Developing aerospace research in louisiana the state of louisiana is committed to development of its r & d capacity both for the educational value (workforce) and for economic development. Louisiana…

This is a $479,894.20 cooperative agreement awarded by the NASA Shared Services Center to the Louisiana Board of Regents to develop aerospace research capacity in Louisiana. The agreement supports the Louisiana Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), which aims to engage faculty, postdocs, and students in NASA-relevant research projects, foster collaborations between NASA and the Louisiana research community, and establish partnerships between educational institutions and external facilities.

The agreement is focused on areas important to NASA's long-term goals, such as space/aerospace fields, and builds upon the Board's existing relationships with Louisiana universities, the Michoud facility, and Stennis Space Center. There is no set-aside designation for this award. The Louisiana Board of Regents, as the state agency responsible for coordinating public higher education, will manage the agreement and leverage its partnerships with universities across Louisiana to execute the research and educational initiatives.

Developing aerospace research in louisiana the state of louisiana is committed to development of its r & d capacity both for the educational value (workforce) and for economic development. Louisiana participates in all of the agency epscor programs for which IT is eligible through the louisiana board of regents (BOR), which provides state matching funds and, consequently, acts as the fiscal agent for the epscor programs. (this arrangement, in place since the 1990's, has worked well to support louisiana's successful participation in the NASA epscor program.) the state's focus for the major epscor programs (NSF, NIH) has been on biological / medical, information technology, environmental / health and materials science, whue, for the smaller, more mission-related agencies' epscor programs, the objective is to adapt to those mission agency requirements while remaining consistent with the overall louteiana epscor effort. NASA epscor has been successful in developing research capacity in space/aerospace ilelds that also supports the overall state goals. NASA epscor's success is built upon a strategy of engagement, collaboration and partnership. We are already involved with the major universities in the state, with the michoud facility and with stennis space center both through previous epscor activities and through partnership with the louisiana space grant effort (laspace). We plan to build upon these and move the state's r & d base forward in those areas of science, engineering and technology that are important for the long-term success of NASA's new 'roadmaps,' as well as establishing linkages to r & d projects at the NASA centers. Our plan for "developing aerospace research in louisiana", in short, involves: (1) engage faculty, post-docs and students in performing research projects, (2) develop collaborations/mentorships between NASA scientists and engineers and the louisiana research community, and (3) establish partnerships between educational institutions (minority and majority) and with external facilities and other agencies.