NASA Hosts Virtual Event to Leverage STEM, Small Business Opportunities with Minority Colleges

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Media are invited to NASA's 15th annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Technology Infusion Road Tour, a virtual event Nov. 18 and 19.

More than 1,200 HBCUs and MSIs are participating in this event with representatives from NASA offices and mission directorates who will discuss the importance of partnerships with historically black colleges and the critical role of small businesses in ensuring the success of NASA's missions.

NASA's Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM), in collaboration with its Office of Procurement, Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) and Space Technology Mission Directorate, will provide an open platform for HBCU and MSI representatives to learn about OSTEM's Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) and opportunities within the agency's Aeronautics Research (ARMD), Science, and Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorates. Sessions will include speakers from key NASA prime contractors and leaders within NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program.

Attendees will learn about emerging research opportunities involving grants, cooperative agreements, fellowships and small business contracts. Group sessions with various NASA program and technical personnel, in addition to large prime contractors, will enable attendees to gain insight and strategies to pursue procurement and technical opportunities.

Conference workshop topics and speakers:

• Finding Opportunities within the NASA's Mission Directorates, with Gregory Robinson, program director for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope; Jose Nunez, manager of the agency's university partnerships and SmallSat Capabilities; and Koushik Datta, university innovation project manager for ARMD.
• Connecting with NASA Small Business Specialists, featuring Robert Watts, Christine Munroe and Jennifer Perez.
• Overview of OSTEM's Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP), by program director Torry Johnson
• Overview of the SBIR and STTR Programs, with Quenton Bonds, NASA's center technology transition lead, and Robert Jones, program manager for NASA's SBIR.
• Partnering with NASA's Large Prime Contractors, featuring Jenifer Scoffield, small business liaison officer for Northrop Grumman Corporation; Toni Hall, The Boeing Company's small business liaison officer for the International Space Station; and Debbie Batson, director of large/small business strategic alliances at Teledyne Brown Engineering.
• MUREP Funding Opportunities: Engagement Opportunities in NASA STEM, with Roslyn Soto, NASA's EONS solicitation coordinator.

Panel discussions on HBCU/MSI mentor-protégé programs will include a representative from NASA's OSBP, NASA contractors Teledyne Brown Engineering, and representatives from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Media interested in learning more about interview opportunities and other details of these events should contact Rod Chappell at 757-759-019 or [email protected]

For more information on NASA's STEM Engagement programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/stem

For information about NASA's Office of Small Business Programs, visit:

https://www.osbp.nasa.gov

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SOURCE NASA