Acadia student only Canadian
to attend prestigious NASA academy

(Wolfville, NS) - Erin Everett's long-range plans include medicine but for the short-term she'll be focusing on space exploration. Everett, a fourth-year honours biology student at Acadia University, is the only Canadian student chosen to attend the NASA Astrobiology Academy this summer.

"Erin represents the best Canada has to offer, as an excellent student, and as having what we think is tremendous potential to make the best out of her unique experience at the NASA Astrobiology Academy," says Dr. Alain Berinstain of the Canadian Space Agency. "Erin has also been selected as an ambassador of Canadian youth and we have full confidence that she will take this responsibility seriously ... we hope that this experience will mean that Erin will consider carrying out a career in the space sector in the future."

Everett is the 2003 recipient of the Canadian Space Agency's Space Exploration Astrobiology Scholarship. Each year, the CSA offers a scholarship to one Canadian university student in order for them to attend a 10-week summer internship at Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.

"I was away for medical school interviews when I received an email from the CSA telling me I was to receive the scholarship," says Everett. "At first I felt disbelief, but now as the summer approaches I'm getting very excited."

Everett has reason to be excited. Not only do students have a glimpse into the inner workings of the NASA space program while at the academy, they also have the chance to conduct research in state-of-the-art astrobiology laboratories. Each student is matched with a principal investigator who guides them as they manage research on a pre-chosen topic. At the end of the internship, Everett will present the results of her research to the NASA community.

Everett is no stranger to research. During her time at Acadia, she received a Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) award to support her honours research project that focused on the evolutionary genetics and sperm fitness of blue mussels. She spent most of her summers in laboratories at Acadia.

"Erin is a dedicated academic," says Dr. Dan Toews, a biology professor at Acadia who encouraged Everett to apply for the scholarship. "Getting an honours degree at Acadia requires discipline and intelligence and as such will be essential for Erin's work at the academy."

Next week, Everett will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science with Honours from Acadia University. In September, she will commence study at Dalhousie Medical School in Halifax.

-30-

Sheri Woodland
Communications Manager
Office of Public Affairs
Acadia University
phone: (902) 585-1362
fax: (902) 585-1072

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