GRAND FORKS, N.D.--University of North Dakota track athlete Josh LaBlanc was recently awarded a "Space on the Prairie" summer internship and scholarship by the NASA North Dakota Space Grant Consortium.

A senior-to-be majoring in electrical engineering, LaBlanc has received several academic awards, making him an excellent candidate for the position. The International Falls, Minn., native applied for the internship and was chosen from a large selection of applicants based on his credentials.

LaBlanc currently works in a lab setting with three other student-researchers. As the only undergraduate, his daily tasks involve using a computer program to measure human brain waves.

"The computer program shows us how alert people are while performing certain tasks," explains LaBlanc, a member of the 2009 Great West Conference Winter/Spring All-Academic team.

"NASA hopes to use this information to assign people duties based on their interest level and alertness."

The experience from this internship position will be highly valuable to LaBlanc as he hopes it will not only help him narrow down a career choice to an area of electrical engineering that interests him, but will also attract future employers.

According to Suezette Bieri, deputy director of the NASA Space Grant Consortium, "Josh's research position not only benefits him, but NASA and UND as well."

NASA headquarters gave LaBlanc a scholarship along with his internship position to use for tuition. He will continue his research until the end of the summer, just in time to start his cross country season.

A distance runner for the Sioux, last season LaBlanc placed fourth in the 5,000-meter run at the Great West Conference Outdoor Championship.

In 2007-08, he was named to the North Central Conference Commissioner’s Academic Indoor Track & Field Honor Roll and the NCC Commissioner’s Academic Outdoor Track & Field Honor Roll.