Thanks to a $5 million grant from NASA, the University of Houston will open an aerospace engineering research center

Thanks to a multi-million dollar grant from NASA, the University of Houston to open aerospace engineering research center to support the space agency’s strategic goal of expanding human presence on the Moon and Mars for long-term, sustainable exploration, development and use of space .

The center will be called NASA MIRO Inflatable Deployable Environments and Adaptive Space Systems (IDEAS²) Center at UH. The $4,996,136 grant is funded by the NASA Office for STEM Engagement’s Institutional Research Opportunity Program (MIRO) through the Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) . MUREP also supports another NASA goal: developing a talented and diverse aerospace workforce and training the next generation of space explorers. NASA is awarding approximately $45 million to 21 higher education institutions to help them strengthen their research capabilities.

“The vision of IDEAS² The Center must become a leading national innovation center that powers cutting-edge NASA-centered research and advances the 21st centuryaerospace education around the world,” said Karolos Grigoriadis, Moores Professor of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Aerospace Engineering Graduate Program at UH, who led the effort and will direct the center.

Researchers at IDEAS² The Center will work closely with the Johnson Space Center to contribute to the robust, scalable orbital and surface infrastructure and operational autonomy that will enable humans to live and work in space, establishing a sustainable presence on and around the Moon and pave the way to Mars. exploration.

“Our mission is to establish an enduring link of excellence in aerospace engineering research and education, supported by targeted multi-institutional collaborations, strategic partnerships and various educational initiatives,” Grigoriadis said.

The center will collaborate with Texas A&M University, Stanford University, Houston Community College, San Jacinto College and industry partners Boeing, Axiom Space, Bastion Technologies. and Lockheed Martin.

“The center’s research-integrated educational activities will encompass graduate, undergraduate, and middle/high school students, providing opportunities for research, experiential learning, and STEM engagement in aerospace to spark their imaginations, enrich their education and promote their path to aerospace careers,” Grigoriadis said.

Associate directors of the center include Dimitris Lagoudas, professor of aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University, and Olga Bannova, research professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Houston and director of the Space Architecture graduate program.