VSGC supports a number of Innovative Projects every year. These projects cover many disciplines and target both K-12 and Higher Education projects.
VSGC supports a number of Innovative Projects every year. These projects cover many disciplines and target both K-12 and Higher Education 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.
For the 2022 Innovative Projects program, ten awards were made.
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“.