WEST VIRGINIA: New NASA WV Space Grant Consortium and WV EPSCoR Director
NASA WV Space Grant Consortium and the NASA WV Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program announced that its board of directors appointed Dr. Melanie Page as the new Director. She assumed responsibilities on August 1, 2021, and succeeded Dr. Majid Jaridi, who has retired from his 30 years of service leading the organization.
As Director, she will work closely with staff and the board to ensure that program goals are met in an inclusive way while engaging students, teachers, faculty, and other key stakeholders in promoting collaborative research that contributes to NASA’s goals and objectives. Meanwhile, she will oversee the continued expansion of the NASA WV Space Grant Consortium, the NASA WV EPSCoR, and other NASA-funded projects.
Dr. Page expressed, “I am excited to step into this role for our state and to continue to build on Dr. Jaridi’s work; it is certainly true in this case that he is a hard act to follow, but I look forward to working with everyone to achieve even greater success.” TechConnect Executive Director Anne Barth said, “Dr. Page is a skilled and passionate leader who has demonstrated expertise in promoting STEM education and building out research infrastructure—both of which are key to innovation that leads to economic development. She is well- positioned to lead these efforts in West Virginia, especially now as we are seeing steady growth in the tech sector.”