STEM | News

Women@NASA Adds Aspire 2 Inspire for Middle School Girls Interested in STEM Careers

• By Tim Sohn
• 11/28/11

NASA has expanded the Women@NASA portion of its Web site to include a section targeting middle school girls considering education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

The purpose of the new section, Aspire 2 Inspire, is to get female students thinking early about STEM areas they might be interested in pursuing. The section includes:

• Five videos that look at the careers of women who work for NASA, and an overview of the program;
• A rundown with links to STEM-related outreach programs affiliated with NASA, such as Aerospace Scholars, Educators Online Network, and Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience (INSPIRE), and a list of related community organizations, such as Society of Women Engineers, Sally Ride Science, and 10 x 10; and
• Four Twitter feeds, so middle school girls can communicate with the women featured in the videos and read daily tweets discussing unique aspects of their jobs.

For example, Tara Ruttley, associate program scientist for the International Space Station, posted on Twitter on Nov. 21: "About to be a test subject today for research investigating changes in astronauts' nervous system after flight. Dizzying, Fun science! Tara"

Carlie Zumwalt posted on Nov. 17: "Just saw new website and it looks great! Awesome job A2I Team. I'm off to learn more about particle swarm optimization. Fun! - Carlie." Zumwalt helps design computer-based simulations of the Martian environment in which vehicle concepts are flown to test their capabilities.

"We have an opportunity to reach out to the next generation and inspire today's girls to pursue science and technology careers," said Rebecca Keiser, NASA's associate director for agency-level policy integration and representative to the White House Council on Women and Girls. "Expanding opportunities in these fields will give our country perspectives and expertise that will help us out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the world. It's key to our future."

For more information, visit women.nasa.gov.