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
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鈥
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.