic experts as they present their research and engage in panel discussions with the university’s African American, Latinx, and Native American faculty and students. The face-to-face events of the FFCEP take place every September over the course of four days (all travel and expenses paid) at the RIT campus.
The FFCEP is designed for scholars who are nearing the end of their doctoral or MFA studies, as well as postdoctoral students and junior faculty. Applicants should be able to articulate how they can contribute in meaningful ways to the university’s continuing commitment to cultural diversity, pluralism, and individual differences. According to the eligibility requirements, the program is primarily looking for applicants who are underrepresented and underserved in teaching professions, especially those of African American, Latin American, American Indian, or Alaska Native descent.
One of the program organizers, Faculty Diversity and Recruitment Interim Director Lorraine Stinebiser, describes the FFCEP as “a unique opportunity for scholars to explore what opportunities might be available to them based on their research interests and career aspirations.” She explains that the application process “is intentionally similar to the steps someone goes through to apply for a faculty position — so it’s a way to get scholars ready to be on the job market.” While the FFCEP aims to diversify faculty at RIT and beyond, it additionally serves to help facilitate professional relationships — between participants and also between participants and faculty — that endure far beyond the program.
The application process requires four documents: a resume, a cover letter that includes a statement of diversity, a teaching statement, and a research statement. For questions about the program, contact Stinebiser at losofr@rit.edu.
Dr. Naomi Lee, an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, participated in the FFCEP in 2017. She has been involved with AISES since her undergraduate days at RIT, where she earned a degree in biochemistry. She also holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Rochester, and was honored as the 2018 AISES Professional of the Year. For more on Dr. Lee, see this issue’s AISES Notebook.
Where did you grow up, and how did you become interested in STEM? I grew up on the Seneca Cattaraugus Indian Reservation in New York, and I was interested in science from an early age. In school, I participated in a pre-college program called STEP (Science & Technology Entry Program), which was the result of a partnership between the Seneca Nation and the local university, SUNY Fredonia. When I got to RIT I didn’t have a clear path yet, but knew I wanted to focus on the sciences. I was better at math than I was at chemistry or biology, but with biochemistry I felt like I was getting the best of all worlds, with a combination of biology and chemistry, and some math as well.
How did you learn about RIT’s Future Faculty Career Exploration Program? When I was graduating with my PhD from the University of Rochester, I was still connected with faculty members at RIT. One of them sent me a link to the FFCEP application and suggested I consider it. I applied in 2013 but wasn’t accepted — and in retrospect, I’m glad that happened because I wasn’t quite ready yet for a faculty position. It wasn’t until 2017 that I felt sure about pursuing a faculty role — so I applied again, and I was accepted.
Describe the application process and preparing for the program. To apply, you go through basically the same process you follow when you apply for any faculty position, which is one of the things I liked about it. It forced me to be prepared with all the documents I would need. Also, preparing for the fall program meant I needed to already have my research presentation constructed by September. That turned out to be a great advantage for me, because by January I was out on the faculty job interview circuit around the country.
How did the program help you? It really gave me a great way to practice my presentation skills, take in feedback, and make adjustments, without the full pressure of being in an actual interview. I had the chance to meet faculty members from a number of different disciplines and talk about what I’d done since graduating from RIT, as well as what I wanted to do in the future. I was also able to connect with peers and hear peoples’ stories; some people I’m still in touch with today. Most of all, I think I left feeling very prepared for the next step in my career. I went into my interviews confident and ready, and I know the RIT Future Faculty program was a big reason for that.