News and Awards

NASA Rhode Island Space Grant Consortium Application for Undergraduate Students

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  February 10, 2023

Academic Year Scholars work the majority of their time on their studies and research in conjunction with their degree program.  They are also a part of a larger group of undergraduates, graduate students, and Research Associates who participate in outreach programs for K-12 teachers and their students, as well as for the general public.

Space Grant science education outreach activity and preparation are expected to encompass a small amount of your time and are requirements of the award.  Summer awardees spend all of their time on their independent research project with their science adviser.
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NASA Rhode Island Space Grant Consortium Application for
Graduate Fellows

APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 10, 2023
Academic Year Fellows work the majority of their time on their studies and research in conjunction with their degree program.  They are also a part of a larger group of undergraduates, graduate students, and Research Associates who participate in outreach programs for K-12 teachers and their students, as well as for the general public.  Space Grant science education outreach activity and preparation are expected to encompass a small amount of your time and are requirements of the scholarship.  

Summer Fellows spend all of their time on their independent research project with their science adviser.  They will also be invited to join us in miscellaneous Space Grant activities, provided that they do not conflict with their research project.

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Notice of Funding Opportunity: NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) – Rapid Response Research (R3)

The NASA Rhode Island EPSCoR program is pleased to announce the recent release of the 2023 NASA EPSCoR Rapid Response Research (R3) call. The full solicitation may be found at this link.


This NASA EPSCoR award provides funding up to $100k over a period of 1 year. The full 3-page proposal is due to NASA by December 15, 2022 and our jurisdiction (Rhode Island) is able to submit 6 proposals to NASA to be considered for funding. Each proposal should address one or more of the target areas listed in the solicitation. Persons interested in this funding opportunity should contact the NASA Rhode Island EPSCoR Director (Ralph_Milliken@brown.edu) and Program Manger (Nancy_Ciminelli@brown.edu) no later than November 11, 2022.

Per NASA requirements, all final proposals will be submitted by the current NASA EPSCoR Lead Institution (Brown University). The Rhode Island NASA EPSCoR Director will work with the proposal teams and their institution(s) to prepare and submit the full proposal, and all final materials are due to the Director (Ralph Milliken) no later than December 5, 2022. All interested parties throughout the state of Rhode Island are encouraged to submit proposals. Research teams that involve multiple RI-based institutions, partnerships between academic institutions and local industry, and partnerships with NASA Centers are highly encouraged. Proposed research projects should be aligned with one or more of the Research Focus Areas outlined in Section 7 of the full proposal call.

 

What to do if you are interested in this funding opportunity:
  • E-mail the Director (Ralph_Milliken@brown.edu) and Program Manager (Nancy_Ciminelli@brown.edu) no later than November 11, 2022.
  • Prepare the proposal and budget in coordination with your institution and Brown University
  • Submit all final materials to Ralph Milliken/Brown University by December 5, 2022.
  • Proposals must clearly describe how they are aligned with NASA goals and which specific objectives in Section 7 of the full proposal call the work will address
  • Proposals should indicate all institutions and NASA Centers that will take part in the proposed work
Any questions about this opportunity, proposal requirements, or other NASA EPSCoR funding opportunities should be directed to Ralph_Milliken@brown.edu.
R3, Rapid Response Research

Notice of Funding Opportunity: NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)

This EPSCoR award provides funding up to $750k over a period of 3 years, and our jurisdiction (Rhode Island) is able to submit 1 full proposal to NASA to be considered for funding.  We are now accepting proposal concepts – not to exceed 2 pages, more information below – to aid in the selection of a project to move forward to the full proposal stage. 

Proposal concepts should be e-mailed to the NASA Rhode Island EPSCoR Director (Ralph_Milliken@brown.edu) and Program Manger (Nancy_Ciminelli@brown.edu) no later than September 14, 2022. The due date for the full proposal is November 16, 2022, and per NASA requirements will be submitted by the current NASA EPSCoR Lead Institution (Brown University). The Rhode Island NASA EPSCoR director will work with the successful research team and their institution(s) to prepare and submit the full proposal. Full proposals are required to include a 50% cost share using non-federal dollars, and in-kind cost sharing is allowable. 

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NASA's Micro-g NExT Challenges

As NASA prepares for the return to Earth’s Moon, it is calling all undergraduate students who would like to gain a hands-on, authentic engineering design experience while also directly contributing to upcoming missions! Micro-gravity Neutral Buoyancy Experiment Design Teams (Micro-g NExT) is an opportunity for you to make your contribution to NASA’s mission. Micro-g NExT challenges undergraduate students to design and build prototype mission hardware. The student designed prototypes are tested in the underwater lunar analog environment of NASA’s 6.2-million-gallon indoor pool – the Neutral Buoyancy Labor­atory (NBL) in Houston, where astronauts train for spacewalks. You will also benefit from the exper­tise of real NASA engineers throughout the pro­cess. Take the Micro-g NExT challenge and join NASA as we embark on a mission to the Moon and beyond.

Letters of intent are due on October 13, 2022 and the proposal deadline is October 26, 2022.

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NASA's 2023 BIG Idea Challenge

The 2023 BIG Idea Challenge provides undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to design, develop, and demonstrate technologies that will enable the production of lunar infrastructure
from ISRU-derived metals found on the Moon. Key infrastructure products desired are storage vessels for liquids and gases, extrusions, pipes, power cables, and supporting structures (i.e., roads, landing pads, etc.). Teams are invited to submit proposals that focus on any part of themetal product production pipeline* from prospecting to testing.

This competition is intended to be an open innovation challenge with minimal constraints so that proposing teams can genuinely create and develop out-of-the-box solutions.

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Fashioned from AA batteries: Brown students launch satellite on Elon Musk's rocket

Brown University students, with a low-cost satellite, are blasting off on a budget.

It’s called SBUDNIC, not to be confused with Sputnik, the Soviet satellite that launched in the 1950s. This one is much smaller, about the size of a loaf of bread. On either end, cameras equipped with fisheye lenses will snap grainy photos of Earth and beam them back to the ground every 10 minutes, and temperature data will be recorded.

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Planet Earth, The Environment and Our Future

WaterFire Providence presents Planet Earth, The Environment and Our Future at the WaterFire Arts Center (WFAC) an exhibition of art and science looking at the beauty and fragility of our world. This exhibition will be at the WFAC from Saturday, March 19 through Sunday, May 1, 2022, with a closure for a ticketed event from Monday, March 28 to Tuesday, April 5, 2022.

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NASA Funds Projects that Aim to Inspire Artemis Generation

NASA has selected a variety of projects that take innovative approaches to broadening student participation in science, technology, engineering, and math to receive awards totaling approximately $12.5 million. The awards will help the sponsoring colleges, universities, and informal education institutions like museums, bring spaceflight inspiration and high-priority research opportunities to students from communities underrepresented in STEM fields.

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Transit of Venus

The Transit of Venus event at the Museum of Natural History – Roger Willaims Park in Providence, was a huge success. Over 200 families, patrons and invited guests pariticpated in the historic event. The Museum had the transit streaming live from Hawaii along with plenty of family fun activities. Although a cloudy evening, the Sun made a brief appearance and patrons and staff alike were able to see the transit using solar filter eclipse glasses and binoculars.

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The Standford-Brown iGEM team: the Transite of Sythetic Astrobiology

Astrobiology revolves around three central questions: “Where do we come from?”, “Where are we going?”, and “Are we alone?” The Stanford-Brown iGEM team explored synthetic biology’s untapped potential to address these questions. To approach the second question, the Hell Cell subgroup developed BioBricks that allow a cell to survive harsh extraterrestrial conditions. 

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