Project Grant 2606291
- This National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Astronomical Sciences Project Grant, awarded on August 1, 2023 for $242,524, supports collaborative research by the University of Arizona aimed at exploring the composition of exoplanetary systems through observations and modeling of dusty circumstellar disks around other stars. The research goal is to determine the composition of rocky material orbiting other stars by analyzing the dust released from colliding rocks, which reflects and...
- This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Astronomical Sciences, under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Federal Grant Program (CFDA 47.049), provides $526,998 to Yale University to conduct research on the star formation process. The primary objectives are to: Use millimeter-wave observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) to probe the structure and evolution of star-forming regions, specifically examining how material is funneled from...
- The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Astronomical Sciences awarded a $385,047 Project Grant to the University of Illinois for the period of August 15, 2023 to July 31, 2026. The grant, titled "Probing Circumstellar Disk Properties with Polarization," will use high-quality polarization observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study nearby circumstellar disks and advance astronomers' understanding of star and planet formation. The key...
- Federal Grant Award Summary The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory received a $427,364 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Astronomical Sciences (Mathematical and Physical Sciences program, CFDA 47.049) for the period September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2028. This collaborative research initiative will develop improved microwave continuum measurements of protoplanetary disks to advance understanding of solid evolution during planet formation. The project...
- The National Science Foundation Division of Astronomical Sciences awarded the Massachusetts Institute of Technology $458,045 on September 1, 2026, under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to develop and refine observational tools for detecting and characterizing magnetic fields in protoplanetary disks and to assess their influence on planet formation. The recipient will refine a novel observational method based on Zeeman splitting of spectral lines, identify optimal...
- This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Astronomical Sciences provides $305,225 to support research into the evolution of gas in protoplanetary disks under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049). The University of Arizona will lead efforts to analyze deep observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of a sample of protoplanetary disks spanning typical lifetimes from 0.1-10 million years. Researchers will measure gas...
- This $421,175 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences program supports a research project titled "The Emergence of Star Clusters: Insights from Artificial Intelligence." The project aims to better understand the physical mechanisms of star formation by analyzing data from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array and the James Webb Space Telescope to measure the timescales for clearing natal gas from newly formed stellar clusters....
- This $306,464 Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Astronomical Sciences under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program will develop "DECIPHER: Deep Computer Vision in the Astrophysics of Planet Formation." The project aims to create a machine learning tool that can detect and measure the mass of exoplanets forming in protoplanetary disks from observational data. This cross-disciplinary effort will leverage advances in...
- This National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Astronomical Sciences Project Grant award of $449,288 will fund a 3-year research program at Columbia University to investigate variations in planet formation conditions. The research will utilize radio telescopes to analyze the structure and chemistry of protoplanetary disks around young stars, particularly in environments that have been less characterized. Specific objectives include comparing the chemical properties of disks undergoing late...
- The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $447,644 Project Grant under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) for the "CAREER: CHARTING THE FORMATION, TRANSFORMATION, AND DESTINIES OF GAS AND YOUNG STARS IN THE SOLAR NEIGHBORHOOD" project. The project aims to produce an integrated 3D model of gas and young stars in the solar neighborhood, enabling high-resolution comparisons between galactic and...
The National Science Foundation Division of Astronomical Sciences awarded Associated Universities Inc. $222,386 on September 1, 2026, under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to characterize the demographics and properties of pre-main sequence stars and their protoplanetary disks. The research team will develop AI and machine learning tools for efficient forward modeling of protoplanetary disk radiative transfer models applied to Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Very Large Array (VLA) observations. These tools will enable analysis of the youngest protoplanetary disks—less than one million years old—to constrain planet formation physics at its earliest stages. The project will focus on the entire population of young stars in a target region to establish baseline properties that reflect the starting conditions of planet formation, thereby informing theories about how planetary systems form and evolve. The award also supports graduate student training in astrophysics and high school student exposure to astronomy research. Performance runs from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2029, with work conducted in Vienna, Virginia.
Mod # | Description | ReasonForModification | Federal Obligation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | $222.4k | 8/5/26 |