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Simpson College Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science Dr. Aswati Subramanian has been awarded an Iowa NASA EPSCoR Research Building Seed grant. EPSCoR stands for “Established Programs to Stimulate Competitive Research.” Dr. Subramanian’s $30,600 grant supports NASA-relevant science and engineering research within Iowa.
Subramanian will use the funding to support a Simpson undergraduate research project on astrobiology during the 2024-25 academic year. Simpson students Sam Derning and Layna Depping will benefit from the grant, taking advantage of a unique opportunity to collaborate one-on-one with scientists at Kennedy Space Center and associated space biology labs.
"I’m incredibly thrilled about this opportunity," said Subramanian. "Such projects make academia exciting, accessible, inclusive and engaging for our students. In the future, I plan to expand this research to include other departments and divisions across campus. There is significant potential for interdisciplinary collaborations!"
The research seed grant is awarded with the stipulation that investigators will apply next year to the more extensive federally distributed NASA-EPSCoR grants. Dr. Subramanian intends to seek future funds for creating a space biology lab at Simpson. Such a lab would create more research opportunities for Simpson undergraduate students while creating a pipeline for them to join NASA labs for summer internships and/or post-graduate studies.
The Iowa NASA EPSCoR Research Building Seed Grant (RBSG) program encourages, supports, and facilitates the development and enhancement of NASA relevant science and engineering research within the State of Iowa. Funding is intended to build research infrastructure and help Iowa’s academic faculty establish NASA collaboration in order to become nationally competitive for NASA EPSCoR research funding.