麻豆村

Innovative Projects

VSGC supports a number of  member-led Innovative Projects every year. Innovative projects can be in higher education, pre-college education, or informal education. Areas of interest for projects include:

  • Programs that include activities related to NASA鈥檚 Artemis Mission for Moon and Mars exploration
  • Programs relating to Earth System Science that use data from NASA missions.
  • Summer research experiences for undergraduate students
  • Service-learning experiences for undergraduate students, including, but not limited to, those that might involve uncrewed autonomous systems
  • Teacher Professional Development programs

Proposals: Due January 23, 2026

Contact: Dr. Jennifer Penland, jpenland@odu.edu

Dr. Tanyaradzwa S. Muzata – Hampton University – Development of antistatic and UV shielding composites from recycled polymers for aerospace applications

Dr. Kai Zhang – Hampton University – Enhancement of Summer Research Experiences for URM students on Atomic Layer Deposition Coating Metals Applied in Space to Cost- effectively Enhance and Improve Thier Properties

Dr. Kim Lester – Virginia Tech – Home is Where the Heart is: Leveraging the synergy created when K-12 teachers and undergraduate engineering students work together.

Danielle Price – Virginia Air and Space Science Center – Virginia Air and Space Center’s Learn, Inspire, Foster, and Teach (LIFT) internship Project.

Michael Pastor – Tidewater Community College –聽RockSat 2025 & RockOn2025

Susan Rockwell – Science Museum of Virginia Foundation –聽The Anechoic Chamber in ORBIT Exhibition.

Dr.Hani Elsayed-Ali – Old Dominion University –聽Lunar and Martian Regolith Characterization聽

Dr. Omolola Akinola Ologunorisa – Old Dominion University –聽Using NASA Mission Data to create Wildfire Risk Zone Maps in Norfolk

Oleksandr Kravchenko – Old Dominion University 鈥 Hot Powder Bed Compaction using Lunar Regolith for Manufacturing of Space Grade Structures

Rex Kincaid –聽William & Mary – Summer Collaborative Bridge: Connecting Student Summer Research Experiences Across Academics and Industry

Dr. Matt Grau and Zhang Yuan – Old Dominion University –聽Summer Research Experience for Undergraduate Students: Exploring NV – Center Quantum Sensing

Jonathan Boreyko – Virginia Tech – Capacitive Fog and Smoke Harvesting

Kim Lester – Virginia Tech – Recognizing Undergraduate Outreach Efforts for K-12 Teacher Development

Catherine Dukes – University of Virginia – Summer 2024 Undergraduate Research Opportunities: the VA Initiative on Cosmic Origins

Jonathan Allen – William & Mary聽– Summer Undergrad: Using NASA mission data to predict the abundance of keystone predator in Chesapeake Bay

Karen McKenzie – Science Museum of Virginia聽– Space-Themed Programs in The Mix

Danielle Price – Virginia Air and Space Science Center聽– Learn, Inspire, Foster, and Teach (LIFT) Internship Project

Sharon Asundi – Old Dominion University聽– Design and Development of the CubeSat Structure and the Deployable Solar Panels to Support a 3-Tier Communication System for the SeaLion CubeSat Space Mission

Dr. Ruben Delgado – Hampton University 鈥 Promoting Interdisciplinary Research in the Atmospheric Tidewater Environment

Bevlee Watford; Megan Moore; Cynthia Hampton 鈥 Virginia Tech 鈥 Reinventing 麻豆村 on Wheels

Dr. Matt Grau; Co-PI: Dr. Charles Sukenik 鈥 Old Dominion University聽 鈥 High School Physics and Mathematics Teacher Professional Development of Integrated 麻豆村 through Arduinos at Old Dominion University

Mohamed Sanad Noufal 鈥 Hampton University 鈥撀 Theory and Programmed Design-guided Innovation of PGM-free ORR Electro catalysts for self-powered fuel cells for space applications

Lisa Horth; Collab. PI鈥檚: Kim Bullington; and Orlando Ayala 鈥 Old Dominion University 鈥 Veteran鈥檚 in Biology & Engineering (VIBE) Technical Training: A Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates, inclusive of Service Learning

Gregory Hunt; Rex Kincaid 鈥 William & Mary 鈥 Summer Collaborative Bridge: Connecting Student Summer Research Experiences across Academics and Industry

Sharan Asundi; Sandeep Kumar, Sandipan Dutta 鈥 Old Dominion University 鈥 Elucidating the Effect of Moon-like Magnetic Field Exposure in a Regolith Simulant Environment on Microalgae Chlorella vulgaris Growth and Bio Compound Production

Dr. Sampath Jayarathna; Dr. Wie Yusuf; Dr. Tom Allen; Dr. Nirmala Karunarathna; 鈥 Old Dominion University Research Foundation 鈥 CARE: Coastal Adaptation and Resilience Education

Dr. Gaurav Giri 鈥 University of Virginia 鈥 Summer Research Experience for Undergraduate Students: Metal-Organic Framework Polymer

Dr. Drew Landman; Shane Berry; Cole Burnette; Rob Stuart; Ryan Sternberg (student members) 鈥 Old Dominion University 鈥 Renovation and Modernization of FQM-117B RCMAT Testbeds for UAS education

Nathan Lau, PhD; Cindy Watson 鈥 Virginia Tech 鈥 Experiential Learning in Integrated Health Technology Engineering (ELIHTE)

Click here to view the full proposal.

For the 2022 Innovative Projects program, ten awards were made.

  • Melissa Stange 鈥 Laurel Ridge Community College 鈥 UAS Projects
  • Kim Lester; Perry Martin 鈥 Virginia Tech 鈥 Maker Monday (Pathways for Future Engineers)
  • Amrinder S. Nain 鈥 Virginia Tech 鈥 Summer Undergraduate Research: Cell contractility and migration along fibers in microgravity
  • Shuhai Xiao 鈥 Virginia Tech 鈥 Nurturing the next generation of astrobiologists and widening the participation of underrepresented groups in space science through summer research experience
  • R. Clay Wright 鈥 Virginia Tech 鈥 CUREing a sustainable future with chemical biosensors and a diverse, motivated workforce for biomanufacturing
  • Gregory J. Hunt; Rex Kincaid 鈥 William & Mary 鈥 Summer Collaborative Bridge: Connecting Student Summer Research Experiences across Academics and Industry
  • Victoria Corbin; Kristi DeCourcy 鈥 Virginia Tech 鈥 Professional Development Workshop at Virginia Tech for High School Teachers of Physics, Chemistry, Data Analytics, Earth Science, and Microbiology
  • Catherine A. Dukes; Jonathan C. Tan; Ilse Cleeves; Robin Garrod; Eric; Zhi-Yun Li; Steve Macko; Jon Ramsey; Xiao Hu; Dr. Duo Xu; Michael K眉ffmeier; Dr. Adam Woodson 鈥 University of Virginia 鈥 Virginia Initiative on Cosmic Origins (VICO) Summer Undergraduate Research Positions (2022)
  • Gaurav Giri, Na Ren; Arif Karim 鈥 University of Virginia 鈥 Summer Research Experience for Undergraduate Students: Metal Organic Framework Thin Films for Advanced Flexible Electronics and Air Filtration Membranes
  • Orlando Ayala; Rafael Landaeta; Tyler Cason; Sydney Fletcher; Ryan Long; Ryan Snoddy 鈥 Old Dominion University 鈥 Projects for Engineering Student Outreach (PESO)

For the 2021 Innovative Projects program, thirteen awards were made totaling over $112,488. Areas of interest included: programs that include activities related to NASA鈥檚 Artemis Mission for Moon and Mars exploration; programs relating to Earth System Science that use data from NASA missions; summer research experiences for undergraduate students; service-learning experiences for undergraduate students, including but not limited to those that involve unmanned autonomous systems; space flight programs; and teacher professional development programs. The winners are listed below:

At Old Dominion University, Orlando Ayala was awarded funding for a project titled 鈥2021 ODU Remote Experience for Young Engineers and Scientists REYES鈥.

Old Dominion University鈥檚 Sampath Jayarathna was awarded funding for a student flight project titled 鈥STARS: Secondary Teachers as Researchers with Satellites鈥.

Old Dominion University鈥檚 Sharan Asundi was awarded funding for a student flight project titled 鈥Development of a Novel Remote Sensing Receiver (DiBAR), and Impedance Probe, and a Visual+NIR Sensor for a 3U CubeSat Technology Demonstration of In-Situ Space Measurement and Earth Remote Sensing鈥.

Also at Old Dominion University, Dimirie Popescu was awarded funding for a student flight project titled 鈥麻豆村 Outreach Activities Using the ODU Satellite Ground Station鈥.

At Southwest Virginia Community College, Kevin Stilwell and Ryan Dorkoski were awarded funding for a project titled 鈥Utilization of Remote Sensing in Undergraduate Biodiversity Research

At the University of Virginia, Giri Gaurav was awarded funding for a project titled 鈥Summer Research Experience for Undergraduate Students: Metal Organic Framework Thin Films for Electronic, Filtration and Sensing Applications鈥.

At Virginia Tech, Pinar Acar, was awarded funds for a project titled 鈥Data-Driven Design of Composite Materials for Aerospace Components鈥.

Virginia Tech鈥檚 Carl Dietrich was awarded Funds for a project titled 鈥Enhancement of Remotely-accessible, Low-cost, Portable Antenna Range for Outreach and Instruction鈥.

Also at Virginia Tech, F. Marc Michel was awarded funds for a project titled 鈥Nanoscience Professional Development Workshop for High School Teachers in 麻豆村鈥.

Virginia Tech鈥檚 Bevlee Watford and Kim Lester were awarded funds for a project titled 鈥Project Water Works鈥.

Virginia Tech鈥檚 final recipients, Eric Wiseman, John McGee, Daniel Cross, and Randy Wynne were awarded funds for a project titled 鈥UAV鈥檚 and Urban Forestry: A Student Service Learning Project to Identify Invasive Species鈥.

At William & Mary, Gregory Hunt was awarded funding for a project titled 鈥Summer Collaborative Bridge: Connecting Student Summer Research Experience across Academics and Industry鈥.

Also at William & Mary, Margaret Saha was awarded funding for a project titled 鈥Broadening Participation in Artemis-Related Research: Inclusiveness and Sustainability鈥.

VSGC supports a number of Innovative Projects every year. These projects cover many disciplines and target both K-12 and Higher Education projects. This year, twelve awards were made totaling over $80,000. Areas of interest included programs that supported the Apollo 50th anniversary, summer research experiences for undergraduate students and teacher professional development programs. The winners are listed below:

professor Randy Chambers was awarded funds for two undergraduates to research greenhouse gas flux from stormwater retention ponds in order to identify ways to decrease global warming caused by methane emissions.

Gon Namkoong will use funds for a research project titled 鈥淭hermal stability of perovskite solar cells using nanoparticles/polymer composites.鈥

Also at Old Dominion University, Joanna Garner鈥檚 project 鈥淰oyages and Discoveries: Cross-Generational Reflections on the Significance of Space Exploration鈥 will bridge the divide between the Apollo and digital generations with a regional competition. Winning entries will be shown at in Norfolk.

At , Bevlee Watford and Kim Lester proposed another summer of sessions for rising seventh and eighth graders.

Virginia Tech will also hold a professional development workshop for high school biology, chemistry, earth science and physics teachers. James Heflin proposed this workshop, which will focus on nanoscience and nanotechnology.

At the , Gaurev Giri proposed a summer Research Experience for undergraduate students to study 鈥淢etal Organic Framework Thin Film for Electronic and Sensing Applications.鈥

Also at the University of Virginia, Max C.N. Castorani and Scott C. Doney proposed a Research Experience for one undergraduate to study 鈥淯nderstanding the patterns and drivers of water quality in coastal Virginia using Landsat.鈥

At the University of Virginia, Jonathan Tan will offer an undergraduate research position for the (VICO).

At , Brent Richey will hold a camp titled 鈥淭his IS Rocket Science: Remembering and Modeling Mankind鈥檚 Giant Leap.鈥 Fifteen students will construct a rocket and launch it on July 20.

This summer, will hold a week-long advanced robotics camp for rising third through eighth graders. Patrick Tompkins and Terry Wagner proposed this camp for area students.

The will use funds toward designing an interactive Apollo 12 exhibition.

will offer day camps to the 鈥淭een Astronomer Program.鈥 Day campers will learn about astronomy and space travel.

Photographs of the 2018 Imagination Summer Camps courtesy of Peter Means/Virginia Tech.