April 20, 2011

Stephen Cole/Michael Braukus Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918/1979 stephen e cole@nasa gov/michael j braukus@nasa gov

Gina Jackson U S Agency for International Development, Washington 202-712-1917 gjackson@usaid gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-083

NASA AND USAID TO SIGN AGREEMENT TO TACKLE WORLDWIDE PROBLEMS

WASHINGTON -- Reporters are invited to the signing of a formal agreement between NASA and the U S Agency for International Development (USAID) to promote collaboration on scientific and technological solutions to worldwide problems The memorandum of understanding addresses such challenges as global health, climate change, food security, and disaster mitigation and response

The event will take place in the NASA Headquarters auditorium at 300 E Street SW in Washington on Monday, April 25, at 2 p m EDT NASA Television and the agency's website will broadcast the event live

The participants are: Charles Bolden, NASA administrator Dr Rajiv Shah, USAID administrator Leland Melvin, NASA associate administrator for education Daniel Irwin, scientist, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala Josh Nesbit, CEO, Medic Mobile, Austin, Texas Dieterich Lawson, chief technology officer, Medic Mobile Alex Dehgan, science and technology adviser to the USAID administrator

Before the signing ceremony, there will be a presentation on two NASA-USAID programs, SERVIR and LAUNCH The SERVIR program integrates satellite observations, ground-based data and forecast models to monitor and forecast environmental changes and improve response to natural disasters in Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Himalayas It helps inform science-based decision-making in the areas of climate change, health, agriculture, environment, water, and weather

LAUNCH is a global initiative to identify and support innovative work poised to contribute to a sustainable future and accelerate solutions to meet urgent challenges facing our society NASA, USAID, the Department of State, and Nike joined to form LAUNCH in an effort to identify, showcase and support innovative approaches to global challenges through a series of forums

There also will be a question-and-answer session with students from area high schools and universities with the NASA and USAID administrators

For more information on SERVIR, visit:

http://www nasa gov/mission_pages/servir/index html

For more information on LAUNCH, visit:

http://launch org/

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:

http://www nasa gov/ntv

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