NASA EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Development (RID) Funding Augmentation 2 – Guam Jurisdiction

The overall goal of the NASA Guam EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Development (RID2) Project Plan is to develop a competitive research and technology aerospace research program within Guam. The goal will be carried out through four project objectives as stated in the original RID2 proposal: (1) Increase support for the UOG EPSCoR NASA CAN (GEOCORE) and the subaward from Hawaii EPSCoR CAN (ACTUAS), (2) Develop a science education, workforce training, and fiber cable hub and research station at the location of the former Apollo 11 Tracking Station in Dandan, Malojloj, Guam, (3) Collaborate with Ames Research Center’s Laboratory for Advanced Sensing (LAS) and Dr. Ved Chirayath to use fluid lensing and MIDAR toward high resolution coral reef mapping efforts and rapid coral bleaching assessments in Guam and Micronesia, and (4) Foster innovative research from UOG faculty through seed grants.

The NASA Guam EPSCoR RID2 Augmentation proposal seeks to expand collaboration with NASA centers and other NASA EPSCoR jurisdictions in Years 2 and 3 of the RID. In particular, we would like to enable more researchers and faculty to be able to travel to the annual NASA Technical Interchange Meetings (TIM) and to NASA centers to meet with specific NASA scientists for purposes of technical consultation. Also, we will continue building the “island” or “coastal” consortium with Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and U.S. Virgin Islands. This will be through workshops hosted by one or more of the jurisdictions. The ultimate goal of increasing collaboration with NASA scientists, and with researchers across jurisdictions, will be to develop and submit at least one new R3 and/or one new CAN proposal each year, especially considering that GEOCORE and ACTUAS will end in the early part of Year 2 of the RID.

This proposal also requests funding for technical workshops in Years 2 and 3 and a research symposium near the end of Year 3. The technical workshops will cover a variety of GIS and remote sensing topics, to be offered to researchers and practitioners on Guam. This expands research capacity of the jurisdiction and increases workforce development in these areas. With the increase in collaboration and competition for more NASA EPSCoR awards; the increase in faculty involvement through seed research grants and technical workshops; and the conclusion of major projects (e.g., GEOCORE, ACTUAS, Fluid Lensing); there will be sufficient results and preliminary findings to present at a research symposium at the end of Year 3. This research symposium and a technical workshop could be timed to coincide with the annual Conference on Island Sustainability, held in early April every year, to allow for attendance at both events and minimize travel costs for attendees from off-island.

Finally, we would also like to revisit Objective 2 of the original RID proposal. The costs involved in renovating the Apollo 11 tracking station are too prohibitive to make it feasible under the current RID award funding level. However, the objective of creating a physical hub for science education, workforce training, and research related to NASA technologies is still a desirable and viable goal. Suggestions for alternate venues include shared educational space between the University of Guam, the Guam Community College, and George Washington High School, all in close proximity to one another, or partnering with the Guam Museum for space. Another possibility is to conduct the creation of this hub in phases. The first phase would reconfigure House 5 at UOG to be focused on NASA EPSCoR research and small group training, and the second phase would expand or possibly relocate to a larger science and education center that would be open to K-12 educators and the general public. This will likely entail increases in supplies, equipment, and contractual costs beyond the amounts in the original RID2 proposal, which are modestly accounted for in the budget summary.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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