CSUMB teams gain important experience at NASA competition

Two student teams from Cal State Monterey Bay came away from a nationwide NASA-sponsored competition in Houston, Texas, last week without trophies, but with plenty of beneficial experience, said business Professor Dante Di Gregorio. 

The students were part of NASA’s MITTIC Space 2 Pitch, an event that challenges students to come up with novel ways to utilize materials the space agency has developed. MITTIC is an acronym of MUREP (Minority University Research and Education Project) Innovation and Tech Transfer Idea Competition.

Only 12 teams were selected from applications nationwide and eight of those teams come from just four universities. UC Davis, San Diego State and Texas A&M also sent two teams. 

“I think what some of the students definitely got out of it was a sense of empowerment and self-confidence,” Di Gregorio said. “It was pretty cool to see them competing against students in mostly technical fields like engineering and mechatronics. Our students were right there with them and had things they were bringing to the table the other students didn’t really have.”

He was also impressed by the support the students received. Chase Corporation sponsored two mentors for each team, one of whom took it upon herself to fly from Tampa to Houston to be with CSUMB students for the competition. 

The students also got an extensive tour of NASA headquarters, including a visit to Mission Control. 

“I anticipate I will incorporate this into my class in the future,” Di Gregorio said. “It takes on much more significance than just doing a class project. The students get to see much more of a real-world application.”