Project Grant 80NSSC20K1688

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) provides $176,639 to the University of New Mexico to acquire a laser diffraction particle size analyzer. This state-of-the-art instrument will enable scientists and students to analyze the size and shape of particles in soil, sediment, and airborne dust. Key applications include understanding environmental change through sedimentary records, assessing air quality in vulnerable communities impacted...

This $199,558 National Science Foundation project grant, funded under the Engineering (47.041) program, supports the development of an integratable nano-optical particle sizer for measuring ultrafine airborne particles less than 100 nanometers at Lawrence Technological University from February 2022 through January 2024. The proposed research aims to advance optical particle sensing capabilities to the ultrafine range by investigating optical responses of nano-optical structures to airborne...

This National Science Foundation project grant of $582,172 will fund the development of optical classification models for ambient aerosols using machine learning. Awarded under the Geosciences program of the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, this three-year project beginning March 2022 aims to build tools that can differentiate aerosol types based on measured optical properties without prior assumptions. The University of Georgia Research Foundation will receive funding to...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) will support the development of a next-generation in-situ instrument for measuring the volume scattering function and degree of linear polarization of light in the ocean. The $847,482 award to Florida Atlantic University aims to provide a powerful new tool for studying particle composition and refining optical-biogeochemical proxies. The instrument will cover a wide range of scattering angles,...

Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc. was awarded a $199,967 Project Grant from the Department of Energy Office of Science under the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program (CFDA 81.049) to support real-time, onsite analysis of turbid chemical waste with TIR-Raman spectroscopy. The Office of Science aims to deliver scientific discoveries and tools to transform understanding of nature and advance U.S. energy and economic security through its Financial Assistance Program. This particular...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant award, funded through the Integrative Activities (CFDA 47.083) program, provides $717,750 to acquire a state-of-the-art Photoionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (PI-TOFMS) instrument at the Desert Research Institute (DRI), part of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). This instrument will enable new observations of the molecular structure and composition of organic materials suspended in air, supporting research on ambient...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) provides $274,996 to Opticalx, LLC, a small disadvantaged business located in Tracy, CA, to develop an optical solution for detecting and tracking small space debris. The project, titled "Space-Time Projection Optical Tomography (SPOT)", aims to leverage graphical processing unit (GPU) computing to enable the detection of space debris...

Grant Award Summary Interlune Corporation received a $110,364 Project Grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Technology Mission Directorate (CFDA 43.012) on September 9, 2025, with a performance period extending through September 8, 2026. The award supports the advancement of lunar resource utilization technologies, specifically focused on developing innovative methods for processing and beneficiating lunar regolith. Based on Interlune's established research...

The National Science Foundation awarded a $533,566 Project Grant to the University of Miami under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to support the acquisition of an Aerosol Characterization System. The System will be operated at the University's Ragged Point site in Barbados and is expected to open new research avenues related to the transport of African dust to the Americas, the impact of ocean-derived organic aerosols in the marine boundary layer, wildfire smoke, and cloud and radiation...

This $357,868 National Science Foundation project grant supports collaborative research between Mississippi State University and Auburn University to develop a novel method for trapping and controlling dust particles in low-temperature plasmas. The grant funds development of an optical trapping technology to pin down and transport single dust particles anywhere in a plasma device. Multiple laser diagnostic techniques will also be used to measure impacted plasma parameters and aid understanding...