NASHVILLE, TN – As NASA pushes the boundaries of STEM launching rockets into space, a different kind of mission launched in Nashville last month: equipping high school students with the tools of future discovery.
Twenty-one high school students spent a week commanding robots using NASA data and exploring virtual Martian landscapes, thanks to the second annual Collaborative Interactive Data Science Academy.
Hosted by Meharry Medical College’s School of Applied Computational Sciences (SACS) in partnership with Fisk University, and powered by a $418,448 grant, over a 5 year period, from NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP), the free residential program aimed squarely at a critical gap: providing access to advanced robotics and data science for students who often lack such opportunities in their regular high schools.
“The bigger goal is to let students understand the utility of robotics and the programming behind it for the NASA applications,” says Dr. Vibhuti Gupta, assistant professor at Meharry SACS, watching students huddle around a robotic quadruped.
“I was hoping to inspire the curiosity in students to dig deeper,” Dr. Gupta continues. “After seeing their performance in the competition to navigate the robot using the skill sets gained during the session, I felt that the students got it.”
Beyond the Textbook: VR, Robots, and Real Data
The academy transformed campuses at Meharry and Fisk – as well as Austin Peay, where the students spent an eventful day – into mission control centers. Students, nominated by their high school teachers, didn’t just listen to lectures; they actively programmed robots to navigate obstacle courses mimicking extraterrestrial terrain.
Using Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) headsets, they stepped into simulated environments on the Moon and Mars, manipulating virtual robots
and analyzing spatial data streams directly inspired by active NASA missions like Artemis and Mars exploration.
“Going into this camp, I thought it would be space stuff,” says one rising senior at Hume Fogg, “but it totally blew my mind with AI exploration and GIS systems.”
“I think it was really cool actually learning how to program a robot dog using the VR and going to Austin Peay,” says Christian, a rising sophomore at Rivergate High School. “I came to this camp expecting to learn more about coding, and I did get what I asked for.”
Addressing the Pipeline Challenge
The academy’s core mission – funded by NASA MUREP specifically to engage Minority Serving Institutions – directly addresses longstanding gaps in access and opportunity within high-tech STEM fields such as aerospace engineering and data science. By targeting students before college and providing this level of access and mentorship, Meharry SACS and Fisk aim to change the trajectory.
“The multicultural environment at SACS, enhanced by collaboration with neighboring HBCU Fisk University, creates a unique learning ecosystem where diversity is the norm rather than the exception,” says Eugene Levin, Ph.D., principal investigator and key event organizer.
“This setting allows students to engage with advanced technologies like computer vision, machine learning, and cybersecurity without the psychological burden of being ‘the only one’ in the room – a common experience that drives many underrepresented students away from STEM fields.”
“Within SACS’s multi‐cultural framework, students can focus on mastering complex concepts like 3D model production from smartphone and quadcopter imagery without simultaneously navigating social isolation or imposter syndrome.”
Looking Ahead
As NASA continues its ambitious exploration goals, the seeds sown at Meharry SACS and Fisk this summer may well grow into the next generation of explorers, data scientists, and engineers driving those missions forward.
And with the success of the second cohort, organizers are already looking forward to the 2026 Collaborative Interactive Data Science Academy. Already, the conference’s impact resonates beyond this one week: several students expressed newfound determination to pursue STEM majors, citing the academy as the catalyst.
“We got lessons from professors, from people who work at NASA, we got to play with a Unitree Go Robot Dog, we got to talk about internships with NASA—” effervesces Rosemary, a Rockford High School student. “—And I hear the one closest to Tennessee is in Alabama – so I’m hoping that I can go there and fill in the internship one day,” she says.
“I’m hoping to go into the astronomy and chemistry field of NASA.”
