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Friday, October 02, 2009 UNI awards EPSCoR grant CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Northern Iowa recently announced the winner of the first Iowa NASA EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) grant. UNI is the lead institution for the Iowa NASA EPSCoR program, which aims to strengthen research and education in science and engineering.
Michael Kessler, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Iowa State University, was awarded an EPSCoR grant of more than $700,000 for a three-year period, according to William Byrd, EPSCoR director and visiting principal investigator in the UNI College of Natural Sciences. Kessler and his team are designing and evaluating a new class of polymer matrix composites that would carry load as well as store energy.
"We are developing composite materials that can achieve significant weight savings by performing multiple functions at once," Kessler said. "Composites are frequently used in aerospace materials --hence the importance of decreasing their weight -- and for other purposes as well." One way that the researchers will achieve their goal is through nanotechnology, which is the study of the control of matter on a molecular scale. One nanometer is one billionth of a meter, or the same scale as that of a marble to the Earth.
Other researchers on the team are Nicola Bowler, associate professor; Zhiqun Lin, assistant professor; and Xiaoli Tan, associate professor, all in ISU's department of materials science and engineering, and Olesya Zhupanska, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Iowa. The project, which began Sept. 1, also includes graduate students and undergraduate research assistants.
Iowa NASA EPSCoR has already issued a call for proposals for its next round of funding, Byrd said. The process will begin with concept papers, due on Oct. 19, followed by proposal outlines and then full proposals as the pool of applicants is reduced. All researchers in Iowa, either academic or industrial, are eligible to participate. For more detailed information on applying for EPSCoR funds, visit www.ia.spacegrant.org/EPSCoR.htm.
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