Purdue News

April 7, 2003 Space Grant Consortium's annual meeting at Purdue Educators, scientists and policy makers will attend the Indiana Space Grant Consortium's annual conference on Friday (4/11) at Purdue University. The conference, which is open to the public, will be 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Civil Engineering Building, Room G212A, and 2-5 p.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union's West Faculty Lounge. Talks will address such issues as: • Improving "geographical information systems" that use data from satellites and other sources to provide precise locations on the Earth's surface. The systems are used in a variety of applications including agriculture, urban planning and transportation. • Development of an undergraduate research network in astronomy that will enable Indiana college students who are studying astronomy at one university to interact with professors and resources at other universities in the state. • Creating an Indiana-based Small Aircraft Transport Systems Initiative, a plan to make better use of the state's small airports, many of which are capable of handling much larger volumes of traffic than they currently do. • Developing K-12 education initiatives to create programs that encourage students to learn about and pursue careers in the sciences. • Cary Mitchell, a Purdue professor of horticulture and director of the NASA Specialized Center of Research and Technology for Advance Life Support, will give an overview of the center's activities and address aspects of how the consortium can help meet outreach targets. The Space Grant Consortium is a group of nine universities and five institutions that works with schoolchildren, teachers, college students, industry and museums to increase the public's knowledge about the science of space exploration. It is one of more than 50 such groups nationwide funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. More information about the consortium is available online. CONTACTS: Barrett Caldwell, director of the consortium and associate professor of industrial engineering, (765) 494-5412, bcaldwel@ecn.purdue.edu; Monica Bauer, program coordinator, (765) 494-5873, bauermm@purdue.edu.