Nov 04, 2008

J D Harrington Headquarters, Washington 202-358-5241 j d harrington@nasa gov

RELEASE: 08-282

NASA SELECTS ASTRONOMY STUDENT AMBASSADORS

WASHINGTON -- Forty-six undergraduate and graduate students have been selected to represent NASA in their local communities as recipients of the agency's International Year of Astronomy, or IYA, Student Ambassadors Program

Two of the students were chosen to attend the opening ceremonies of an IYA event in Paris in January 2009 The students representing NASA at the ceremonies are Rebecca Holmes, a sophomore at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill who is majoring in physics and astronomy, and Norberto Gonzalez, a junior at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo with a biology concentration

The IYA Student Ambassadors Program is designed to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to participate in IYA activities and generate excitement about NASA's discoveries in astrophysics, planetary science and solar physics within their local communities and beyond These students will serve as role models to others

"NASA is a major partner in the United States' celebration of IYA activities," said Hashima Hasan, NASA's Astrophysics education and public outreach lead in Washington "The Student Ambassadors Program is just one of many activities the agency has planned throughout the coming year "

The ambassadors were selected from more than 150 online applications Applicants must be U S citizens, full-time students and participate in activities that align with NASA's IYA goals

The National Space Grant Foundation manages the IYA Student Ambassadors Program through a grant from NASA For more information about NASA's involvement and a list of student ambassadors, visit:

http://astronomy2009 nasa gov

For more information about NASA and its programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@mediaservices nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

http://www aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/plugins/dada_bridge pl/u/[list]/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:[list_owner_email]>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

[physical_address]