Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington                   Nov. 21, 2001
(Phone: 202/358-1726)

RELEASE: 01-229

NASA ANNOUNCES RESEARCH GRANTS IN MICROGRAVITY FLUID PHYSICS

     NASA has selected thirty-five researchers to receive 
grants to study microgravity fluid physics that may result in 
beneficial applications for long-duration missions, 
exploration of other planets and enhancing life on Earth. 

The grants, totaling approximately $14.4 million over four 
years, offer investigators the opportunity to use low-gravity 
environments to enhance understanding of fundamental physical 
and chemical processes associated with space flight. 

Researchers will use NASA's microgravity research facilities 
such as drop-tubes, drop-towers, aircraft flying parabolic 
trajectories and sounding rockets, with the goal of working 
toward experiments on the International Space Station and 
space shuttle flights. 

This research is sponsored by NASA's Office of Biological and 
Physical Research, which solicited proposals to conduct 
ground- and space-based research in fluid physics. 

NASA received 209 proposals in response to this research 
announcement. The proposals were all peer-reviewed by 
scientific and technical experts from academia, government and 
industry.

A list of awardees (by state) and their institutions and 
research titles can be found on Internet at: 
http://SpaceResearch.nasa.gov

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