VSGC supports a number of Innovative Projects every year. These projects cover many disciplines and target both K-12 and Higher Education projects.

2023 Innovative Projects

Virginia Space Grant Consortium Internal Solicitation for Innovative Proposals for 2023

Issued:  January 18, 2023

Proposals Due Friday, February 17, 2023

Contact:  Mary Sandy (msandy@odu.edu) or Chris Carter (cxcarter@odu.edu) with questions.

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium has about $50,000 total in program funding for member-led innovative project awards. We anticipate making 5 to 8 awards from this funding pool. We would like to solicit proposals for innovative projects in higher education, pre-college education, or informal education where a small grant would make a difference.

Areas of interest for this solicitation include:
• Programs that include activities related to NASA’s Artemis Mission for Moon and Mars exploration.
• Programs relating to Earth System Science that use data from NASA missions.
• Summer research experiences for undergraduate students.
• Service-learning experiences for undergraduate students, including but not limited to those that might involve unmanned autonomous systems.
• Teacher Professional Development programs.

Click here to view the full proposal.

2022 Innovative Projects

For the 2022 Innovative Projects program, ten awards were made.

• Melissa Stange – Laurel Ridge Community College – UAS Projects
• Kim Lester; Perry Martin – Virginia Tech – Maker Monday (Pathways for Future Engineers)
• Amrinder S. Nain – Virginia Tech – Summer Undergraduate Research: Cell contractility and migration along fibers in microgravity
• Shuhai Xiao – Virginia Tech – Nurturing the next generation of astrobiologists and widening the participation of underrepresented groups in space science through summer research experience
• R. Clay Wright – Virginia Tech – CUREing a sustainable future with chemical biosensors and a diverse, motivated workforce for biomanufacturing
• Gregory J. Hunt; Rex Kincaid – William & Mary – Summer Collaborative Bridge: Connecting Student Summer Research Experiences across Academics and Industry
• Victoria Corbin; Kristi DeCourcy – Virginia Tech – Professional Development Workshop at Virginia Tech for High School Teachers of Physics, Chemistry, Data Analytics, Earth Science, and Microbiology
• Catherine A. Dukes; Jonathan C. Tan; Ilse Cleeves; Robin Garrod; Eric; Zhi-Yun Li; Steve Macko; Jon Ramsey; Xiao Hu; Dr. Duo Xu; Michael Küffmeier; Dr. Adam Woodson – University of Virginia – Virginia Initiative on Cosmic Origins (VICO) Summer Undergraduate Research Positions (2022)
• Gaurav Giri, Na Ren; Arif Karim – University of Virginia – Summer Research Experience for Undergraduate Students: Metal Organic Framework Thin Films for Advanced Flexible Electronics and Air Filtration Membranes
• Orlando Ayala; Rafael Landaeta; Tyler Cason; Sydney Fletcher; Ryan Long; Ryan Snoddy – Old Dominion University – Projects for Engineering Student Outreach (PESO)

2021 Innovative Projects

For the 2021 Innovative Projects program, thirteen awards were made totaling over $112,488. Areas of interest included: programs that include activities related to NASA’s Artemis Mission for Moon and Mars exploration; programs relating to Earth System Science that use data from NASA missions; summer research experiences for undergraduate students; service-learning experiences for undergraduate students, including but not limited to those that involve unmanned autonomous systems; space flight programs; and teacher professional development programs. The winners are listed below:

At Old Dominion University, Orlando Ayala was awarded funding for a project titled “2021 ODU Remote Experience for Young Engineers and Scientists REYES“.

Old Dominion University’s Sampath Jayarathna was awarded funding for a student flight project titled “STARS: Secondary Teachers as Researchers with Satellites“.

Old Dominion University’s Sharan Asundi was awarded funding for a student flight project titled “Development of a Novel Remote Sensing Receiver (DiBAR), and Impedance Probe, and a Visual+NIR Sensor for a 3U CubeSat Technology Demonstration of In-Situ Space Measurement and Earth Remote Sensing“.

Also at Old Dominion University, Dimirie Popescu was awarded funding for a student flight project titled “STEM Outreach Activities Using the ODU Satellite Ground Station“.

At Southwest Virginia Community College, Kevin Stilwell and Ryan Dorkoski were awarded funding for a project titled “Utilization of Remote Sensing in Undergraduate Biodiversity Research”

At the University of Virginia, Giri Gaurav was awarded funding for a project titled “Summer Research Experience for Undergraduate Students: Metal Organic Framework Thin Films for Electronic, Filtration and Sensing Applications“.

At Virginia Tech, Pinar Acar, was awarded funds for a project titled “Data-Driven Design of Composite Materials for Aerospace Components“.

Virginia Tech’s Carl Dietrich was awarded Funds for a project titled “Enhancement of Remotely-accessible, Low-cost, Portable Antenna Range for Outreach and Instruction“.

Also at Virginia Tech, F. Marc Michel was awarded funds for a project titled “Nanoscience Professional Development Workshop for High School Teachers in STEM“.

Virginia Tech’s Bevlee Watford and Kim Lester were awarded funds for a project titled “Project Water Works“.

Virginia Tech’s final recipients, Eric Wiseman, John McGee, Daniel Cross, and Randy Wynne were awarded funds for a project titled “UAV’s and Urban Forestry: A Student Service Learning Project to Identify Invasive Species“.

At William & Mary, Gregory Hunt was awarded funding for a project titled “Summer Collaborative Bridge: Connecting Student Summer Research Experience across Academics and Industry“.

Also at William & Mary, Margaret Saha was awarded funding for a project titled “Broadening Participation in Artemis-Related Research: Inclusiveness and Sustainability“.