Due Dates:

Notice of intent* requested by January 15, 2012

Final entry is due on or before May 7, 2012

*A notice of intent tells NASA that you plan to enter the competition in a specific category. This helps us to determine how many reviewers we need for the final entries. 

The notice should be emailed and should include the following details:

To: elizabeth.b.ward@nasa.gov
Subject line: ERA University Competition
Body of message contents:
student leader's name(s)
faculty advisor's name
name of college
name of department(s) participating
location of college (city and state and country if outside the US)
level of study for all participating student(s) (freshmen undergraduate through final PhD)
email and phone number for student lead
email for faculty advisor

Eligibility: 

Any US citizen enrolled in an accredited college or university in the US or its territories is eligible to enter the competition. International students, either in the US or elsewhere, may enter but will not be eligible for certain prizes. Trophies and certificates will be awarded to each winner, regardless of citizenship. Students who are receiving NASA funds for research projects or who are working on a NASA funded project for a faculty member should disclose this information in their entry packet. Failure to do so may result in disqualification for the student and/or the entire team.

A supervising or advising faculty member must endorse each entry. This means that the faculty member reviews and approves the student entry before it is submitted to NASA. The faculty should also affirm that the students did the research and writing themselves and that none of the students are receiving NASA funds for a research project in any way related to the competition.

Internship Eligibility
NASA has several programs that provide internships for US Citizens. Internship programs bring the students to a NASA facility to work directly with a NASA mentor for the summer or during an academic semester. For a list of all the available internship opportunities, please consult the main NASA web site or the NASA Education web pages at each of the NASA field centers. Look for Student Learning Opportunities or similar search criteria. Most of the internship applications are due early in calendar year, but each program has its own set of application due dates.

For the ERA competition, if funds are available, paid internships may be offered to qualified student winners. If students would like to apply for these, a completed internship application, transcripts, and one-page resume will be required along with the final entry. Students may opt to apply for an internship through the normal NASA application process and simply inform the competition administrator of their application when the final entry is submitted. Summer internships normally begin in early June and conclude 10 weeks later in early August.  Fall and Spring semester internships normally coincide with the academic calendar and run for 15 weeks.

RESOURCES:
Detailed reference documents and project contacts for each of the four aeronautics projects can be found at http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/
If students have questions about the submission requirements, evaluation criteria, format of the paper, where to find internship applications, or anything else, please write to Dr. Liz Ward, competition coordinator, at elizabeth.b.ward@nasa.gov

NASA's Systems Engineering Handbook  
This handbook is provided to acquaint teams on the guidelines for good systems engineering practices unique to NASA.
Click here to download the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook.

For questions about the tabular engine data (an approximation of next-gen geared turbofan engine for single aisle aircraft like Boeing 737 or Airbus A320, contact William Haller at William.J.Haller@nasa.gov