Beginning in FY 2007, NASA has been providing additional research opportunities to its EPSCoR program through its Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) research solicitation. This solicitation is an effort to increase research funding to EPSCoR states, which are generally defined as those states that are traditionally under-funded by NASA. The states and territories currently designated as EPSCOR states include: North Dakota, South Dakota, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia , and Wyoming.

The FY 2007 NASA CAN solicitation awarded 23 grants worth up to $750,000 each to 18 states. North Dakota did not receive an award in FY 2007. This CAN solicitation is very similar to a regular NASA Science Mission Directorate proposal, but includes components that are unique to EPSCoR. Interested PI's should review this solicitation once it is available, follow the guidance in the NASA Proposers Guidebook, and contact Dr. Hardersen for additional guidance.

The FY 2008 announcement is available. Click here to download. Below is a list of the awards for FY 2007:

• Alaska: Application of a new generation of ground- and satellite-based whistler-mode wave experiments as diagnostic tools for probing the structure of magnetospheric plasmas, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, $732,913.
• Alabama: Device realization for sensor and health monitoring of space transportation systems, University of Alabama, Huntsville, $748,500.
• Arkansas: Noninvasive prospecting for lunar ores and minerals, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, $750,000.
• Idaho: Reliability investigations of radiation resistant, multi-state phase-change memory, Boise State University, $750,000.
• Kentucky: Efficacy of countermeasures to cardiovascular deconditioning in men and women during simulated moon explorations, University of Kentucky, $750,000.
• Louisiana: NASA EPSCoR research project: Smart adhesively bonded high-performance joint for composite structures, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, $750,000.
• Louisiana: NASA EPSCoR research project: Multiwavelength/Multimessenger observations in conjunction with the GLAST satellite mission, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, $750,000.
• Maine: Toxicology of metal and lunar particles in biological systems, University of Southern Maine, $749,512.
• Montana: Biomolecular substrates for extraterrestrial life: Revealing the secrets of extremophilic archaea and their viruses, University of Montana, $750,000.
• Nebraska: Satellite contaminant materials research program, University of Nebraska, Kearney, $750,000.
• New Hampshire: Enhancing research and education capacity for integration of Earth observations, infectious diseases ecology, and public health in New Hampshire, University of New Hampshire, $749,221.
• New Mexico: Structural health-monitoring and self-healing of aerospace structures, New Mexico State University, $741,144.
• Nevada: Exploring planetary surfaces: Earth, Moon and Mars, University of Nevada, Reno, $750,000.
• Oklahoma: Center for Lightning Advanced Studies and Safety (CLASS), University of Oklahoma, $720,000.
• Oklahoma: OK NASA EPSCoR: Tissue equivalent detectors for space crew dosimetry and characterization of the space radiation environment, Oklahoma State University, $737,838.
• Puerto Rico: Space exploration enabling power systems: Partnership to develop the fundamental nanoscience at UPR and perform the corresponding proof-of-concept at NASA GRC, $750,000.
• South Carolina: Development of advanced unitized regenerative fuel cell, University of South Carolina, $750,000.
• South Carolina: Development of a lunar capable rover tweel for a modular manned rover system: Analytical and experimental research, Clemson University, $750,000.
• South Dakota: Continuous nano-scaled carbon fibers with superior mechanical strength and their innovative composites for aeronautics and space applications, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, $750,000.
• South Dakota: Land cover dynamics, regional hydrometeorology, and the vulnerability of rain-fed agriculture to climate change under scenarios of extensive cultivation of biofuel feedstocks, South Dakota State University, $737,843.
• Vermont: Investigation of critical aerothermodynamic phenomena for hypersonic vehicles, University of Vermont, $750,000.
• West Virginia: Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying skeletal muscle and cardiovascular adaptation to simulated microgravity, Marshall University, $749,521.
• West Virginia: Design, simulation, validation, and flight testing of adaptive fault-tolerant flight control systems, West Virginia University, $750,000.