NAU/NASA Space Grant

Mentor Research Proposal Due Dates and Deadlines

• Mentor Applications open in late January
• Mentor Applications close in early March
• No late submissions are accepted, online applications open and close promptly at specified times above
• Mentor Project Awards are extended throughout the month of April
• Mentor Project Acceptance Deadline is in early May

Mentor Application

About Our Program

NASA Space Grant is a nationwide program funded by NASA. It is designed to develop the young minds of STEM graduate and undergraduate students into thinking beyond the classroom by actively performing NASA related research alongside a faculty mentor. Our program at Northern Arizona University provides undergraduate internships to exceptional students interested in promoting the understanding of space-related research to the public. We are located in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science. The Northern Arizona University Space Grant Program is a part of the statewide Arizona Space Grant Consortium.

The NAU NASA Space Grant Fellowship Program currently provides an graduate fellowship to graduate student pursuing a PhD in Astronomy and Planetary Science at Northern Arizona University. The goals of the Fellowship Program are to encourage individuals to pursue graduate education in Astronomy and Planetary Science, and to support NASA-related research happening at the University. If you are interested in our fellowship program please click here. Information below pertains to our internship program only.

Mentor Eligibility

At this time, in order to be eligible to mentor, you must be:

1. a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or its possessions
2. an NAU staff/faculty member or employee of USGS, Lowell Observatory or Arizona Daily Sun
3. able to supply 7-10 hours a week August-April of work to your student intern

Mentor Requirements

Mentors commit to providing interns the opportunity to broaden their educations with a rich, hands-on experience with the full process of inquiry and discovery. Whatever the internship emphasis – research, research & development, science writing, science policy, or science education – the mentor will work to provide an environment where the intern can learn and experience the research process from start to finish. In some cases, interns will join existing projects. In others, the project will evolve as the student’s interests and skills and the mentor’s needs come together. The mentor acts as a guide, encouraging the intern to understand the discovery process, learn the fundamentals necessary to succeed, and ultimately drive the experience.

Mentors attend an orientation at the beginning of the year regardless if they have not done so in the past. They assist in preparing the intern for the statewide Undergraduate Research Symposium at the end of the spring semester, including the brief abstract and PowerPoint presentation. Mentors are invited to participate in some Space Grant-organized activities during the year and to attend the Symposium and banquet at the end. The day-to-day interaction between the intern, the mentor, and the mentor’s team (where applicable) are defined and agreed upon by the intern and mentor as part of establishing a working relationship at the beginning of the academic year.

• ALL Mentors must submit a NAU-NASA Application for Research Mentorship by the deadline. Please note that you may only submit one project and have one student for this internship per year; multiple applications will not be considered by the Space Grant Steering Committee.
• Mentors can coordinate with a Student prior to applying to the program and indicate the student on their NAU-NASA Application for Research Mentorship or request us to match them with a student intern.
• It is desired that the research further NASA’s mission in some way.
• Applications will be reviewed by our Steering Committee in April and they will determine which projects are selected.
• ALL Mentor project descriptions are posted online during student application process.

Project Alignment Requirements

The NAU/NASA Space Grant Program has increased efforts to highlight our programs’ alignment with the 5 NASA Mission Directorates (MDs). All AZSGC-funded projects are required to align with one or more NASA MDs. Please review this NASA Mission Directorate pdf document to find out more about all four NASA MDs before choosing which MD(s) and research priority area(s) your project most closely aligns with. You will need to indicate this on your mentor program agreement form if you are awarded funding.

Project Funding

This internship is funded by NASA Space Grant, and whenever possible, through the generous contributions of mentors.

Please also keep in mind students who receive NAU/NASA Space Grant funding may not accept other NSF or Gov funding from other program at NAU.

The NAU/NASA Space Grant Undergraduate Research Internship program works hard to engage the largest number of students possible. Each year, we are able to extend the internship funding base to a larger group of undergraduates through much appreciated financial assistance provided by mentors who are able to full-fund or split-fund their interns. Interns may work may work a maximum of 10 hours/week over the Fall, Winter and Spring semesters. Thus, full-funding an intern for 30 weeks at 10hrs/week amounts to $$4,800 ($16.00/hr x 300hrs), while split-funding an intern (split funding indicates your funding will cover 50% of the student’s salary) amounts to $2,400. The highest ranked applicants are awarded NASA Space Grant Internships to work with faculty or professional mentors for the forthcoming academic year.

Matching Students to Projects

Before the application due date, faculty and professionals interested in mentoring motivated undergraduates submit an online application defining their potential research project.

Mentors are able to:

1. pre-select a student for their project [reserved project] when they submit an application or
2. not-select a student for their project [open project] when they submit an application which allows all interested students to apply to their project

The goal is to provide a new and rich experience to the applicant. Mentors are then responsible for reviewing all intern applications based on the content and quality of the applicant’s responses to three open-ended questions. GPA, motivation for applying, interest-level, potential, and involvement (work, volunteerism, other activities) should also be considered. (Experience should not a factor in the selection process as the internship is designed to provide first research opportunities).

Ultimately NAU/NASA Space Grant provides the lists of qualified students to each of the chosen mentors and then let them make the final choice of who they want to work with.

Student Application Instructions & Available Projects

1. Scroll down this page to view the list of available internships and links to project descriptions below to view ALL openings.

2. Click the “Project Title” link of each project you are interested in to read through the research project proposal description submitted by the mentor.

3. Identify the internship(s) you are interested in by project number (you can list up to 3 on your online application if you choose).

4. Make sure the project(s) you are interested in are open and accepting applications and not reserved for a selected student already.

5. Fill out your online student application.

Student Application

Our 2025-2026 Projects will post below in Spring 2025.

The AIMER Program

The American Indian Mobile Educational Resources (AIMER) provides hands-on space science lessons/activities to teach concepts of physics and astronomy and engineering to pre-college Native American students at K-12 schools on rural Indian reservations in Arizona. The project is operated in partnership with the NAU/NASA Space Grant, the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science and the College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences.

In conjunction with daytime classroom visits, we can also set up telescopes for a night-time viewing event for your school community.  Please keep in mind that night-time viewing begins about 45 minutes after sunset and requires a clear sky.  Additionally, for K-5 schools, we can bring Family Science Night Activities to be set up inside (in a gym, cafeteria or multi-purpose room).

• There are no charges for the AIMER. Services are made available through NAU/NASA Space Grant at Northern Arizona University.
• AIMER can be requested by a teacher at any reservation school in Arizona to supplement his or her classes during the academic year.
• AIMER is scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.
• AIMER provides telescopes for solar viewing and evening star parties.
• Unless otherwise noted, each of the above activities takes about an hour.

Please Contact Mrs. Mary Lara via email to schedule a site.

Available K-12 AIMER Lessons

Please scroll through using the arrows on the bottom on the table to view all lessons.

Program Management Team

Christopher S. Edwards, Ph.D.

Program Associate Director

NAU/NASA Space Grant Program

Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science

Email: Christopher.Edwards@nau.edu

Phone: (928) 523-7234

Paloma Rose Davidson, M.A.

Program Assistant Manager

NAU/NASA Space Grant Program

Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science

Email: Paloma.Davidson@nau.edu

Phone: (928) 523-8067