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NASA has awarded $3.9 million to 13 teams at under-resourced academic institutions across the country, to support collaborative projects with NASA that offer students mentorship and career development in science, technology, engineering, and math.<\/p>\n
This is the second round of seed funding awards given through the agency\u2019s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Bridge Program, which was established in 2022 to improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the science and engineering communities, as well as NASA\u2019s workforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are thrilled to welcome 13 new teams into our community,\u201d said Padi Boyd, director, SMD Bridge Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cWe look forward to nurturing these collaborations between faculty and NASA researchers, while supporting the development of the next generation of researchers.\u201d<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s SMD Bridge Program funds research projects at academic institutions \u2013 including Hispanic-serving institutions, historically Black colleges and universities, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, and primarily undergraduate institutions \u2013 that build or strengthen relationships with NASA. The projects offer hands-on training and mentorship for students that will help them transition into graduate schools, employment at NASA, or STEM careers.<\/p>\n
In February, the program awarded a first round of seed funding to 11 teams. This second cohort of grant recipients includes 13 teams with projects connected to seven NASA centers. A third round of seed funding will be awarded this summer.<\/p>\n
The following projects were selected as the second cohort to receive seed funding:<\/p>\n
\u201cBubble Trapping and Ullage Formation in an Acoustic Field\u201d<\/strong> \u201cExpanding Heliophysics Scientific Discovery through HelioAnalytics\u201d<\/strong> \u201cEnhancing Ice Cloud Retrieval Through Multitask Machine Learning\u201d<\/strong> \u201cAnalysis of Abiotic\/Primordial Peptides with Noncanonical Amino Acids\u201d<\/strong> \u201cFacilitating Undergraduate Research Through the Development of Novel Gravity Gradiometers\u201d<\/strong> \u201cSupporting Opportunities for Cooperative Climate Education and Research at<\/strong> This project will strengthen relationships between Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, local tribal agencies, NASA Goddard, and NASA\u2019s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to support students with mentorship and training in snow research, including how to accurately observe snow throughout the season in various landscapes.<\/p>\n \u201cBridging NASA and Cal State LA Partnerships for Research Capacity Building in Remote Sensing\u201d<\/strong> \u201cFusion of Lidar 3D Vegetation Structure Measurements and a Terrestrial Biosphere Model for Improved<\/strong> \u201cAssessment and Development of Surface Coatings for Multifunctional Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs)\u201d<\/strong> \u201cStudent Construction and Deployment of Low Cost Sensor Network in Whittier, California\u201d<\/strong> \u201cHigh Density Capacitive Energy Storage Using Multi-Layered Polymer-2D Nanofillers Heterostructure for Space Application\u201d<\/strong> \u201cAstrobiology Scholars Program Immersive Research Experience (ASPIRE)\u201d<\/strong> \u201cFire & Air: Burning Issues in the Central Valley: Unraveling Fire\u2019s Influence on Air Quality, Fuel Mapping, and Carbon Dynamics\u201d<\/strong> Learn more about the SMD Bridge Program at:<\/p>\n \n -end-<\/p>\n Alise Fisher
Principal investigator: Kevin Crosby, Carthage College
This project, a collaboration between Carthage College and NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston, will offer undergraduate students hands-on activities and training related to microgravity fluids and liquid propellant transfer, as well as the opportunity to work with high-school and middle-school students at under-resourced schools.<\/p>\n
Principal investigator: M. Chantale Damas, Queensborough Community College
This project continues a collaboration between Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York and NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, to engage students in research that emphasizes the use of computer science, machine learning, and statistics to expand the discovery potential of Heliophysics data, models, and simulations.<\/p>\n
Principal investigator: Leah Ding, American University
This collaboration between American University in Washington and NASA Goddard will develop machine learning techniques for analyzing satellite data to retrieve information about ice clouds, with interdisciplinary research and mentorship opportunities for students.<\/p>\n
Principal investigator: Jay Forsythe, College of Charleston
Student research and internship experiences through this project, a collaboration between the College of Charleston and NASA Goddard, will investigate how amino acid diversity affects chemical analysis, in support of research into the origins of life.<\/p>\n
Principal investigator: Charles Hoyle, Humboldt State University Sponsored Programs Foundation
This collaboration between Cal Poly Humboldt and NASA Goddard will support students with training, mentorship, and research in the development of novel gravity gradiometers for Earth science and fundamental physics investigations.<\/p>\n
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (SOCCER @ FDLTCC)\u201d<\/strong>
Principal investigator: Carl Lemke Oliver Sack, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities<\/p>\n
Principal investigator: Jingjing Li, California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles, will collaborate with NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California (JPL) in this project to strengthen research capacity and student mentorship and training opportunities in the field of remote sensing, including applications for pre- and post-wildfire analysis.<\/p>\n
Predictions of Current and Future Land Carbon Dynamics\u201d<\/strong>
Principal investigator: Wenge Ni-Meister, Hunter College
This collaboration, a project between Hunter College of the City University of New York and NASA\u2019s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York (GISS), will offer student training as it aims to link lidar remote sensing of vegetation with modeling to improve our understanding of Earth\u2019s ecosystem change.<\/p>\n
Principal investigator: Josiah Owusu-Danquah, Cleveland State University
This multidisciplinary project with Cleveland State University and NASA\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will advance student research and education in the field of advanced materials, focusing on surface coating materials that satisfy requirements for space systems and structures.<\/p>\n
Principal investigator: Peter Peterson, Whittier College
This project, a collaboration with Whittier College and NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s Silicon Valley, focuses on hands-on learning for students in the use of low-cost sensors and satellite-based measurements to study regional air pollution.<\/p>\n
Principal investigator: Nihar Pradhan, Jackson State University
This collaborative project between Jackson State University and NASA JPL will offer undergraduate and high-school students research and training opportunities in the field of next-generation polymer-nanocomposites for energy storage.<\/p>\n
Principal investigator: Andro Rios, San Jose State University Research Foundation
This project, a collaboration between Skyline College, San Jose State University, and NASA Ames, will give students an opportunity to conduct research that contributes to two pillars of astrobiology: origins of life and exobiology.<\/p>\n
Principal investigator: Wing To, California State University, Stanislaus
This collaboration between California State University, Stanislaus, and NASA Ames will offer a multi-tiered mentorship and research program for students, as well as a year-long undergraduate program, to study ground-based air quality and wildfire fuel mapping.<\/p>\n
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov<\/p>\n<\/div>\n