The Air Force Office of Scientific Research has selected the 38 scientists and engineers who have won grants this year under the service’s Young Investigator Research program. In total, these researchers, all of whom have received a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in the last five years, will receive more than $14 million in grants to pursue basic research over the next three to five years in the fields of aerospace; chemical and material sciences; physics and electronics; and mathematics, information, and life sciences. AFOSR received 202 proposals this year. The winners include: Ross Burrows of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, who will study space weather effects; Matthew Ringuette of the State University of New York in Buffalo, who will explore flapping-wing propulsion; and Brook Swanson of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., who will explore high-performance biomaterials for defense applications. (AFOSR release, including full list of winners)
It’s often said commanders have an insatiable appetite for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. When it comes to space, commercial capabilities are helping to at least whet that appetite, Space Force commanders said at the Spacepower Conference this week.