Ryan McLinko, vice-chair of SEDS-USA and conference director of the 2007 SEDS-USA National Conference, SpaceVision 2007, just sent an email about a special event that they are holding at the conference. Read on for more details, but the basic idea is that you submit a proposal for an outreach program, and if it is the most promising proposal, you win a ticket for a ZERO-G flight. The deadline to submit is 9 November, and you must attend SpaceVision 2007 to be eligible.

If you would like to discuss ideas for the program, see this post in SEDS Forums: http://forums.seds.org/showthread.php?t=2515

I am pleased to announce the SEDS SpaceVision 2007 ZERO-G Outreach Competition.  In short, this contest entails developing an outreach proposal and submitting it by November 9th, the start of the SpaceVision 2007 Conference.  The winner will be announced at the Banquet on Saturday.  If interested, see details below.  If you have any questions, then feel free to let me know.

In similar news, another similar competition will be announced at the banquet.  Furthermore, first and second place prizes (amount TBD) will be awarded for best presentations by presenters at the student research fair.  In light of this, the deadline for registering for the student research presentations has been extended through tomorrow night at midnight.  You may register at http://spacevision.seds.org.

- Ryan McLinko
  Director, 2007 SEDS National Conference
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
  Class of 2009

Student for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS)

SpaceVision 2007 ZERO-G Outreach Competition

Overview:
The SEDS SpaceVision 2007 ZERO-G Competition (“ZGC”) is an initiative to generate creative and high-impact educational outreach efforts which promote space and the spirit of exploration to the public.
SEDS is soliciting ideas for educational programs which meet these objectives in the form of a competition.  The competition entails submission of an executive summary  which describes such an outreach effort in detail.  To the entrant who submits the best outreach idea as determined by the evaluation criteria listed below and the ZGC judging panel will be awarded one ticket to experience weightlessness aboard the Zero Gravity Corporation's G-FORCE ONE aircraft and a $400 stipend to defray the cost of airfare and accommodations associated with the experience.

Eligibility:
The Competition is open to members of the general public, with the exception of full-time and part-time employees of the Zero Gravity Corporation and Amerijet International Incorporated.  Entrants must be present at SpaceVision 2007 on November 10, 2007 to win.

Executive Summary Requirements:
The executive summary should be approximately two pages in length.  The effort proposed should not be restricted to any particular location and should be executable by SEDS chapters worldwide.  The following elements should be included in the executive summary:

• A short, general description introducing the effort
• A detailed description of the scope of the effort
• A clear implementation plan describing specific actions of  how the effort would be conducted from preparation to execution which includes
• A preliminary phase-one outreach effort that the entrant is capable and willing to execute
• A phase-two outreach effort which is significantly larger
• The target audience of the effort
• Cost and time estimates associated with the effort
• Details regarding any materials that would be involved and/or need to be developed for the program including media to be used (i.e, video, pamphlets, wikis, etc.)
• References to any already-existing content or other developed material which may be used

Example materials which would be used in the effort may be attached in an appendix and may strengthen the proposal.

Additional Requirements:
To ensure the legitimacy and feasibility of a submission, one component of the winning proposed outreach effort must be demonstrated to the SEDS National Board by the winner before delivery of award.  This could consist of preparing a classroom of students to design experiments, for example, if this were part of the proposed plan.  When the SEDS National Board has received proof that this initial outreach has been executed, the team will be awarded the prize. 

A description of how the entrant will prove to the SEDS National Board successful execution of the proposed phase-one outreach effort should be detailed in the executive summary.

Judging Criteria:
Proposals will be judged based on response to the above points, number of people impacted, relevance to space, topicality (relevance to current issues), feasibility, types of groups impacted, and overall merit as determined by the ZGC judging panel.  The judging panel will be comprised of speakers presenting at the SpaceVision 2007 conference and the SpaceVision 2007 planning committee.

Submission:
Entrants must submit executive summaries online at http://spacevision.seds.org by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Friday, November 9, 2007.  The winner will be announced at the SpaceVision 2007 banquet reception on Saturday, November 10, 2007.

Prize:
One ticket for the Zero Gravity Corporation's ZERO-G EXPERIENCE^TM along with a $400 stipend to cover airfare and accommodations associated with the experience.  Prize is not transferable or redeemable.  No exchanges permitted.  Void where prohibited.  Some restrictions may apply.