What is the NCCN Project ?
NASA Community College Network
The SETI Institute’s NASA Community College Network (NCCN) is a major initiative to bring NASA Subject Matter Experts (SME), research findings, and science resources into the nation’s community college system. NCCN is a constituent team of the Science Activation program, part of NASA’s Science Mission Directive (SMD).
Guided by needs assessments of both community college instructors (CCIs) and SMEs to engage in outreach, NCCN will consist of three key engagement deliverables:
1) To broker direct partnerships between NASA science subject matter experts and community college instructors teaching astronomy, space science and related courses.
2) To provide a set of high-quality, curated, audience-appropriate NASA resources created with or by NASA scientists to support their outreach and engagement and implemented by the community college instructor.
3) To provide professional development and training for both groups:
a) Community college instructors: we want to support or extend their knowledge of NASA science or research topics and help them communicate new or more engaging concepts to their students.
b) NASA subject matter experts: we want to help them engage effectively with the instructors and students at community colleges. For scientists new to outreach, we want to help them understand community college audiences and how best to work with them.
NCCN is funded by NASA SMD Cooperative Agreement 80NSSC21M0009
News & Events
Wed, Oct 30, 2024
NCCN Meeting & Events Calendar
View upcoming NCCN Meetings & Industry Events
SACNAS 2024 - NDISTEM Conference - Phoenix, AZ, Oct 31 - Nov 2, 2024
AGU 24 - American Geophysical Union - Washington, D.C, 9-13 December 2024
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Mon, Oct 14, 2024
Europa Clipper Launch - Signal Acquired !!
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft — designed to explore its namesake, Jupiter’s moon Europa — launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket Monday at 12:06 p.m. ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The event streamed live on NASA’s website.
Mon, Jul 01, 2024
NCCN Community College Receives NASA MUREP Project Funding
NASA has selected 23 minority-serving institutions to receive $1.2 million to grow their research and technology capabilities, collaborate on research projects, and contribute to the agency’s missions for the benefit of humanity.
While most of the funding is usually awarded to four-year universities, this cohort includes one of NCCN's community colleges - Delgado Community College, New Orleans, Louisiana, which will use their funding to provide education and access to learning about CubeSat projects.
Congratulations !!
Thu, Jun 13, 2024
NASA planned spacewalk
NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Matt Dominick will exit the station’s Quest airlock to begin their spacewalk outside of the International Space Station (ISS) scheduled at 8am, Thursday, June 13, 2024. NASA coverage begins at 6 am EDT on NASA+, NASA app, and YouTube .
Click here for NASA mission updates.
Mon, Apr 08, 2024
NASA Solar Eclipse Events 2024
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse moved across North America, passing over parts of Mexico, cutting through the United States, and the edge of Canada.
View the official NASA Solar Eclipse website
Thu, Feb 22, 2024
NASA Science Returns to the Moon with Intuitive Machines-1 Lunar Landing
Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission made history on Feb. 22, with the first successful Moon landing by a company.
Carrying NASA science and technology to the Moon, Intuitive Machines’ uncrewed lunar lander touched down at 5:23 p.m. CST on Thursday. The instruments aboard Odysseus will prepare NASA for future human exploration of the Moon under Artemis.
Updates here: blogs.NASA.gov/Artemis
Fri, Oct 13, 2023
2023 Annular Eclipse: Where and When
The Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, annular solar eclipse will cross North, Central, and South America. It will be visible in parts of the United States, Mexico, and many countries in South and Central America.
https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2023/where-when/
Thu, Oct 12, 2023
Psyche! Countdown to a Metal World
Mon, Aug 28, 2023
Join us for a discussion on Climate Science Science in the Astronomy Classroom
How to Teach and Talk about Climate Change in an Astronomy Class
From a health, social, and environmental standpoint, climate change is an existential threat that requires our immediate attention. The good news is that most Americans now understand that climate change is a threat. However, many people– particularly the young– are convinced that nothing can be done. Known as “climate doomism”, this fear represents one of the biggest barriers for people to actively engage in advocating for solutions. Fortunately, physics and astronomy teachers are especially well positioned to help people understand the problem, as well as solutions. In this session, we’ll talk about effective ways to incorporate climate change into your introductory physics and astronomy classes. (Happily, we already teach many concepts that are important for putting climate change into context, such as conservation of energy and terrestrial planetary atmospheres.) We’ll also talk about research-validated communication strategies that have been found to be effective in raising awareness, concern, and action.
Bio:
Dr. Travis Rector is an astrophysicist and professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Living in Alaska, he has witnessed dramatic changes in his home state. In recent years his focus has been on helping other instructors incorporate climate change into their teaching. He is the editor and co-author of a new book called Climate Change for Astronomers, to be released this fall by IoP/AAS Publishing. He is also currently serving as the chair of a task force for the American Astronomical Society, with the goal of identifying ways astronomy as a profession can reduce its carbon footprint.
Topic: Climate Change: Travis Rector
Time: Aug 30, 2023 03:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
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