UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 11, Page 1
November 14, 1991
NASA astronaut featured at Space Research Day
By Sue Swyers Moncure

     Astronaut Janice Voss will be featured speaker at Space
Research Day, which begins at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 23, in
Sharp Laboratory on the Newark campus.
     Her talk on the "Capabilities and Experiences of a Mission
Specialist" will be at 1:30 p.m., after lunch in the Perkins
Student Center.
     The University, designated in March 1991 as a NASA Space Grant
College, is holding Space Research Day as part of its outreach
program.
     Voss was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 1990
and has been trained for subsequent assignment as a mission
specialist on future Space Shuttle flight crews.
     Voss worked at the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space
Administration) Johnson Space Center in Texas doing computer
simulations, later working as a crew trainer, teaching entry
guidance and navigation. After completing her doctorate in 1987,
she joined Orbital Sciences Corporation.
     Open to the public and to interested faculty and staff, Space
Research Day is primarily targeted toward undergraduate students,
particularly seniors, who are interested in learning about
opportunities for space-related graduate research at the
University.
     Invitations to attend have been sent to approximately 60
colleges and universities in the mid-Atlantic area.
     The one-day meeting will feature a series of presentations,
laboratory visits and demonstrations. Information on NASA-sponsored
graduate fellowships and research assistantships also will be
available. The afternoon activities will take place in the Center
for Composite Materials and will conclude with a reception at 4:30
p.m. for all participants, speakers and current graduate students.
    The principal areas of NASA-sponsored research at Delaware are
in engineering (materials, structures and composites),
environmental sciences (remote sensing and oceanography), physics,
astronomy and astrophysics and space physics, according to Norman
Ness, president and professor of the Bartol Research Institute.
  Ten graduate students currently receive support from NASA through
fellowships, grants and contracts, Ness said, and this number is
expected to grow. During F.Y. 1991, the University received $2.2
million from NASA, including $1.4 million to the Bartol Research
Institute. Delaware is now ranked in the mid-30s, up from 48th, of
the 50 states in terms of NASA research funding, Ness said.
     The cost of the conference is $5, which covers all activities,
including a continental breakfast and lunch. Pre-registration is
necessary. To register, send checks payable to Bartol Research
Institute, and name, address and affiliation to the institute. For
further information, call Ness at 451-8116.