Welcome from the Director's Office!
In September of 1989, the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program was
inaugurated by NASA following a 1988 Congressional act, in order to address the
national need for highly-skilled, technology savvy workforce. The Wisconsin Space Grant
Consortium (WSGC) was created in 1991 as a part of this national network. WSGC is dedicated
to using the excitement and vision of space science and aerospace science to equip the
citizens of Wisconsin with the math, science and technology tools they need to thrive in
the next century. WSGC represents a powerful network of space and aerospace professionals,
researchers, students, educators and legislators, that has statewide and national reach.
If you are a student, check out our available fellowships and scholarships. We've been
proud to fund the aerospace-related research and scholarship of hundreds of students since our
inception, in fields as diverse as physics, chemistry, biology, art, business and economics.
If you come to us as a K-12 teacher, we offer awards in Aerospace Outreach and Special
Initiatives for projects that imbue our youngest Wisconsinites with an excitement for math,
science and technology through projects involving aerospace. WSGC designs, creates and supports
dozens of education programs every year, serving every level from K through adult and teacher
education.
Businesses should head right for our Industry Relations area, where the key players in
Wisconsin aerospace business meet and network. We offer several categories of competitive
awards to businesses to further their aerospace needs and ventures; many of these directly
target projects that combine the strengths of our academic and industry members.
If you work in higher education, the WSGC offers seed grant opportunities to researchers and
individuals seeking to incorporate aerospace components into their curriculum. We also offer
funding for joint Academic/Industry research.
WSGC provides tens of thousands of grant dollars every year to undergraduate and graduate
students, researchers, educators and industry partners throughout the state, for them to
pursue scholarship and research studies and programs in every field of discipline, from
physics and astronomy to business and finance to art. But WSGC offers much more than grant
awards! WSGC serves as a central clearinghouse for information sharing for all of the big
names in space and aerospace in Wisconsin. Most of the universities, non-profits and
businesses interested in space and aerospace are members of WSGC, and thus, WSGC provides a
stable core of space and aerospace science professionals and resources for the state.
Members may build on this core to address their own strategic planning needs in the fields
of math, science and technology, whether through partnerships in curriculum and higher
education development or through the design and implementation of new programs. WSGC is also
considered the "face of NASA" in the state of Wisconsin. Nearly all NASA resources and
contacts are made available to the WSGC office.
Though I am a native Midwesterner, I am a 'transplant' here in Wisconsin. I like to say
that I am a Wisconsinite by choice, rather than by birth. I am proud to be serving the
educational and workforce development needs of my adopted state through the programs and
opportunities of the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium. Space is our future, and we at the
WSGC are working hard to bring it close to every Wisconsin resident.
Forward!
R. Aileen Yingst, Ph.D.
Director, Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium
