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February 03, 2004
NASA, SJSU Open Technology Center
San José State University will open two new technology centers in NASA Research Park on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2004.
Designed to facilitate educational and research collaborations between NASA and university scientists, the Metropolitan Technology Center and the Space Technology Center will both be located in Building 583C where they will share classroom, laboratory and office space. A reception will be held that morning to celebrate the signing of a Space Act Agreement establishing the two technology centers and setting forth the goals of the partnership.
“With the signing of this agreement, we are taking major strides in developing NASA Research Park into a world-class, shared-use research and development campus in association with academia, industry and non-profit organizations,” said G. Scott Hubbard, director of NASA Ames Research Center.
“By working together, the Metropolitan Technology Center and the Space Technology Center will enhance NASA’s educational programs and foster future collaboration with our friends in the academic community. We look forward to working with San José State University in the development of both of these exciting ventures,” he added.
The Space Technology Center is comprised of a consortium of universities, aerospace, industry and government partners led by San José State University. The consortium also includes Stanford University, Santa Clara University and the Aerospace Corp., Los Angeles.
Under the terms of the agreement, consortium participants will work closely with the university’s Metropolitan Technology Center to develop new science and engineering technologies designed to enhance educational programs for NASA and the consortium.
“The Metropolitan Technology Center will provide exciting new research and education opportunities,” said San José State University Provost Marshall Goodman. “A closer association with NASA scientists will allow for the development of new research projects in fields like Earth science, biotechnology, human factors and information technology. The co-location of other universities within NASA Research Park will also enable our faculty to work cooperatively with colleagues from the University of California at Santa Cruz, Stanford University, Santa Clara University, Carnegie Mellon West and the community colleges.”
San José State University officials signed an agreement with NASA in November 2001 to develop the Metropolitan Technology Center to promote research collaborations between NASA Ames and the California State University (CSU) system, including its campuses, organized research units, and affiliates. NASA officials hailed the partnership with San José State University as an opportunity to “conduct joint research in cutting-edge technologies and to develop new ideas to improve the region’s education infrastructure.”
Working with the Metropolitan Technology Center and the university’s newly formed Collaborative for Higher Education and the Institute for Teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, the new consortium will offer programs focused on education and workforce development, research and technology transfer of fields such as biotechnology, energy, sensors and wireless communication, disaster mitigation, human factors research and information technology.
Among the first educational programs to be offered by the new Space Technology Center is Stanford University's renowned graduate engineering course series, "Spacecraft Design.” Students in the course develop a space mission using a small satellite, followed by hands-on laboratories where teams design, build, test and launch a real satellite.
“Since its inception 45 years ago, NASA has pushed the boundaries of exploration and science, a philosophy Stanford shares in its academic pursuits. We’re looking forward to playing a role in NASA’s storied tradition by providing world-class engineering programs to the Space Technology Center,” said Jim Plummer, School of Engineering dean, Stanford University.
Consortium partners hope the new collaborations will result in the development of new technologies for future space missions. The consortium also will develop a new Web-based design center, called the Integrated Design Network. Utah State University (USU) has recently joined the Space Technology Center and plans are being developed for USU to be the first remote user of the Integrated Design Network.
For more information about NASA Research Park on the Internet, visit:
http://researchpark.arc.nasa.gov
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