AFSTRO- Air Force STEM Training and Research Opportunities
Abstract
The University of Central Florida (UCF), a certified Seal of Excelencia minority-serving institution (MSI) - designated a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), is at the forefront of these efforts. UCF strives to educate and inspire individuals to be exemplary physicians and scientists, leaders in medicine, scholars in discovery, and adopters of innovative technology. In alignment with UCF s organizational mission, the PI Prof. Subith S. Vasu and Co-PI Dr. Justin Urso seek to increase the professional development capacity of individuals eligible to further the Department of the Air Force (DAF) mission. The University of Central Florida has proposed a plan to address the AFOSR FOA FOAAFRLAFOSR20240002, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Program by creating the Air Force STEM Training and Research Opportunities (AFSTRO) program. This program will partner undergraduate students with active aerospace and mechanical engineering research, with 12 students over the fall, spring, and summer semesters who will gain research experience working on projects of interest to the AFOSR and DoD at large. Hence, over the 3 years, we anticipate training around 36 undergraduate students under this program. The effort will involve recruiting at least 2 veteran students-year and will leverage DOD-NSF-funded UCF s REU Site- HYPER program. Each year, two of the AFSTRO fellows taking part in the research will have additional funding to present at conferences and network with industry and academic professionals. A total of 9 students (per year) will travel to DOD and industry locations to present their work and increase their networking-professional development opportunities. The funded students will augment ongoing funded research to the PI from AFRL, AFOSR, and other DoD entities to maximize the impact of the award. These research projects include developing new techniques and models to better understand energetic materials combustion, solid fuel rocket propulsion for hypersonics, high-pressure combustion relevant to rocket propulsion, and hypersonic aerodynamic phenomena and propulsion. The PI (Prof. Subith Vasu) will incorporate this program into other government agency STEM outreach programs, working with local high schools to inspire students to pursue undergraduate research. The team has a track record of training K-16 students, and they recently completed an impactful AFOSR STEM program, which trained around 10 undergraduates in AFOSR-relevant research and education. The proposed effort builds on the success of this experience and will amplify the impact of AFOSR STEM funding to create a pipeline of talents for the DAF. Established partnerships and offices in the University of Central Florida, namely the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Office of Military and Veteran Student Success, will allow for targeted recruitment of underserved and underrepresented individuals to improve the diversity of the future workforce for the DoD. The team will ensure increased hands-on training in STEM through research opportunities for grades 13-16 and exposure to cool aerospace concepts for grades 8-12.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 06, 2025
- Source ID
- FA95502410285
Entities
People
- Subith Vasu
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Central Florida Board of Trustees