April 28, 2021

Manchin, Capito Announce NASA Project Funding for WVU

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $199,999 from NASA’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Rapid Response Research (R3) program to West Virginia University (WVU). This funding will support two individual projects at WVU that were selected through a competitive process.

“West Virginians have always played a role in NASA’s developments and achievements, from Katherine Johnson to Homer Hickam to the many West Virginians working on NASA programs today. I am pleased NASA has chosen to invest in WVU for two projects, demonstrating once again that WVU is a leader in many research fields,” Senator Manchin said. “I look forward to seeing the results of this important research that will help us better understand our universe and outer space, and I will continue to advocate for investments and funding that strengthen the Mountain State’s partnership with NASA.”

“West Virginia has a rich history with NASA and space exploration research in our country, and I’m glad to see that continue today with the selection of these two project proposals. WVU consistently displays its ability to be a leader in a diverse array of research initiatives, providing more opportunities for students across our state. Both of the projects selected today push towards ambitious goals that will move WVU and our nation forward. I’m thrilled to make this announcement today, and look forward to the implementation of these projects in Morgantown later this year,” Senator Capito said.

Individual awards listed below:

  • Fault Diagnosis for Safety-Critical Autonomous Systems using Reinforcement Learning – $100,000
  • Appendix A: Cooperative Energy-aware Navigation of Hybrid Airships in the Atmosphere of Venus – $99,999