Rather than getting lost in space, the University of Colorado is hoping students from across all academic disciplines might be able to find themselves, there.
CU announced Tuesday the creation of a space minor, hoping to leverage its national-caliber program in aerospace engineering and space sciences into a minor degree that could benefit students whose majors might be in a wholly unrelated field.
“A lot of students who aren’t in science and engineering might not realize what there might be for them in the space industry,” said Steve Nerem, faculty director for the newly created minor. “A goal is to start to explain what roles there are beyond the role you might think of, when you think about the local space industry.”
The only course required for the minor is called “Pathway to Space,” and will be offered for the first time in the coming spring semester. It will provide a broad overview of all aspects of space science, engineering, technology and how space is influenced by the arts and humanities, according to a news release.
But there are number of other classes already offered at CU that fit right into the new minor’s curriculum.
Nerem said CU certainly intends to tap into the aerospace private sector — robust up and down the Front Range — as a means of enriching the program.
“That’s certainly something we’re going to be looking at going forward, and has been discussed,” Nerem said. “Basically, we started planning this about a year ago. It took about a year to get to this point, but there have certainly been discussions about how to reach out to local industry and get them involved as we move forward.”
Match to a larger initiative
Emily CoBabe-Ammann, director of Strategic Projects in the Research and Innovation Office at CU, sees the space minor as fitting well into CU’s Grand Challenge (Our Space, Our Future) initiative, which she describes as focused on building on the space and earth sciences and engineering work that the university has done for the last 50 years, and taking it in new directions.
“For me, what makes the space minor so important is that it is one of the few initiatives of the Grand Challenge that spans the entire campus,” she said. “The space minor leadership has successfully engaged faculty from across the university … to think about how to infuse their undergraduate teaching with the excitement of space and space exploration.
“The vision of the space minor is that every student, regardless of background or area of interest, should be encouraged to think about how space and space exploration can be woven into the fabric of their academic program.”
The announcement of the new minor comes fresh on the heels of the announcement that three CU grads are among the first inductees Colorado Space Heroes Hall of Fame. One of them is Alan Stern, associate vice president of the Space Science and Engineering Division at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, whose profile has soared in the past year with the glowing success of the New Horizons flyby of Pluto last summer.
Stern, in an email, hailed his alma mater’s decision to institute a minor in space.
“I think the space minor is a wonderful idea,” Stern said. “Colorado is a top aerospace state, and the industry is growing. I am sure this will spur further employment for CU grads.”
Nerem said the idea for the space minor is not necessarily in response to demand from below, as much as it is a concept generated at the faculty and administrative level.
“It was faculty and staff, who looked at all the expertise we have at CU and indeed the Front Range and Boulder and wanting to also bring students from across the university into a kind of space community,” Nerem said. “In addition to the minor, we will have a lot of events across the year, bringing students together. Students from music will meet students from engineering, and will find what out what their common interests are in space-related fields.”
In that spirit, a space minor event for CU students — featuring pizza and beverages — featuring astronaut Jim Voss is to be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Fiske Planetarium.
An appeal to non-STEM students
The minor consists of 15 credit hours, or five courses. It is now open for enrollment, and more information is on the program website.
Universities that offer space minors typically focus on space technology and are almost exclusively offered to science and engineering students.
“This is the first, to our knowledge, that is being offered to any major on campus,” Nerem said.
He sees it as a true opportunity for discovery for CU students of all backgrounds.
“A lot of students might not realize what might be there for them, in the aerospace industry,” Nerem said. “And, what kind of value might be there for them, should they choose to pursue this course of study.”
CoBabe-Ammann agreed, and pointed out that many employed in the aerospace and space science community in Colorado are actually working as accountants, lawyers or technical and support staff.
“If the space minor can imbue non-STEM students with the excitement of the field and give them a picture of what these companies aspire to, this can only be good for our partners down the road,” she said.
Charlie Brennan: 303-473-1327, brennanc@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/chasbrennan
