2019 ISSRDC Award: Providing a Unique, Hands-On Learning Experience for Middle and High School Students Interested in Chemistry and Crystallization

Dr. Ilia Guzei (far right) and the 2018 Wisconsin Space Crystals team at the Space Life Sciences Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center preparing their samples for launch.

Dr. Ilia Guzei (far right) and the 2018 Wisconsin Space Crystals team at the Space Life Sciences Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center preparing their samples for launch.

Media Credit: Cheryl Kelly-VanDomelen and Stephanie Twesme

Each year, the International Space Station (ISS) Research and Development (R&D) Conference, held in coordination with the ISS U.S. National Laboratory, NASA, and the American Astronautical Society, highlights individuals who have pushed the boundaries of space-based research through the presentation of research awards. This week, we are spotlighting awardees in the category of “innovation,” honoring individuals who have leveraged the ISS to pioneer a new frontier in space-based science. Today’s spotlight is on Dr. Ilia Guzei of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, for innovation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

ISS National Laboratory Opportunities

Find out about new research opportunities onboard the ISS National Laboratory, including recent Requests for Proposals in the areas of Advanced Materials and Industrial Biomedicine. See how you can leverage the unique space environment to advance your research and development.

View Current Research Opportunities

The Space Crystal Prize provides the winning team of students from the annual Wisconsin Crystal Growing Competition with an opportunity to take crystallization from their classroom to the ISS National Laboratory. Through this program, led by Dr. Guzei, students test their optimized conditions for Earth-based crystallization against microgravity-based crystallization by translating their ground-based experiments into a flight project to be conducted on the ISS National Laboratory. Through the program, students learn about crystallization techniques and the advantages of using microgravity for crystal growth studies, comparing data from crystals grown on the ISS with ground-based results.

Students from the Wisconsin Crystal Growing Competition preparing samples on the ground.

Learn more in these related resources:

You can also learn more about the groundbreaking research taking place on our nation’s only orbiting laboratory in Upward, the official magazine of the ISS National Laboratory! Visit Upward.ISSNationalLab.org to view the latest issue.