GET STARTED WITH NASA KENTUCKY
NASA Kentucky Space Grant Consortium & NASA EPSCoR Program
Aerospace R&D and workforce training at higher education institutions across Kentucky
Faculty & Partners
KY projects aligned with NASA are led by KY Faculty statewide along with Industry and STEM Education partners.
Students
KY students engage with educational opportunities in space, aerospace, science, technology, and related fields.
Collaborators
Collaborators connect with KY researchers and educators for aerospace R&D and workforce development.
Kentucky Aerospace
Research & Workforce
FACULTY & PARTNERS
Funding eligibility varies based on program. Kentucky Space Grant Consortium (KYSGC) solicitations are limited to KYSGC Affiliate Institutions, whereas Kentucky NASA EPSCoR Program solicitations are open to all Kentucky Institutions of Higher Education.
Faculty
Faculty at Kentucky universities, colleges and community colleges are eligible to propose to NASA Kentucky opportunities.
Business and Industry
Kentucky businesses and industry may partner with Kentucky institutions and faculty to apply to solicitations.
Educators
Kentucky STEM Education organizations who are affiliates of KYSGC may apply to KYSGC opportunities.
STUDENTS
NASA Kentucky Space Grant and EPSCoR programs offer unique educational and training opportunities each year to students statewide across Kentucky.
Pre-College Activities
KY students can start with NASA, STEM and aerospace-related activities at an early age through high school by engaging with Space Grant-supported programming available from our pre-college partners, including Kentucky’s Challenger Centers, the Kentucky Science Center, and KY FIRST Robotics.
College Students
As students enter post-secondary education, KY Space Grant activities are available at universities, colleges and community college and technical schools (KCTCS) across the Commonwealth, including Team Projects, Research Projects, and Internships.
Graduate Students
Students attending graduate school in Kentucky can work directly with NASA research through faculty-directed research projects that provide mentoring and collaboration with some of Kentucky’s most innovative scientists and engineers, through KY Space Grant Graduate Fellowships and NASA KY EPSCoR research projects.
NASA Student Opportunities
In addition to statewide NASA KY opportunities, students, families and educators may explore the NASA STEM Gateway for national NASA opportunities and sign-up for the NASA EXPRESS Newsletter to receive a weekly newsletter of NASA-related educational resources and announcements.
COLLABORATORS
NASA Kentucky helps form partnerships between Kentucky researchers, NASA personnel, and collaborators across industry, education and government in support of increasing aerospace-related R&D activity, education and workforce initiatives in the state.
Potential collaborators may contact the program to learn more about these opportunities.
PROGRAMS
NASA Space Grant Program
The National Space Grant College & Fellowship Program was initiated by Congress in 1987 in response to the need for a coordinated effort to help maintain America’s preeminence in aerospace science and technology. The Space Grant national network includes over 1,000 affiliates from universities, colleges, industry, museums, science centers, state and local agencies.
Kentucky Space Grant Consortium (KYSGC) is a diverse group of 18 Kentucky universities, colleges and community colleges, 5 industry affiliates, 4 science centers and 2 STEM educational organizations, partnered with NASA to support Kentucky college students and faculty, as well as pre-college experiences, through funding programs that address the national interests of NASA and state goals of Kentucky.
NASA EPSCoR Program
The NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) supports partnerships with government, higher education and industry designed to effect lasting improvements in a state’s research infrastructure, research and development (R&D) capacity and its national R&D competitiveness.
Kentucky’s NASA EPSCoR Program is administered by the University of Kentucky as lead institution for the state. The program supports NASA-related research projects and partnerships in Kentucky. Any Kentucky institution of higher learning is eligible to apply for funding. Partners, including industry, non-profit and government agencies, may participate in funded projects in collaboration with Kentucky faculty researchers.
