NASA Announces Research Grants in Microgravity and Fluid Physics

Renee Juhans

Headquarters, Washington, DC

(Phone: 202/358-1712)

RELEASE: 00-2

NASA ANNOUNCES RESEARCH GRANTS
IN MICROGRAVITY FLUID PHYSICS

NASA has selected 75 researchers to receive grants totaling
approximately $25 million over four years to conduct microgravity
fluid physics research on Earth and in space. This research is
focused on obtaining beneficial applications in space-based health
and life support systems, and in earth-based systems.

Sponsored by NASA’s Office of Life and Microgravity Science
and Applications, this research offers investigators the
opportunity to utilize a low-gravity environment to enhance the
understanding of fundamental physical and chemical processes
associated with fluid physics.

Researchers will use NASA’s microgravity research facilities
such as drop tubes, drop towers, aircraft flying parabolic
trajectories and sounding rockets, with the flight-definition
investigators working toward experiments on space-flight test beds
such as the International Space Station and Space Shuttle.

Sixty-one of the grants are to conduct ground-based research,
while the remaining 14 are flight-definition efforts. Twenty-nine
of these grants are for continuation of work currently being
funded by NASA, but the majority — 46 — represent new research
efforts.

NASA received 297 proposals in response to its research
announcement in this area. These proposals were all peer-reviewed
by scientific and technical experts from academia, government and
industry. In addition, those proposals selected for flight
definition were reviewed in terms of engineering feasibility by a
team from NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH.

A list of awardees (by state), their institutions, and
research titles can be found on the Internet at:
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/2000/00-002a.txt

-end-

Alabama

Dr. Marc L. Pusey

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

Huntsville, AL

3The Study and Optimization of Flow Effects in Solution Biological

Crystal Growth2
Arizona
Professor Chuan F. Chen

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ

3Effects of Gravity in Single- and Double-Diffusive Systems Under

Gravity Modulation2
California
Professor Sanjoy Banerjee

University of California, Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA

3Direct Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Flows with Phase Change

in Microgravity2
Dr. David Cannell

University of California, Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA

“Gradient Driven Fluctuations”
Dr. Vijay K Dhir

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

“Transition from Pool to Flow Boiling — The Effect of Reduced

Gravity”
Dr. Alice P Gast

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

“Anisotropic Collidal Self Assembly”
Professor Joe D. Goddard

University of California, San Diego

La Jolla, CA

3Vibratory Dynamics and Transport of Granular Media at Various G

Levels2
Professor George M. Homsy

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

3Microgravity Fluid Mechanics:  G-Jitter Convection and the

Mechanics of Fluidized Beds2
Professor Melany L. Hunt

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, CA

3Granular Material Flows with Interstitial Fluid and Electrostatic

Charging Effects2
Dr. Farrokh Issacci

AlliedSignal Aerospace

Torrance, CA

3Two-Phase Flow in Multi-Channels – Liquid Holdup and Capillary

Flow2
Professor Eckart H. Meiburg

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA

3The Dynamics of Particulate Deposition and Resuspension Processes

at Moderate to High Reynolds Numbers2
Professor Peter Taborek

University of California, Irvine

Irvine, CA

3Superfluid Contact Line Dynamics2
Colorado
Dr. Noel A. Clark

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

“Structure and Dynamics of Freely Suspended Liquid Crystals”
Dr. Joshua E. Colwell

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

3Physics of Regolith Impacts in Microgravity Experiment (PRIME)2
Dr. Robert H. Davis

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

3Surface Collisions Involving Particles and Moisture (SCIP’M)2
Professor John E. Hart

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

3Stratified Taylor-Couette Flow with Radial Buoyancy2
Dr. Jungho Kim

University of Denver

Denver, CO

“Pooling Boiling Transfer Mechanisms in Microgravity and Partial

Gravity”
Professor William B. Krantz

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, CO

3Microscopic Flow Visualization in Demixing Fluids During

Polymeric Membrane Formation in Low-G2
Dr. Mark Weislogel

TDA Research, Inc.

Wheat Ridge, CO

3Capillary Flow in Interior Corners2
Connecticut
Professor Robert Apfel

Yale University

New Haven, CT

3Studies of the Dynamics, Control, and Evaporation of Three-

Dimensional Droplet Arrays and Clusters2
Dr. Amir Faghri

University of Connecticut

Storrs, CT

3Heat Transfer in Rotating Thin Liquid Films Including Nucleate

Boiling2
Professor Marshall L Grant

Yale University

New Haven, CT

3Effect of Structure-Dependent Interactions on the Formation of

Colloidal Aggregates and Nuclei2
Professor Michael Loewenberg

Yale University

New Haven, CT

3Flows of Wet Foams and Concentrated Emulsions2
District of Columbia
Dr. Glenn R. Joyce

Naval Research Laboratory

Washington, DC

3Modeling Dusty Plasmas in Microgravity2
Florida
Dr. Ravindran Chella

Florida A&M/Florida State University College of Engineering

Tallahassee, FL

3Lattice-Boltzmann Techniques for Multiphase Flow and Transport in

Microgravity Environment2
Professor Anthony J.C. Ladd

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

3Microgravity Driven Instabilities in Gas-Fluidized Beds2
Dr. Ranga Narayanan

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

3Separation of Species by Oscillatory Flow2
Georgia
Professor G. Paul Neitzel

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA

3Non-Coalescence in Microgravity:  Science and Technology2
Dr. Minami Yoda

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA

3Novel Optical Diagnostic Techniques for Studying Particle Contact

and Deposition Upon a Large Cylinder in a Sheared Suspension2
Iowa
Professor Amitava Bhattacharjee

The University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

3Theory and Simulation of Ground-Based and Microgravity Dusty

Plasma Experiments2
Dr. Jeffrey S. Marshall

The University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

3Rivulet Dynamics with Variable Gravity and Wind Shear2
Illinois
Professor Stephen H. Davis

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

3Interfacial Dynamics2
Dr. Constantine M. Megaridis

University of Illinois, Chicago

Chicago, IL

3Molten-Metal Droplet Deposition on a Moving Substrate in

Microgravity: Aiding the Development of Novel Technologies for

Microelectronic Assembly2
Dr. Mary Silber

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

3Competing Instabilities and the Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of

Interfacial Wave Patterns2
Indiana
Professor James A. Glazier

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

3Diffusive Coarsening of Liquid Foams in Microgravity2
Professor Issam Mudawar

Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN

3Investigation of Critical Heat Flux in Reduced Gravity Using

Photomicrographic Techniques2
Professor Peter Schiffer

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

3Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Wet Granular Media2
Kansas
Dr. Christopher Sorensen

Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS

3Gelation in Aerosols:  Non-Mean-Field Aggregation Kinetics2
Louisiana
Dr. John J. Hegseth

University of New Orleans

New Orleans, LA

“Geophysical Flow Experiment in a Rotating Spherical Capacitor”
Maryland
Dr. Michael R. Moldover

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD

“Acoustic Study of Critical Phenomena in Microgravity”
Dr. Andrea Prosperetti

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

“Acoustic Bubble Removal from Boiling Surfaces and its

Optimization”
Dr. Kathleen J.Stebe

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

“Using Surfactants to Control Bubble Growth Coalescence in

Nucleate Pool Boiling”
Massachusetts
Professor Seth Fraden

Brandeis University

Waltham, MA

3Nucleation of Colloidal and Protein Crystals in the Vicinity of a

Metastable Critical Point2
Dr. James Carl Hermanson

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester, MA

3Stability and  Heat Transfer Characteristics of Condensing Films

in Reduced Gravity2
Dr. R. Glynn Holt

Boston University

Boston, MA

3Rheology of Foam Near the Order-Disorder Phase Transition2
Dr. David A. Weitz

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

3Fabrication of Photonic Structure with Colloid Engineering2
Michigan
Professor Marc Perlin

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

3Using Nonlinearity and Contact Lines to Control Fluid Flow in

Microgravity2
Dr. Michael J. Solomon

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

3Aggregation and Gelation in Suspensions of Anisometric Particles:

Studies of Colloidal Platelets and Rods2
Professor Gretar Tryggvason

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

3Computational Modeling of the Effect of Secondary Forces on the

Phase Distribution in Dispersed Multiphase Channel Flows2
New Jersey
Dr. Benjamin J. Glasser

Rutgers University

Piscataway, NJ

3The Effect of gravity on the Mechanics of Fluidized Beds2
Professor Dudley A. Saville

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

3Electrohydrodynamic Flows in Electrochemical Systems2
New York
Dr. James T. Jenkins

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

3Sheet Flows, Avalanches, and Dune Evolution on Earth and Mars2
Professor Donald L. Koch

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

3Turbulence-Induced Coalescence of Aerosol Particles2
Professor Joel Koplik

City College of New York

New York, NY

3Molecular Dynamics of Fluid-Solid Systems2
Professor Peter C. Wayner

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, NY

3Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of the Stability of an

Evaporating Constrained Vapor Bubble2
North Carolina
Dr. Robert P. Behringer

Duke University

Durham, NC

“Gravity and Granular Materials”
Ohio
Dr. Ramaswamy Balasubramaniam

NASA Lewis Research Center

Cleveland, OH

3Instability of Miscible Interfaces2
Dr. Walter M.B. Duval

NASA Lewis Research Center

Cleveland, OH

3Stereo Imaging Velocimetry of Mixing Driven by Buoyancy Induced

Flow Fields2
Dr. DeVon W. Griffin

NASA Glenn Research Center

Cleveland, OH

3Phase-Shifting Point-Diffraction Interferometer for Microgravity

Fluid Physics2
Dr. Yasuhiro Kamotani

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

3Gas-Evolving Effects on Mass Transfer in Rotating Electrochemical

Cells Under Microgravity Conditions2
Dr. John McQuillen

NASA Lewis Research Center

Cleveland, OH

“A Study of Bubble and Slug Gas-Liquid Flow in a Microgravity

Environment”
Mr. Randall L. Vander Wal

National Center for Microgravity Research

Cleveland, OH

3Splashing Droplets2
Dr. Nengli Zhang

Ohio Aerospace Institute

Cleveland, OH

3Enhanced Boiling on Micro-Configured Composite Surfaces Under

Microgravity Conditions2
Oklahoma
Professor Ajay K. Agrawal

University of Oklahoma

Norman, OK

3Gravitational Effects on Flow Instability and Transition in Low

Density Jets2
Professor F. C. Lai

University of Oklahoma

Norman, OK

3Enhancement of Microgravity Fiber Impregnation Using

Electrohydrodynamic Induction Pumping2
Dr. Ramkumar Parthasarathy

University of Oklahoma

Norman, OK

3Instability and Breakup of Gas Jets Injected in Coflowing

Liquids2
Pennsylvania
Professor Lance R. Collins

The Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA

3Dynamics of Aerosol Particles in Stationary, Isotropic

Turbulence2
Dr. Daniel A. Hammer

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

3Engineering of Novel Biocolloid Suspensions2
Dr. Xiao-Lun Wu

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA

“Forced Two-dimensional Turbulence in Freely Suspended Films”
Rhode Island
Professor Mohammad Faghri

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

3Phase Change in a Low and Jittering Gravity Environment Simulated

via Electromagnetic Field2
Tennessee
Professor M. Douglas LeVan

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

3Separation of Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide for Mars ISRU2
Washington
Dr. Philip L. Marston

Washington State University

Pullman, WA

“Acive and Active Stabilization of Liquid Bridges in Low Gravity”
Dr. Thomas J.Matula

University of Washington

Seattle, WA

“Buoyancy-Driven Instabilities in Single-Bubble Sonoluminescence
Dr. Ward TeGrotenhuis

Battelle Memorial Institute

Richland, WA

3Microchannel Phase Separations for Insitu Resource Utilization2
Wisconsin
Dr. Eric E. Rice

Orbital Technologies Corporation

Madison, WI

3Magnetic Fluid Management (MFM)2