Spotlight on Amy Smith, Faculty in Biology
GREAT BARRINGTON, MA — Simon’s Rock biology faculty Amy Smith is excited to coordinate
a unique new program for biology students interested in taking their studies beyond
the classroom, to the stars.
To the Moon and Mars! Space Exploration Training for the Artemis Generation will be offered at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, the home of Space Camp, and will be a one-week custom program just for students from Simon’s Rock. The program will take place during the first full week of January — from the 5th – 10th — and is designed predominantly for the college, but can accept eager and passionate Academy students, pending space availability.
“The program is going to be designed to be a crash course in past, present, and future space exploration,” said Smith, “which will focus on astronaut training and simulations for the Artemis mission, which will take humans to the Moon and Mars.”
Some details of the project are still in the process of being fine-tuned, with the hopes of being a full-fledged program for students to experience in January 2025.
“At the moment we do not have specific prerequisites, although usually an introductory course in the appropriate subject is required. I think having a bio course which is either BIO 100 Introduction to Biology, BIO 01A Academy Biology, or equivalent is sufficient,” said Smith.
For Smith, who has attended Space Camp in previous years, this program has been in the making for a long time.
“I have been working on building a program in space and astrobiology here at Simon’s Rock in order to prepare students who are interested in these fields for graduate work. I went to Space Camp two times when I was in middle and high school, and I never knew what direction to go after that. This program will provide a bridge between experiences like Space Camp and graduate work and/or careers in the space sciences. This program, To the Moon and Mars!, is the next piece of that bridge I’m trying to build, and I think it’s by far the most exciting piece! I can’t wait to share this program and my experiences with my career with Simon’s Rock students.”