
Joshua Bardwell
2024 Seed Grant Awardee
Project Description
NCCN Symposium

The NASA Community College Symposium event involves a symposium panel of scientists from industry (e.g., NASA Goddard) and academia with a Q&A and breakout sessions / interactive workshops. We intend on advertising this event at local community colleges / high schools in the San Diego area and on campus at San Diego State University, with an emphasis on underrepresented groups. Given that 75% of our panel has come from a community college background, our intent is to show that a career in STEM is obtainable. Our hope is that this pilot event will become an annual event which establishes community and relationships for those within the San Diego Community College and 4-year university system.
Target Audience Age
0-4 | 5-10 | 11-14 | 14-18 | 19-22 | 23-26 | 27-99 |
NASA Division

Astrophysics
Grant Status

Learning Context

Digital Learning

Neighborhood /
Community

Informal /
Out of School

Home / Family

Citizen Science

Formal Education
SME Bio

What excites me most about this project is getting the opportunity to communicate niche areas of NASA science to the public.
Joshua Bardwell
NCCN Symposium Co-PI
Master's Student
Astronomy
San Diego State University
Joshua Bardwell is a 2nd year master’s student in Astronomy at San Diego State University. His research is with NASA GSFC on gravitational waves of binary black holes with extreme mass ratios. As a biracial individual of Pacific Islander descent, he recognizes the importance of intentional diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts within the academic environment. His diverse background drives him to engage with the scientific community and create avenues for success within the fields of STEM. He is also an Astro-graphic designer, data visualizer, and community outreach specialist. His extracurricular interests include competitive spike ball, surfing, and songwriting!
SciAct Team

NCCN Description
The NASA Community College Network (NCCN) at the SETI Institute proposes an initiative to bring NASA science subject matter experts (SMEs) and NASA science resources into the classrooms of the nation’s community college system. There are over 1000 U.S. public, accredited, degree-granting two-year institutions in the U.S. and of these, over 700 offer courses in astronomy, often to students from under-served populations, many of them the first in their families to go to college at all.

NCCN’s goal is to inspire community college students through their interaction with NASA subject matter experts. What better inspiration than hearing first hand from subject matter experts whose own journeys into astronomy began at community college!