WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY PARTNERS WITH NASA.

One of WSSU's most intriguing STEM programs is the Astrobotany Lab which provides undergraduates with opportunities to work with NASA and shadow scientists and researchers at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. It's all part of a special partnership between Winston-Salem State University and NASA forged by Rafael Loureiro, Ph.D., assistant biology professor at WSSU.

The partnership helped create the lab on the WSSU campus in 2018, part of a Space Act agreement with NASA to research crop production in space. In layman's terms astrobotany is the study of plants in off-world conditions.

'The knowledge generated by Astrobotanical studies can be applied to any kind of agriculture field or indoor farming. The applications are pretty much endless. But the goal is for the lab to be a kick-starter to get students involved with NASA research and opportunities that will, in the future, allow them to continue to contribute to this research field" said Loureiro.

WSSU astrobotany students work with NASA and the Kennedy Space Center. The ability to have Minority Serving Institution students involved in astrobotany has long been a dream of Loureiro. He convinced NASA that a potential partnership was viable before coming to WSSU. With the crop production team's support, Loureiro went searching for a university that would embrace his vision. Several universities were interested, but WSSU was willing to give him full liberty to develop his idea. That sealed the deal for Loureiro.

'This is unique to our school; no other school has it," said Loureiro. 'This allows students to go there once a year to participate as interns. That doesn't deter them from applying for internships themselves. We have one student with a summer scholarship with NASA this year.

It's quite a unique experience. I think it just stimulates a student. It really changes them. It changes their perspective about science and themselves.

Acceptance into the astrobotany lab is not easy. First, because of funding, space and staffing constraints, there are limited slots available. Secondly, one must be a biology major even to apply. Students involved in the program must dedicate a minimum of 10 hours a week to research-based activities and Loureiro says typically most students spend many more.

"We started with four students and now we have six. I had to put a cap on it, or I would have many more and I don't want the students to not have the proper attention" said Loureiro.

"It's been very...