Campus hosts NASA on Campus robotics challenge
Cerritos College hosted its fifth NASA on Campus event from August 14-17 as part of
the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) program. Twenty-four students
from Cerritos College and the College of the Desert were selected to be part of the
program.
The NCAS experience offered students the opportunity to learn about careers in science and engineering, consisting of a five-week online activity (Mission 1) and an educational simulation (Mission 2) that culminated with a four-day event on campus (Mission 3). While at Cerritos College, students formed teams and established fictional companies competing for a Mars rover contract. Each team was responsible for developing and testing a prototype rover, forming a company infrastructure, managing a budget, and developing a communications and outreach strategy. The event also included briefings by NASA subject matter experts, a panel presentation featuring past NCAS students who have participated in NASA internships, and tours of Google and Cal Poly Pomona. Two Cerritos College and NCAS alumni, who now work as engineers for Boeing, returned to serve as mentors.
The NCAS program is funded by The Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP) through a grant from the California Space Grant Consortium. MUREP is committed to engaging underrepresented and underserved students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) with authentic learning experiences to sustain a diverse workforce.
Cerritos College has been part of NCAS since its pilot stage in 2019.
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