Khevin Pratt, a Moorpark College student, has been selected to travel to a NASA Center in May 2012 to participate in a three-day on-site event at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Pratt was selected as one of 92 community college students from across the nation to be part of the National Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) program (https://ncas.aerospacescholars.org). While participating in four Web-based assignments during the school year, Pratt maintained a 97 percent average on assignments to qualify for the NASA robotics experience. On one assignment, Pratt invented a "human-like" wind-powered robotics apparatus named "Hu-bot" (pronounced "hugh-bot"). Pratt plans to work closely with NASA engineers and scholars from across the nation to further develop his Hu-bot invention in hopes of a 2016 Mars exploration launch.

Pratt believes his goal to rebuild ecologically and socially sustainable communities and ecosystems devastated by tornado, earthquake, or hurricane destruction will be aided greatly by the technological expertise and cumulative wisdom available through the NCAS program. As a mathematics/engineering student, he is excited about the opportunities presented by the program and intends to contribute extensively toward the 2016 Mars exploration mission. Pratt will use the NASA experience to contribute to global society in the future and utilize his education for the benefit of greater mankind and the environment.

For additional information, please contact Deborah Hutchings, National Community College Aerospace Scholars Program Manager, at (281) 483-8623 or alternatively, deborah.hutchings-1@nasa.gov. For questions about NASA or other NASA education initiatives, contact Rachel Kraft at (281) 483-5111 or rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov.