NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium 

Research Scholarship Awards

Spring 2021

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Physics and Astronomy has received funding from the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium to support undergraduate research.  Several undergraduate scholarships of $1800 each will be awarded in the spring semester (2021).  Students who receive these scholarships will be expected to work with a faculty research mentor for around 10 hours per week over the semester.  These students will also be required to present the results of their research in a public forum, such as the Physics and Astronomy Undergraduate Seminar or the Undergraduate Research Fair.  

Please note that only U.S. Citizens are eligible to receive one of these awards.

The deadline for the spring 2021 applications is Friday, January 22^nd, 2021. 

Our PASGC program is required by NASA to give first priority to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) projects that are directly related to the NASA Astrophysics Science Directorate (https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics). This relationship should be discussed in your proposal. 

Also, in an environment where University labs and other work areas are not open to undergraduates due to social distancing requirements, it is unclear if those types of projects can be supported. Therefore, for the current proposal period, both the undergraduate proposer and the faculty mentor should address how the project can move forward while adhering to social distancing requirements. 

Preference will also be given to qualified women and minority candidates and to candidates who have not received one of these scholarships in the past.

The application materials should include:

1. A research plan that includes:
   1. Your name and email address
   2. The name, department and email address of your faculty mentor
   3. Your research proposal (1-2 pages)
   4. A plan for conducting your research work following the guidelines for social distancing.
2. A letter of recommendation from your faculty mentor.
3. A transcript (official or unofficial).

All application materials and questions should be sent to:

Dr. Russell Clark

Department of Physics and Astronomy

ruc2@pitt.edu

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