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NASA-EPSCoR HISTORY
NASA Awards UVM $1.5
Million in Research Funding
The National
Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) has awarded $1.5 million
in research grants to two research groups based in the
University of Vermont's College of Engineering and Mathematical
Sciences (CEMS) to study topics that are NASA research
priorities. Each research group has been awarded $750,000 over
three-years beginning September 1, 2009. Prof. William D. Lakin
of CEMS, Project Director for Vermont's NASA EPSCoR Program and
Director of the Vermont Space Grant Consortium (VTSGC), is the
Principal Investigator for both awards. CEMS is the Home Unit
for both VT-NASA EPSCoR and the VTSGC. University of Vermont is
proud to have NASA grant support for these exciting research
endeavors, which represent incredible innovation on the part of
our faculty in CEMS," says Interim Dean, Bernard "Chip" Cole.
"These research collaborations will not only advance our
abilities in space, but they will improve life here on Earth as
well."
more information......
Latest News On the Patent GRANTED!
Our patent
application, which is being handled by Jamie Gallagher of Downs
Rachlin Martin, is in the final stages of review by the US
Patent Office. The patent application is titled "A Whole-Body
Mathematical Model for Simulating Intracranial Pressure
Dynamics." Others involved in the patent application are Scott
Stevens (currently at Penn. State Erie) and Paul Penar and Bruce
Tranmer (UVM Division of Neurosurgery). Jamie tells us that we
should have formal approval and a patent granted within the next
4 months.
Proposal for
EPSCoR Phase III RID funding to
NASA National Space Grant College & Fellowship Program...3
years.
Research group pending
NSF established EPSCoR in
1979 in response to congressional concerns that federal R and D
supported only a handful of states. A decade later, in 1990,
Congress began the process of expanding EPSCoR beyond NSF.
Consequently, NASA, along with the Departments of Agriculture,
Energy, and Defense; the Environmental Protection Agency; and
the National Institutes of Health; are developing or
implementing EPSCoR programs.
The NASA EPSCoR program was
conceived to improve a state's competitive research capacity in
areas relevant to the agency's mission. NASA EPSCoR was
initiated in 1994 through the Office of Human Resources and
Education. This program targets states of modest research
infrastructure with funds to develop a more competitive research
base within their member academic institutions. NASA EPSCoR
research projects are closely related to one of NASA's strategic
enterprises. The project clusters collaborate frequently with
NASA's field installations and program offices.
NASA EPSCoR fosters
cooperation among departments, across institutions, with state
and local government, and with business and industry. In
addition to strengthening the research base of the state's
academic institutions, EPSCoR outcomes include the transfer of
developed technology to industry, the increased economic
development of the participating states, and the communication
of the benefits of research to the public.
In 1999 NASA EPSCoR awarded
Vermont a Preparation Grant to establish the Vermont-NASA EPSCoR
Program. A key goal of this Preparation Grant was to fund a core
group of promising research projects which would help Vermont
faculty develop links to collaborators at NASA Centers. This
Preparation Grant was awarded a second year of funding.
At the heart of the
Vermont-NASA EPSCoR program in Year 2 are two clusters that
include eight research projects in the Space Life and Earth
Sciences. The five projects in the Space Life Sciences are
biomedical in nature and involve interdisciplinary research
which aims to develop the mathematics, science, engineering and
technology base necessary for the biomedical support of
long-term human survival in space. Of special interest in this
research are the systems or "weak points" in the human body that
may limit man's potential exposure to space and low gravity
environments. These projects, which may provide the basis for
new and innovative countermeasures to help insure the success of
future NASA space missions, are thus in an area of strategic
importance to NASA under the HEDS Enterprise. Similarly, the
three research projects in the Earth Sciences should enhance
understanding of aspects of the global climate, and they thus
fall squarely within the scope of NASA's investments in Earth
Science. All eight projects have current or planned ties to NASA
Centers.
As a mechanism for recruiting
new research projects into our program, Vermont-NASA EPSCoR has
developed a Research Initiation Award. These minigrants provide
a small amount of "seed money" to faculty researchers who wish
to explore research directions which may mature into full
research projects in one of our research clusters. Our original
five research projects from Year 1 will be joined in Year 2 by
two new projects directed by promising young faculty members.
These new research projects were recruited into the program
through the award of Research Initiation minigrants. A third
research project, which has just been awarded a Research
Initiation minigrant, will be continuing to explore
possibilities through this support mechanism in Year 2.
The Vermont-NASA EPSCoR
project also has developed, with State of
Vermont support, a new
Industrial Partners Initiative which will link faculty and small
to medium business and industry in Vermont to facilitate
technology transfer. A pilot project to demonstrate the
potential of this Initiative was started during the summer of
2000. In the area of Education and Professional Training, the
Vermont-NASA EPSCoR program provides funding for Postdoctoral
and Graduate Research Fellowships to address the important
pipeline issue of training the next generation of scientists.
In the initial year of our
Preparation Grant, Graduate Research Fellows have assisted in
Projects 2 and 5. Dr. Scott A. Stevens was recruited as a
Postdoctoral Fellow this year on Project 1, and he will serve
through August 2000. In Year 2 of the Preparation Grant, Dr.
Laura Gross has been recruited as a Postdoctoral Fellow on
Project 4 beginning June 1.
Update for 2000
As a result, Vermont's NASA EPSCoR Program received full funding
in the NASA EPSCoR 2000 Program competition among all 19 NASA
EPSCoR states
View EPSCoR Directors by state
The National Program at NASA Headquarters awarded the
Vermont-NASA EPSCoR Competitive Research Grant Proposal.
1.
Biomedical Aspects of Human Health in Space
2.
Advanced
Remote Sensing Technologies for Monitoring Indicators of Global
Climate Change
Proposed research projects
were to be in an area of interest to NASA. Individual principal
investigators should either have established links with
colleagues at a NASA Center,or should have a plan for
establishing such links. It is difficult to quantify the
necessary congruence/linkages with NASA Centers and Strategic
Enterprises. However, it will be a requirement of the National
Program that all research proposed be specifically identified
(by title and number) in the NASA EPSCoR Research Compendium.
For a PDF copy of this document, please click on either the
preceding link or on the labeled button on the Vermont-NASA
EPSCoR Homepage.
State proposals did not need be built around clusters. The state
proposals that will be funded are those that make the most
convincing argument that they will lead to the development of
long term research capabilities within the state with
high potential to become nationally competitive and
self-sustaining, and to be best aligned with the state
technological, economic, and education goals. However, a maximum
of 3 research areas per state proposal will be allowed.
NASA EPSCoR funding awarded to a state must be matched 1:1 by
local funding. Matching funds can be "soft" and can include
in-kind cost-sharing such as donated time during the academic
year.
Potential participants who have questions or concerns should be
directed to Prof. William D. Lakin, Vermont-NASA EPSCoR Project
Director, by email (lakin@cems.uvm.edu)
, telephone (802 656-8541), or fax (802 656-2552).
For more information, visit the
NASA EPSCoR
website.
We invite
you to browse the remaining sections of this website for more
details of our program
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