The Nuclear Energy Academic Roadmap (NEAR) is a collaborative effort aimed at strengthening the future of nuclear education and workforce capacity building in the United States. Led by the ORAU STEM Accelerator, this roadmap represents the combined expertise and dedication of educators, industry leaders, government agencies and other stakeholders working together to address the challenge of building a skilled and resilient workforce.
ORAU manages the NASA Postdoctoral Program, and several of the fellows are supporting the Artemis missions to the moon and beyond.
Luke Fountain, Ph.D., is a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow on the Space Crop Production Team at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The UK native's research focuses on on supplementing astronauts' diet with fresh food that is grown in space. "Eventually, we're hoping to replace calories. And as we transition to become more earth-independent, obviously, we want the astronauts to be able to supply, grow more of their own food, so we're less reliant on resupply," he said during his interview for Further Together. Fountain adds that growing plants in space is not easy, and that part of the challenge involves the significantly higher carbon dioxide levels in the International Space Station, where experiments involving plants take place. Learn more about Fountain's research and its importance to future space flight during this episode. Learn more about the NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at https://npp.orau.org/
