NASA's National Council of Space Grant Directors (NCSGD) announced March 1 that it has elected AE Associate Professor Dr. Stephen Ruffin as its new chair.

Ruffin will continue to serve as the director of the Georgia Space Grant Consortium when he officially begins his two-year term as national chair in July.

“This is another opportunity to further coordinate and promote the role of STEM [science technology, engineering and math] disciplines in our country’s future,” said Ruffin of his new role working with the directors of 52 Space Grant Consortia across the country.

“If we want to continue being competitive, the United States needs to more effectively teach students from a diversity of backgrounds – from rural areas where they might not have any access to aerospace as an industry to all of the traditionally underrepresented groups, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and women. We can’t leave anyone behind.”

The NCSGD seeks to promote and expand the national impact of the NASA-supported Space Grant Consortia, a national network of organizations dedicated to promoting STEM disciplines, from grade school through graduate school. As the chair, Ruffin will help member consortia to maximize and enhance collaborations with NASA and external national and international organizations.

Over the past year, the National Space Grant Consortium has helped train more than 10,000 K-12 STEM teachers and has conducted STEM-related educational programs for more than 100,000 students.

At Georgia Tech, the Consortium has funded fellowships, trained mentors, done outreach, and even supported the work of the Ramblin Rockets Club.

“The Georgia Space Grant Consortium, under Dr. Ruffin, has been a tremendous asset for our students, and for the many collaborations that are needed to further the field of aerospace engineering,” said School Chair Dr. Vigor Yang.

“We are pleased that he will be taking more leadership in the national program.”

Heading up the NCSGD is a role that was tailor-made for Ruffin, the son of two science professors who grew up “fascinated by the space program.”

“In my house, I didn’t feel like there were any subjects that were off-limits,” said the Louisiana native. “So I was encouraged to pursue my interests.”

Not everyone felt that way.

“When I was in high school a guidance counselor asked me where I was going to apply for college. I was doing well, so I said Princeton, MIT, and Georgia Tech,” he recalls. “The counselor said ‘You need to be more realistic.’ Well, I ended up getting degrees from two of those schools [MIT and Princeton] and teaching at the third. For me that was realistic.”

Ruffin knows that not every aspiring scientist has the support that enabled him to ignore other people’s short-sightedness. That’s what makes him passionate about the work of the Consortia.

“NASA has a way of engaging students’ imaginations, to get them thinking and dreaming. The Consortia are providing programs that are building on those interests and giving them the confidence they’ll need when things get tough. And they will get tough,” he said.

“When I look back, I realize that my own engagement in STEM when I was in middle and high school made a big difference. The Consortia are providing those same programs to middle and high school students. And we are developing mentors along the way.”

Find out more about the Georgia Space Grant Consortium.

Dr. Stephen Ruffin in his office at Georgia Tech