{"id":9308,"date":"2023-10-17T12:01:50","date_gmt":"2023-10-17T16:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/more-than-grants-perspectives-from-past-nasa-funded-researchers\/"},"modified":"2023-10-17T12:01:50","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T16:01:50","slug":"more-than-grants-perspectives-from-past-nasa-funded-researchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/more-than-grants-perspectives-from-past-nasa-funded-researchers\/","title":{"rendered":"More than Grants: Perspectives from Past NASA-funded Researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than Grants: Perspectives from Past NASA-funded Researchers<\/h2>\n

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4 min read<\/p>\n

More than Grants: Perspectives from Past NASA-funded Researchers<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"A<\/figure>
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Monique McClain inspects the print quality of surrogate propellants that were 3D-printed in her laboratory.<\/div>\n
Credits: Jared Pike\/Purdue University<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Each year, researchers nationwide embark on journeys of discovery facilitated by funding from NASA\u2019s Space Technology Research Grants (STRG) program. They uncover innovations that benefit future research and their careers after graduation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In 2023, STRG hit a significant milestone, making its thousandth award through the most recent cohort of NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunity (NSTRGO) selections.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The\u00a0STRG program supports academic researchers \u2013 graduate students to senior\u00a0faculty \u2013\u00ad through five unique solicitations to examine ideas and approaches critical to\u00a0making science and space exploration more effective, affordable, and sustainable. The vast majority of STRG awards go to graduate students through NSTGRO, <\/em>resulting in the development of innovative technology while enriching the careers of students and the aerospace workforce.<\/p>\n

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To date,\u00a0more than 750 awards have supported graduate student research across the country.\u00a0For those NASA Space Tech fellows, post-graduation employment is diverse: approximately 19% worked for NASA (or agency contractors), 16% worked in aerospace, 11% at other Federal agencies, 17% in academia, and 20% in other advanced technology industries.<\/div>\n
Credit: NASA<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The next 2024 NSTGRO opportunity<\/a> is open for proposals through Nov. 1, 2023. It marks the 14th consecutive year that STMD has sponsored U.S. citizen and legal permanent resident graduate students who show significant potential to contribute to NASA\u2019s goal of creating innovative new space technologies for our nation\u2019s science, exploration, and economic future.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This space technology research investment milestone prompted NASA to reflect on three grantees inspiring and developing a diverse U.S. aerospace technology community.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Eliad Peretz<\/a>\u00a0wanted to apply before becoming a graduate student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Growing up in Israel, working on his grandfather\u2019s olive grove taught him the value of planning and working hard at a young age.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew NASA was the place for me,\u201d said Peretz. He viewed STRG as a way in the door, to work directly with NASA and, maybe, one day for NASA.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/figure>
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Eliad Peretz poses for a photo. <\/div>\n
Credits: Jon Reis<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Funded by a 2015 grant, Peretz used artificial intelligence to design lightweight spacecraft solar cells. He spent summers at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. There, he had direct access to agency experts who helped advance the research while discovering something along the way.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized that I didn\u2019t want to be a person who can only solve a single problem; I wanted to solve many problems for spaceflight,\u201d said Peretz. \u201cFor me, it was a life-changing program and experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Today, Peretz works in the Heliophysics Division mission at NASA Goddard. He asks scientists and engineers for their most challenging problems and comes up with concepts, unlike anything that\u2019s been done before.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Monique McClain<\/a>, a 2017 grant recipient, embarked on a different path after graduating from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She is an assistant professor in Purdue\u2019s School of Mechanical Engineering, using the NSTRF experience to help her students.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hooked on science fiction as a kid and thought the chief engineer in \u2018Star Trek\u2019 was the coolest job,\u201d said McClain. \u201cThey got to solve all the challenging problems.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The \u201cproblem\u201d of her research was to improve control over how a solid rocket motor burns by creating complex propellant shapes using a new 3D printing technology.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cSpace Tech Research Grants stood out because it was more than just a stipend,\u201d said McClain. \u201cIt allowed me to make research decisions, visit government labs, and develop professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

McClain tested her 3D-printed components at NASA Marshall and the U.S. Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake, California.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Her current work focuses on understanding multi-material properties and improving 3D printer designs, while other researchers continue to build on her graduate project and are exploring technology commercialization opportunities.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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\u00abSometimes in academia, you are hyper-focused on a small problem, and this NASA opportunity helps you see the bigger picture.\u00bb<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"MONIQUE<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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MONIQUE McClain <\/p>\n

Space Technology Research Grant recipient<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In graduate school at the University of Texas in Austin, Kaci Madden worked on robotic exoskeletons. Her uncle is an amputee; growing up, she saw how prosthetic technology evolved. Madden wanted to design devices that helped people.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Funded by a 2015 NASA grant, she learned how to evaluate fatigue using robots to monitor astronaut health and performance more accurately. At NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Madden tested Robo-Glove<\/a>, collected data, and built her professional network.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cNASA has a sense of comradery, vision and mission,\u201d said Madden. \u201cEveryone I met was willing to help or introduce me to someone who could further my research and support theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Madden said the opportunity propelled her career forward. She found a different mechanism for helping people and currently works for a healthcare start-up that empowers researchers to study rare diseases.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of gratitude to the STRG program itself for offering these funds and the people I got to work with,\u201d said Madden. \u201cThey deserve a lot of credit \u2013 they are the shoulders I stood on to complete my dissertation under this fellowship.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

NASA Space Technology Research Grants are part of NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). This program is one of many early-stage funding opportunities for researchers in academia. To browse other funding opportunities, visit:<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

https:\/\/techport.nasa.gov\/opportunities<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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