NASA EPSCoR HISTORY

Latest News On the Patent
GRANTED!

A/V Showcase of UVM Office of Technology Transer
Our patent application, which is being handled by Jamie Gallagher of Downs Rachlin Martin, is in the final stages of review by the US Patent Office.  The patent application is titled "A Whole-Body Mathematical Model for Simulating Intracranial Pressure Dynamics."  Others involved in the patent application are Scott Stevens (currently at Penn. State Erie) and Paul Penar and Bruce Tranmer (UVM Division of Neurosurgery).  Jamie tells us that we should have formal approval and a patent granted within the next 4 months.

Proposal for EPSCoR Phase III RID funding to
NASA National Space Grant College & Fellowship Program...3 years.

Research group pending

NSF established EPSCoR in 1979 in response to congressional concerns that federal R and D supported only a handful of states. A decade later, in 1990, Congress began the process of expanding EPSCoR beyond NSF. Consequently, NASA, along with the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, and Defense; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the National Institutes of Health; are developing or implementing EPSCoR programs.

The NASA EPSCoR program was conceived to improve a state's competitive research capacity in areas relevant to the agency's mission. NASA EPSCoR was initiated in 1994 through the Office of Human Resources and Education. This program targets states of modest research infrastructure with funds to develop a more competitive research base within their member academic institutions. NASA EPSCoR research projects are closely related to one of NASA's strategic enterprises. The project clusters collaborate frequently with NASA's field installations and program offices.

NASA EPSCoR fosters cooperation among departments, across institutions, with state and local government, and with business and industry. In addition to strengthening the research base of the state's academic institutions, EPSCoR outcomes include the transfer of developed technology to industry, the increased economic development of the participating states, and the communication of the benefits of research to the public.

 In 1999 NASA EPSCoR awarded Vermont a Preparation Grant to establish the Vermont-NASA EPSCoR Program. A key goal of this Preparation Grant was to fund a core group of promising research projects which would help Vermont faculty develop links to collaborators at NASA Centers. This Preparation Grant was awarded a second year of funding.

 At the heart of the Vermont-NASA EPSCoR program in Year 2 are two clusters that include eight research projects in the Space Life and Earth Sciences. The five projects in the Space Life Sciences are biomedical in nature and involve interdisciplinary research which aims to develop the mathematics, science, engineering and technology base necessary for the biomedical support of long-term human survival in space. Of special interest in this research are the systems or "weak points" in the human body that may limit man's potential exposure to space and low gravity environments. These projects, which may provide the basis for new and innovative countermeasures to help insure the success of future NASA space missions, are thus in an area of strategic importance to NASA under the HEDS Enterprise. Similarly, the three research projects in the Earth Sciences should enhance understanding of aspects of the global climate, and they thus fall squarely within the scope of NASA's investments in Earth Science. All eight projects have current or planned ties to NASA Centers.

As a mechanism for recruiting new research projects into our program, Vermont-NASA EPSCoR has developed a Research Initiation Award. These minigrants provide a small amount of "seed money" to faculty researchers who wish to explore research directions which may mature into full research projects in one of our research clusters. Our original five research projects from Year 1 will be joined in Year 2 by two new projects directed by promising young faculty members. These new research projects were recruited into the program through the award of Research Initiation minigrants. A third research project, which has just been awarded a Research Initiation minigrant, will be continuing to explore possibilities through this support mechanism in Year 2.

The Vermont-NASA EPSCoR project also has developed, with State of Vermont support, a new Industrial Partners Initiative which will link faculty and small to medium business and industry in Vermont to facilitate technology transfer. A pilot project to demonstrate the potential of this Initiative was started during the summer of 2000. In the area of Education and Professional Training, the Vermont-NASA EPSCoR program provides funding for Postdoctoral and Graduate Research Fellowships to address the important pipeline issue of training the next generation of scientists.

In the initial year of our Preparation Grant, Graduate Research Fellows have assisted in Projects 2 and 5. Dr. Scott A. Stevens was recruited as a Postdoctoral Fellow this year on Project 1, and he will serve through August 2000. In Year 2 of the Preparation Grant, Dr. Laura Gross has been recruited as a Postdoctoral Fellow on Project 4 beginning June 1. 

Update for 2000
As a result, Vermont's NASA EPSCoR Program received full funding in the NASA EPSCoR 2000 Program competition among all 19 NASA EPSCoR states (See Map at http://calspace.ucsd.edu/epscor/map/) for NASA EPSCoR Implementation Grants. The National Program at NASA Headquarters( http://calspace.ucsd.edu/epscor/) awarded the Vermont-NASA EPSCoR Competitive Research Grant Proposal.

The Grant included the CORE Implementational Funding and two Research Groups:

1. Biomedical Aspects of Human Health in Space
2. Advanced Remote Sensing Technologies for Monitoring Indicators of Global Climate Change

Proposed research projects were to be in an area of interest to NASA. Individual principal investigators should either have established links with colleagues at a NASA Center,or should have a plan for establishing such links. It is difficult to quantify the necessary congruence/linkages with NASA Centers and Strategic Enterprises. However, it will be a requirement of the National Program that all research proposed be specifically identified (by title and number) in the NASA EPSCoR Research Compendium. For a PDF copy of this document, please click on either the preceding link or on the labeled button on the Vermont-NASA EPSCoR Homepage.

State proposals did not need be built around clusters. The state proposals that will be funded are those that make the most convincing argument that they will lead to the development of long term research capabilities within the state with high potential to become nationally competitive and self-sustaining, and to be best aligned with the state technological, economic, and education goals. However, a maximum of 3 research areas per state proposal will be allowed.

NASA EPSCoR funding awarded to a state must be matched 1:1 by local funding. Matching funds can be "soft" and can include in-kind cost-sharing such as donated time during the academic year.

Potential participants who have questions or concerns should be directed to Prof. William D. Lakin, Vermont-NASA EPSCoR Project Director, by email (lakin@emba.uvm.edu) , telephone (802 656-8541), or fax (802 656-2552).
For more information, see http://calspace.ucsd.edu/epscor/StratPlan/projection.html on the NASA EPSCoR website.

We invite you to browse the remaining sections of this website for more details of our program.