NASA has awarded five U.S. academic institutions with a $100,000 grant each and opportunities to conduct research and development work aboard the International Space Station as part of its Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.
The agency said Wednesday the research coverage, including ultrasonic sensor and self-healing polymers technology, is crucial for NASA missions as well as instrumental in forming science, technology, engineering and mathematics higher-education curricula.
Proposals from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Maine Space Grant Consortium in Augusta, Montana State University in Bozeman, University of Nebraska in Omaha and University of Delaware in Newark were chosen after a merit-based and peer-reviewed competition.
The EPSCoR program supports the NASA Office of Education’s efforts to establish partnerships between the agency, academia and industry and boost the awardees’ research capabilities.