A photo of MPLAN principal investigator awardees from various minority-serving institutions at the 2023 NASA Better Together conference in San Jose, California.Credits: NASA NASA has selected 23 minority-serving institutions to receive $1.2 million to grow their research and technology capabilities, collaborate on research projects, and contribute to the agency’s missions for the benefit of humanity.
Through NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Partnership Learning Annual Notification (MPLAN) award, selected institutions will receive up to $50,000 each for a six-month period to work directly on STEM projects with subject matter experts in NASA’s mission directorates.
“As NASA looks to inspire the next generation, the Artemis Generation, we are intentional in increasing access for all,” said Shahra Lambert, NASA senior advisor for engagement and equity. “It’s a daring task to return to the Moon then venture to Mars, but NASA is known to make the impossible possible. By funding partnerships such as MPLAN, and tapping into all pools of STEM resources, including MSIs, we are ensuring the future of our missions are in good hands.”
The awards will contribute to research opportunities in preparation for larger funding programs such as NASA’s annual Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer solicitation, the Space Technology Research Grant Program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, the University Leadership Initiative within the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, and the Human Research Program within NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate.
“These awards will help unlock the full potential of students traditionally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research and careers,” said Torry Johnson, deputy associate administrator of STEM Engagement Projects at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Through this award, universities receive support, resources, and guidance directly from NASA experts, which can be a game changer for the work they do to develop technological innovations that contribute to NASA missions and benefit all of humanity.”
The awardees are as follows:
Arizona State University Drones for Contact-inclusive Planetary Exploration
California State University-Dominguez Hills Bioinspired Surface Design for Thermal Extremes
California State University-Fresno Human-Centric Digital Twins in NASA Space Missions
California State University-Northridge Repurposing Lander Parts into Geodesic Assemblies
California State University, Monterey Bay Crafting Biofuels via Molecular Insights
CUNY New York City College of Technology Polyethylene Glycol Diacrylate for Seed Growth: Microgreens in Space
Delgado Community College, New Orleans, Louisiana Freshmen Access to CubeSat Education
Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, North Carolina New Tech for Storm Tracking with Machine Learning
Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia Sustained Approach for Energetic Lunar Operation
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Information-Theoretic Multi-Robot Exploration
Portland State University, Portland, Oregon Robot Leg Design for Lunar Exploration
Regents of New Mexico State University Extreme Aerodynamics Over Small Air Vehicles
San Diego State University Enhanced Aero-Composites: Reinforcement Innovation
San Francisco State University Early Non-invasive Diagnosis of Heart Diseases
San Jose State University Designing Resilient Battery System for Space
Southern University and A & M College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana X-Ray 3D Printing of Nanocomposites for AME
Plant Antimicrobial in Space Exploration using AI
Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia Non-contact Optical Sensor for Biomedicine
The Research Foundation of CUNY on behalf of City College, New York Soft Tendril-inspired Robot for Space Exploration
The University of Texas at San Antonio Hydrodynamic Stability of Jets via Neural Networks
Low-SWaP Water Electrolyzer for Lunar/Martian In-Situ Resource Utilization
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Tuneable NanoEnergetic Microthruster Cartridges
University of California, Irvine Flexible Modular Robots for Extreme Access
University of Hawaii at Manoa Ultrasound methods for monitoring carcinogenesis
University of New Mexico All-climate and Ultrafast Aluminum Ion Batteries
The awarded institutions and their partners are invited to meet with NASA researchers and MUREP representatives throughout the remainder of 2024. The meetings serve as training sessions to pursue future NASA opportunities. These trainings focus primarily on fostering collaboration, enhancing technical skills, and providing insights into NASA’s research priorities to better prepare participants for future opportunities.
To learn more about MPLAN, visit:
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Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov