Universities Space Research Association

ADVANCE THE SPACE AND AERONAUTICS RELATED SCIENCES AND EXPLORATION THROUGH INNOVATIVE RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY, AND EDUCATION

NASA ACADEMIC MISSION SERVICES (NAMS) CONTRACT TO DELIVER NEW CONCEPTS, TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO AERONAUTICS, SCIENCE AND AEROFLIGHTDYNAMICS. THIS FIVE-YEAR AGREEMENT FOR A $193 MILLION AWARD LAUNCHES AN INTEGRATED MULTI-YEAR RESEARCH EFFORT TO BE CONDUCTED AT NASA'S AMES RESEARCH CENTER, WHICH RANGES FROM FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT THROUGH FIELD TEST DEPLOYMENTS AND OPERATIONAL SCIENCE MISSIONS.

THE AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY (AFRL) FUTURE SCHOLARS STEM OFFERS STIPEND-PAID INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE-LEVEL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS PURSUING STEM DEGREE, AS WELL AS UPPER-LEVEL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS; SELECT LOCATIONS ALSO OFFER INTERNSHIPS TO UNVERSITY STUDENTS PERSUING EDUCATION-RELATED DEGREES AND K-12 PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS. THE SELECTED INTERNS GAIN VALUABLE HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE WORKING IWTH FULL-TIME AFRL SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS ON CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY AND ARE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO UNIQUE, RESEARCH-BASED PROJECTS. GRADUATE INTERNS ARE ABLE TO COLLABORATE WITH AFRL ON CURRENT RESEARCH AND INCORPORATE THE RESEARCH INTO THEIR GRADUATE WORK.SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE (STI) IN HUNTSVILLE, AL EMPLOYES A DEDICATED WORKFORCE OF APPROXIMATELY 30 SCIENTISTS, ENGINEERS, POSTDOCS, AND INTERNS IN RESEARCH AREAS OF ASTROPHYSICS, EARTH SCIENCES, AND HELIOPHYSICS. STI OPERATIONS ARE CO-LOCATED WITH THE NASA MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER (MSFC) SCIENCE RESEARCH OFFICE IN THE NATIONAL SPACIE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER (NSSTC) LOCATED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE.RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED COMPUTER SCIENCE (RIACS): THE RIACS IS FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL FACILITATE BOTH HUMAN AND ROBOTIC SPACE EXPLORATION. SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1983, THE INSTITUTE HAS CONDUCTED BASIC AND APPLIED COMPUTER SCIENCE RESEARCH ACROSS A VARIETY OF AEROSPACE-RELATED DISCIPLINES, INCLUDING SUPERCOMPUTING, COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS, COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, HIGH-PERFORMANCE NETWORKING, AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.THE LOW-GRAVITY SCIENCE PROGRAM AT NASA'S GLENN RESEARCH CENTER CONTINUES TO ACHIEVE MISSION SUCCESS ON NUMEROUS FLIGHT EXPERIMENTS ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) AND OTHER SUBORBITAL PLATFORMS WHILE ALSO SUPPORTING GROUND-BASED R&D THAT IS OFTEN THE PRECURSOR OF FUTURE ISS FLIGHT EXPERIMENTS.EDUCATION PROGRAMS (EAP & EPO): THE EDUCATION PROGRAM'S OFFICE PRIMARILY SUPPORTS NASA'S EFFORTS TO EXPAND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS IN AEROSPACE ENGINEERING AND THE SPACE SCIENCES, AS WELL AS ENCOURAGING YOUNG STUDENTS TO STAY IN SCHOOL AND PURSUE CAREERS IN SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND BUSINESS.THE EARTH FROM SPACE INSTITUTE (EFSI) IS DEDICATED TO BUILDING THE SCIENCE THAT RESPONDS TO URGENT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES ACROSS CLIMATE, DISASTERS, AND ENERGY SYSTEMS. CENTER FOR SPACE NUCLEAR RESEARCH (CSNR): THE CSNR IS OPERATED BY USRA IN COLLABORATION WITH THE IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY TO FOSTER COLLABORATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, NASA, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, UNIVERSITY AND INDUSTRY SCIENTISTS AND PROGRAMS. CSNR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS RESEARCH AND DEVELOP ADVANCED SPACE NUCLEAR SYSTEMS, INCLUDING POWER AND ENERGY TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS, NUCLEAR THERMAL PROPULSION, AND RADIOISOTOPIC GENERATORS.GESTAR STANDS FOR GODDARD EARTH SCIENCES TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH. ITS SCOPE CUTS ACROSS EARTH SCIENCE DISCIPLINES AND INCLUDES ATMOSPHERIC STUDIES, HYDROLOGY, OCEAN AND CLIMATE RESEARCH. TO FACILITATE EXPERIMENTAL, ANALYTICAL AND THEORETICAL RESEARCH IN SUPPORT OF NASA'S STRATEGIC EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE OBJECTIVES.NASA POSTDOCTORAL PROGRAM (NPP), A PRESTIGIOUS, NATIONAL-LEVEL EFFORT SUPPORTING ALL NASA MISSION DIRECTORATES AND CENTERS. NPP AWARDS FELLOWSHIPS TO HIGHLY QUALIFIED POSTDOCTORAL SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS, ENABLING THEM TO CONDUCT RESEARCH AND PARTICIPATE IN NASA MISSION ACTIVITIES AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS. THE NPP IS A VITAL MEANS BY WHICH NASA IDENTIFIES AND ENGAGES TALENTED EARLY-CAREER SCIENTISTS. IT ALSO PROVIDES AN IMPORTANT PIPELINE FOR DEVELOPING THE NASA WORKFORCE NEEDED FOR FUTURE CHALLENGES. DR. JEFFREY A. ISAACSON, USRA PRESIDENT AND CEO, COMMENTED, "ACHIEVING NASA'S GOALS FOR THE NPP REQUIRES AN ORGANIZATION WITH LONGSTANDING NASA RELATIONSHIPS, INSIGHT INTO RESEARCH PROJECTS AS THEY RELATE TO NASA'S MISSIONS AND LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES, AND STRONG CONNECTIONS TO THE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH COMMUNITY.USRA IS IDEALLY SUITED FOR THIS IMPORTANT CHARGE."

THE STRATOSPHERIC OBSERVATORY FOR INFRARED ASTRONOMY (SOFIA) IS AN AIRBORNE OBSERVATORY THAT STUDIES THE UNIVERSE IN THE INFRARED SPECTRUM. BESIDES THIS CONTRIBUTION TO SCIENCE PROGRESS, SOFIA IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF OBSERVATIONAL TECHNIQUES, OF NEW INSTRUMENTATIONS, AND IN THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG SCIENTISTS AND TEACHERS IN THE DISCIPLINE OF INFRARED ASTRONOMY. SOFIA FLIES INTO THE STRATOSPHERE, OPENS THE TELESCOPE CAVITY DOOR, AND POINTS ITS TELESCOPE AT THE HEAVENS MOST NIGHTS A WEEK IN THIS DECADE AND THE NEXT.

LUNAR & PLANETARY INSTITUTE (LPI) SUPPORTS NASA'S RESEARCH IN LUNAR, PLANETARY, AND RELATED SCIENTIFIC FIELDS. THE INSTITUTE IS A CENTER FOR LUNAR AND PLANETARY SCIENCE, CONDUCTING RESEARCH STUDIES ON THE FORMATION, EVOLUTION, AND CURRENT STATE OF THE MOON, PLANETS, COMETS, ASTEROIDS, PLANETARY SATELLITES, COSMIC DUST, AND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AS A WHOLE THROUGH ANALYSIS OF DATA AND SAMPLES OBTAINED THROUGH NASA'S LONG HISTORY OF MISSIONS AND EXPLORATION, SERVICE TO NASA AND THE PLANETARY SCIENCE COMMUNITY. THE INSTITUTE COORDINATES SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS ON LUNAR AND PLANETARY TOPICS, AND DISSEMINATES SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION THROUGH TECHNICAL JOURNALS AND CONFERENCES, INCLUDING AN ABSTRACT DATABASE OF MORE THAN 25,000 PRESENTATIONS MADE BY SCIENTISTS ATLPI-SPONSORED MEETINGS. THE INSTITUTE ALSO CURATES AN EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF LUNAR AND PLANETARY DATA THAT IS ACCESSIBLE ONLINE.