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University of Western Ontario Discovers New Planetary Scientists

May 30th, 2011

In the 2010-2011 school year the Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration (CPSX) has reached out to its local community and engaged over 700 students and teachers in areas related to planetary science. CPSX is creating planetary scientists by making the science accessible to a younger group and teaching them about current research areas. By going into classrooms, running workshops, and setting up booths at conventions and conferences, CPSX aims to inspire students to ask questions, think of answers and test their hypotheses. "Why does the Moon's far side look so different than the near side?" "What causes the seasons to change?" "What do you need to know before you look for life on other planets?"

The work done by CPSX, which is being showcased at this week's CASCA 2011 meeting in Ontario, Canada, is done ollaboratively. Just as students are expected to learn from each other, CPSX learns and utilizes resources from other groups. It is in sharing knowledge that the greatest results can be achieved, and CPSX aims to share its knowledge about planetary science and exploration with the community at large.

The Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration (cpsx.uwo.ca) is the largest planetary science group in the country with over 50 faculty and 30 graduate students from 10 different departments across campus. The goal of this Centre is to make Western the focus for planetary science and exploration research in Canada and to establish Western as a leading school for space systems design. This will enable the training of highly qualified personnel and provide Canadian industry with the necessary expertise and potential partners in future planetary mission activities. Our vision is that the establishment of such a Centre at Western will benefit the entire Canadian space community as we inspire and train the next generation of scientists and engineers.

More information:
The University of Western Ontario is proudly hosting the 2011 CASCA conference May 30 to June 2, 2011, in London, Ontario, to celebrate Canadian astronomical and astrophysical research: www.casca2011.com/index.html

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