NASA commits $1M for Puerto Rico EPSCoR chapter
The Puerto Rico chapter of the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) will be receiving $1 million over the next five years from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
EPSCoR is a part of NASA’s Office of Stem Engagement and based out of the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which supports science and technology research and development at colleges and universities while also funding studies in Earth science, aeronautics, and human and robotic deep space exploration — all of which are disciplines critical to the NASA mission.
The Puerto Rico chapter is based at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and has 12 members.
Started almost 30 years ago, EPSCoR focuses on 25 states and three territories, and seeks to lessen the disparity in funding between states across the nation to create an equitable competition in aerospace and aerospace-related research activities.
NASA funds these areas so they remain competitive in the aerospace research and development field.
NASA awarded a total of $28 million to fund the next five years of research infrastructure development across 28 jurisdictions, which includes Puerto Rico, which will receive $200,000 a year for the next five years.
EPSCoR also solicits proposals for Rapid Response Research, which awards funding to researchers as they work with NASA on issues impacting the agency’s mission and programs, as well as International Space Station collaborations and suborbital flight opportunities, which provide researchers the opportunity to fly mature research projects in low-Earth orbit.
Jurisdictions receiving the RID awards are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, the US Virgin Islands, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
