Florida Tech One of 22 Universities to Receive Aerospace Grants

MELBOURNE, FLA.—The NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) and Space Florida have awarded $453,191 to 22 research and education programs. Among the recipients are four Florida Institute of Technology professors who received more than $92,000 for their research projects.

The funding, through the Florida Space Research Program (FSRP), makes possible the cooperative efforts of FSGC and Space Florida to achieve the goal of promoting and developing Florida’s aerospace industry and supporting space research and education projects. Each of the 50 proposals received was reviewed by an experienced team from Kennedy Space Center, other NASA centers and grant consortia in the United States.

The Florida Tech recipients are Sam Durrance, professor of physics and space sciences, for “Self Assembly Phenomena in Biology;” Dan Kirk, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, for “Novel Framework for Characterization of Slosh Dynamics in Low Gravity;” Kurt Winkelmann, assistant professor of chemistry, for “Learning Chemistry through Mars-Themed Experiments in a Virtual Lab;” and Yahya Sharaf-Eldeen, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, for “Solar Hydrogen Cell Energy System.”