Space Florida Announces ISS Research Competition Winners at ASGSR

Space Florida, the state's aerospace development organization and spaceport authority, and NanoRacks, LLC, today [29 november 2012] announced the winners of the International Space Station (ISS) Research Competition at The American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. A team of 15 independent judges evaluated the proposals based on defined value in the commercial marketplace, potential for future benefits in space travel, and professional qualifications of the applicants. Four (4) winning proposals originated from the commercial field and four (4) in the area of education and research.

The winners will each receive research payload transportation to the ISS via an upcoming SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Launch is currently slated for December 2013.

The 8 Competition winners are as follows:

1. Cella Energy - Dr. Stephen Perusich, Cella Energy USA, KSC-SLSL, and Dr. Stephen Bennington, Cella Energy Ltd, Harwell Science Campus, OX, UK - "Evaluation of Cella Energy Hydrogen/Boron-Based Radiation Shielding Materials on the ISS".

2. CSS-Dynamac, Florida & Limerick Institute of Technology, Ireland - Dr. Michael Roberts, CSS-Dynamac, and Dr. Gary Stutte, Limerick Institute of Technology - "Symbiotic Nodulation in a Reduced Gravity Environment (SyNRGE II)".

3. Florida Institute of Technology, Florida - Drs. Sam Durrance, Daniel Kirk, and Hector Gutierrez - "Self-Assembly in Biology and the Origin of Life (SABOL) (A study into Alzheimer's)".

4. German Aerospace Center, Germany - Dr. Akram Abdellatif - "Egypt Against Hepatitis C Virus".

5. Stanford University, NASA Ames Research Center and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, California - Dr. Peter Lee, Stanford University; Dr. Sharmila Bhattacharya, NASA Ames Research Center; Dr. Rolf Bodmer, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute; Dr. Karen Ocorr, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute - "HEART FLIES: Heart Effect Analysis Research Team conducting Fly Investigations and Experiments in Spaceflight - a medical experiment to understand the effects of space travel on astronaut cardiovascular systems".

6. Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute at Lake Nona, Florida - Dr. Siobhan Malany & Dr. Steve Vasile - "Fluorescent Polarization in Microgravity: Validation of the M5 Microplate Reader Aboard the ISS".

7. University of California-Davis, SciStarter.com, ScienceCheerleader.com, California- Dr. Jonathan Eisen, Ms. Wendy Brown, Ms. Darlene Cavalier, Mr. Russell Neches, Mr. Mark Severance & Summer Williams - "Comparison of the Growth Rate & DNA/RNA Quantitation of Microgravity Exposed Microbial Community Samples Collected by the Astronauts Onboard the International Space Station And by Citizen Scientists & Student Scientists at Public Venues".

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Space Florida Announces ISS Research Competition Winners at ASGSR