Overview of Space Science and Information Research Opportunities at NASA
It is not possible to review all the opportunities that NASA provides to support the Space Science Enterprise, in the short amount of time allotted for this presentation. Therefore, only a few key programs will be discussed. The programs that I will discuss will concentrate on research opportunities for faculty, graduate and postdoctoral candidates in Space Science research and information technologies at NASA. One of the most important programs for research opportunities is the NASA Research Announcement or NRA. NASA Headquarters issues NRA's on a regular basis and these cover space science and computer science activities relating to NASA missions and programs. In the Space Sciences, the most important NRA is called the "Research Opportunities in Space Science or the ROSS NRA. The ROSS NRA is composed of multiple announcements in the areas of structure and evolution of the Universe, Solar System exploration, Sun-Earth connections, and applied information systems. Another important opportunity is the Graduate Student Research Program (GSRP). The GSRP is designed to cultivate research ties between a NASA Center and the academic community through the award of fellowships to promising students in science and engineering. This program is unique since it matches the student's area of research interest with existing work being carried out at NASA. This program is for U.S. citizens who are full-time graduate students. Students who are successful have made the match between their research and the NASA employee who will act as their NASA Advisor/ Mentor. In this program, the student's research is primarily accomplished under the supervision of his faculty advisor with periodic or frequent interactions with the NASA Mentor. These interactions typically involve travel to the sponsoring NASA Center on a regular basis. The one-year fellowships are renewable for up to three years and over $20,000 per year. These and other important opportunities will be discussed.