The NASA West Virginia Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NASA WV EPSCoR) is a joint activity of the West Virginia EPSCoR Committee and the West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, devoted to advancing West Virginia’s scientific and technological development, and promoting research activities in direct support of NASA’s mission and scientific enterprises. The program covers all aspects of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) research in West Virginia.
NASA EPSCoR in West Virginia consists of two components: the Research Infrastructure Development (RID) and Research Implementation (RI). Our goals, outlined by the NASA WV EPSCoR Committee, are as follows:
(1) To contribute to and advance NASA’s vision and strategic goals as outlined in various NASA documents, specifically in terms of STEM research and workforce development;
(2) To contribute to the state of West Virginia’s efforts at research infrastructure development particularly in the high-technology sector, and improved level of STEM capacity; and
(3) To increase the participation of underrepresented groups in our programs for students and faculty.
1. Research Infrastructure Development (RID)
Under the RID program, NASA WV EPSCoR supports a variety of activities related to strengthening the research capabilities of faculty in science and engineering disciplines in West Virginia by sponsoring research seed grants, travel grants and a college university collaboration program that promotes faculty mentorship roles from West Virginia University (WVU) or Marshall University alongside faculty from smaller universities and colleges in the state.
2. Research Implementation (RI)
A major component of the NASA WV EPSCoR is competitively won cooperative agreements that are designed to strengthen and support activities that are beneficial to the research capabilities of the state as well as advancing NASA’s research priorities. These are three-year competitive grants for up to $750,000 of federal funds per winning project, supplemented with cost sharing from the researchers’ home institution. Since 2007, eight teams at WVU and Marshall University have successfully competed for these grants.