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Kawther Rouabhi is a University of Iowa Graduate and an Iowa Space Grant Consortium Alum, with a Bachelors of Science in Engineering Degree as of May 2022.

Kawther is the awardee of the 2021-2022 ISGC Undergraduate Merit Scholarship, and also the 2019-2020 ISGC Undergraduate Research Scholarship. When asked about her involvement with her research scholarship, she replied “I performed research under the dedicated mentorship of Professor Ananya Sen Gupta to develop autonomous feature detection algorithms to analyze NASA Spacecraft data. One application of this research was using data from the Mars-orbiting MAVEN spacecraft for which our algorithm extracted the evolution of solar wind ion trails. Studying these results can help scientists better understand how the composition of the Martian ionosphere is changing over time.”

Next Fall, Kawther will be attending the University of Colorado Boulder to pursue a PhD in Aerospace Engineering Sciences. She will conduct research with Dr. Tomoko Matsuo at the Geospace Data Science Lab where she will develop machine learning and data assimilation applications for Earth and Space Sciences.

When asked how her involvement with ISGC has been beneficial towards her, Kawther responded humbly with “Iowa Space Grant programs have changed my life and the course of my career. I was able to explore space research outside of my computer science curriculum and practice science communication with both fellow researchers and the general public. As an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to present at a world-renowned research conference for three consecutive years. I had the opportunity to travel to Norway to build a sounding rocket with international students, led a team of American students to design a hypothetical Mars rover mission, and went skydiving and scuba diving at ISU’s Spaceflight Operations Workshop. These experiences each taught me countless lessons about being a confident problem solver, and they would not have been possible without my support from Iowa Space Grant.”

Kawther loves STEM because of how it draws her into her love of science and engineering. It gives her the satisfaction of problem solving and collaborating with diverse individuals. “No matter who you are or where you come from, you have unique experiences and ideas that make you a great problem solver!”

Kawther’s career goals begin with earning her PhD, and then she hopes to continue conducting research and mentoring new researchers, as well as perform STEM outreach in her local community wherever she ends up and empower the next generation of space scientists and engineers.

A piece of advice Kawther wants to give to future students interested in STEM or pursuing their college degree is as follows: “During my freshman year of college, I gave a seminar to girls and women at my alma mater, Iowa City High School, on what it means to be a woman in tech. In summary, the talk came down to three points. Firstly, challenge yourself in big ways and small ways. Secondly, build a diverse team of supporters and collaborators. Finally, be a problem solver. Find issues that you are passionate about and think to yourself, how can I make this better?”

The ISGC team will greatly miss Kawther’s positive and humble attitude and all her involvement within STEM and ISGC. We wish her the best of luck with her future plans and career!

NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is having a Planetary Defense Overview and Webinar on July 28th from 1-2PM ET. To register and learn more information, please visit HERE or scan the QR code!

Information about the 2022-2023 upcoming Gateways to Blueskies competition! For more information and full competition details, please visit HERE

Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) and the Iowa NASA EPSCoR (INE) are pleased to announce that Hailey Waller has joined our team as the EPSCoR Program Assistant. Hailey will be working primarily with the NASA EPSCoR program and will also assist on the space grant side.

Hailey is originally from Winterset, Iowa. Her previous employment was with the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines as a zookeeper and animal trainer. She also has experience working in the office of her family’s construction business. Hailey is a 2019 Iowa State University graduate, with a B.S. in Environmental Science and Anthropology. She worked in assisting graduate students in Entomology research within the NREM department and served as a WiSE Peer Mentor as well in the LAS Saving the Planet Learning Community.

We are excited to have Hailey join our team! Please help us in welcoming Hailey back to Iowa State University.  Hailey may be reached at: hewaller@iastate.edu.

The Science Center of Iowa is excited to announce that this year the Gala is live and in-person! Join them as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of the SCI preschool and early childhood learners. Proceeds from this event help to advance early childhood science education.

The event will be on Friday, August 26th from 6:30-9:30pm. Tickets range from individual to VIP. The event will feature a silent auction, hands-on interactive experiences, special shows in program theaters, custom brew from local brewery, and themed food and deserts.

To learn more about the gala and to purchase tickets for this event, please visit HERE.

CAPSTONE, NASA’s new pathfinder CubeSat, is on its way to the Moon!