Faculty Success Stories

Our faculty have done some amazing things with the NASA support we provide!  The following anecdotes represent just a few of the faculty members we have supported over the years.  To submit your own Faculty Success Story to be featured here, please email Eric Day at day@spacegrant.org.

Jandro Abot
Jandro Abot from Catholic University was one of the recipients of our first Minority Faculty-Student Research Award Competition.  Although he was only required to mentor one student on the research project, he decided to mentor three students, two of whom were female.  His research led to the unveiling of the electromechanical response of carbon nanotube yarns under tension – a new discovery with important implications for many engineering applications.  The discovery resulted in the publication of the findings in the research journal Carbon, and in Dr. Abot being named a Fulbright Scholar and receiving a $30,000 Fulbright Award.

Marcus Alfred
In 2014 we supported Marcus Alfred and his team of nine students from Howard University, an HBCU, in the RockSat-C Program.  The team designed and built a sounding rocket payload that was launched on a rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in June 2014.  The project collected atmospheric samples near the highest point of the flight to test for the presence of microorganisms.  Data from the samples was used to develop a bio-signature that can help look for life on Earth-like, extra-solar planets.  This was the first payload ever launched into space that was entirely designed and built at Howard University – and only the second payload from an HBCU.  The activity was so successful that twenty students signed up for a follow-on project, and Dr. Alfred has made it a permanent activity.

Katie DeCicco-Skinner

In 2012 we supported a research project for American University biology faculty member Katie DeCicco-Skinner, to study the effects of ionizing radiation on inflammatory proteins in the brain. Her research findings led to a collaboration with a team from Johns Hopkins. Through the collaboration, Dr. DeCicco-Skinner was named as a collaborator on two grants. One grant was funded for $1.8 million from the National Space and Biomedical Research Institute.

Matthew Hartings
In 2011 we supported a research project for American University chemistry faculty member Matthew Hartings that resulted in the development of four new advanced chemistry lab courses.  The four new courses have become the focal point of the AU Chemistry Department’s publicity and recruiting efforts, and Department faculty are submitting proposals for additional non-DCSGC grants to support the research that will be done by students in the new courses.  Two research papers and several educational papers were submitted based on the research work from the first year alone, and a researcher from AU’s School of Education wrote a National Science Foundation proposal in collaboration with the Chemsitry Department for $167,000, to further this research work.

Michael Keidar
In 2013, Michael Keidar from George Washington University applied for one patent, published nine articles, made nine presentations, and was awarded an additional $341,400 from NASA and the National Science Foundation from an additional five proposals, as a result of our ongoing support of his research on micropropulsion.  In addition, both NASA ARC and NASA GSFC are extremely interested in his research, and requested additional proposals from him so that they can develop the concept further for flight.  Due to his involvement on this project, in October 2013, Dr. Keidar hosted the 33rd International Electric Propulsion Conference, which boasted a record attendance despite being held during the government shutdown.  The official press release for the conference can be found at: http://mediarelations.gwu.edu/george-washington-university-hosts-record-size-international-electric-propulsion-conference.

Kathryn Muratore
In 2011 we supported a research project for American University chemistry faculty member Kathryn Muratore that resulted in the development of four new advanced chemistry lab courses.  The four new courses have become the focal point of the AU Chemistry Department’s publicity and recruiting efforts, and Department faculty are submitting proposals for additional non-DCSGC grants to support the research that will be done by students in the new courses.  Two research papers and several educational papers were submitted based on the research work from the first year alone, and a researcher from AU’s School of Education wrote a National Science Foundation proposal in collaboration with the Chemsitry Department for $167,000, to further this research work.