University Student Research Challenge (USRC)
Funding Agency:
- NASA
USRC seeks to challenge students to propose new aeronautics ideas/concepts that are relevant to ARMD. Apart from this, the students also have the challenge of raising cost share funds through a crowdfunding1 platform. The process of creating and preparing a crowdfunding campaign act as a teaching accelerator - requiring students to act like entrepreneurs. Understanding the market, fundraising and execution are major skills for a future entrepreneur. Crowdfunding also raises awareness in the general public about students’ research and can lead to additional support and opportunities. Finally, crowdfunding is being used to excite and bring new communities to NASA Aeronautics.
USRC’s strategic goals are:
Provide broad opportunities for students at different levels, including undergraduate and graduate, to participate in aeronautics research.
Assist in achieving aviation outcomes defined in the ARMD Strategic Implementation Plan [1] through NASA-complementary research.
USRC will provide students from accredited U.S. colleges or universities with grants for their aeronautics projects. It will support cutting-edge research on emerging aviation technologies and the education of new researchers in various fields of study. Additional beneficiaries are members of the aviation community who will receive new technology and concepts from USRC results.
Up to a maximum of $80K per award
Due date for proposals Cycle One: November 7, 2024; Cycle Two: March 13, 2025; Cycle Three: June 26, 2025
NASA technical point of contact concerning this program Steven Holz, , (757) 864-9798