Strategic Plan and Mission

California Space Grant Consortium

Executive Summary

The California Space Grant Consortium (CaSGC) received Space Grant designation in 1989 under the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. It is funded, in part, through a Training Grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and is administered by its Lead Institution, the University of California, San Diego.

The Space Grant College and Fellowship program in California has continued to expand and grow in both the number of affiliate institutions involved and the number of curriculum and hands-on projects initiated.

The organizational and administrative structure of the CaSGC has the Consortium Headquarters Office (Principal Investigator , California State-wide Director – John Kosmatka, Assistant Director, Leah Valmidiano, and Program Coordinator – Rebecca Howard) at UC San Diego. Each affiliate institution has a campus director and a scholarship/fellowship selection committee. The CaSGC is executing expansion while carefully maintaining a balance between statewide visibility and participation with continued high quality in targeted areas of aerospace research, education, and public outreach.

The California Space Grant Consortium (CaSGC) and the NASA Strategic Plan

The mission and goals of the CaSGC are structured to support the NASA Strategic Plan 2018. That NASA Strategic Plan formulates the following vision and mission:

NASA Vision

  • TO DISCOVER AND EXPAND KNOWLEDGE FOR THE BENEFIT OF HUMANITY.

NASA Mission

  • LEAD AN INNOVATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE PROGRAM OF EXPLORATION WITH COMMERCIAL AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS TO ENABLE HUMAN EXPANSION ACROSS THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND BRING NEW KNOWLEDGE AND OPPORTUNITIES BACK TO EARTH. SUPPORT GROWTH OF THE NATION’S ECONOMY IN SPACE AND AERONAUTICS, INCREASE UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNIVERSE AND OUR PLACE IN IT, WORK WITH INDUSTRY TO IMPROVE AMERICA’S AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGIES, AND ADVANCE AMERICAN LEADERSHIP.

The Plan creates a framework to communicate to external constituents and contribute to national priorities. The four NASA Mission Directorates are:

CaSGC Vision, Mission and Objectives

CaSGC Vision

To inspire and educate the next generation of aerospace scientists, engineers, and managers.

CaSGC Mission

To serve as a crosscutting and integration agent in California to bring the aerospace-related content, technical expertise, and application environment of NASA’s scientific and technical Enterprises to the educational community and the general public.

CaSGC Objectives

To develop and maintain a network of institutions of higher education throughout California with interests and capabilities in aerospace science, engineering, and technology.

To recruit and train aerospace professionals, especially women and underrepresented minorities, for careers in aerospace science and engineering. This is accomplished through the provision of scholarships, fellowships, and training internships within the industry, government, and academic sectors. A primary focus of this effort is student – mentor projects which provide an effective way to:

  • Translate space-related research results for education and public use;
  • Train and retrain the aerospace workforce;
  • Build education and research infrastructure;
  • Provide undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships;
  • Outreach to underrepresented groups (women & minorities).

To promote a strong science, mathematics, and engineering education base from elementary through university levels.

To encourage interdisciplinary education and training, research, and public service programs related to aerospace. To encourage collaborative development programs among universities, industry, and federal, state, and local governments.