The New Investigator Program of the Virginia Space Grant Consortium is designed to strengthen Virginia’s research infrastructure by providing startup funding to Virginia Space Grant university personnel who are conducting research that is directly aligned with NASA’s mission.

The member institutions of the Virginia Space Grant Consortium are Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, Old Dominion University, Hampton University, and the College of William and Mary.

NASA’s research interests embrace a wide range of science, engineering, computational, and other disciplines. This opportunity is
available to those who have yet to become established researchers. Awardees must be tenure-track faculty who are within the first five years of their academic careers, and they must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents as defined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Faculty may propose research within the full range of NASA’s missions and activities.

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium anticipates making five awards with the maximum individual award of up to $10,000, pending anticipated NASA funding. Proposing institutions are required to provide a one-to-one non-federal cost matching.

The deadline for applying is January 22, 2021, for an award period of March 1, 2021, to February 25, 2022.

To learn more, access the request for proposals here.

Submitted by Tom Ewing, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies